Grandpa's 14 Games and A Journey of 9,000 Millimeters are two of the series of Chinese children's picture books. The English edition was published by New Classic Press in Britain last month. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

LONDON－A series of Chinese children's picture books to help children through the COVID-19 pandemic has been launched in Britain.

The book series, named Fighting the Epidemic: Staying at Home Series, was created in January last year, when Chinese publisher Phoenix Juvenile and Children's Publishing invited some of China's top children's book writers and illustrators to create six picture books designed to help children through the pandemic.

The English edition was published by New Classic Press in Britain last month and its Kindle edition will also be available from this month.

The six books are engaging and empathetic stories about changes in family life during the pandemic

Helen Wang, translator of the series

Written from the perspective of a young child, the six books express the theme of love through different families and lives.

In one of the stories, A Journey of 9,000 Millimeters, a boy and his sister have to entertain themselves while their parents work in the hospital during the pandemic. As they measure the apartment－which they find massive at 9,000-mm long and 5,000-mm wide, they set off on a journey of imagination and adventure.

In another story The Mask that Loved to Count, the N95 respirator is a special mask that is saved for a person who really needs it. Impatient to be used, the mask counts everything it sees, and gradually learns that its role is also to bring hope to its owner.

The bestselling books were translated into English by Helen Wang, a curator at the British Museum and winner of the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation.

"This was a milestone publication in China. The six books are engaging and empathetic stories about changes in family life during the pandemic, and present a variety of situations from a child's perspective," Wang says.

"They offer practical and reassuring information, not only on what key workers are doing and how everyone can help to fight the virus, but also show how to articulate feelings of fear, sadness, boredom and missing loved ones. They also think of creative ways to help each other through difficult times."

Wang Yongbo, president of Phoenix Juvenile and Children's Publishing, says the series helped many families in China talk to young children about the pandemic, and he hopes young readers in Britain will enjoy reading these stories and share their experiences of coping with the pandemic.

The international rights to the book series have been sold to 19 countries worldwide, and will be translated into several languages.