Nosy Crow says the short book is being translated into 44 languages, and the publisher’s stipulation is that international houses make the book available free of charge and use a Creative Commons license so that anyone can link to the book from their site.

Nosy Crow’s co-founding managing director Kate Wilson has written the book with Elizabeth Jenner, a children’s book author and Nosy Crow nonfiction editor, and Nia Roberts, who is the publisher’s head of design. Its illustrations are by Axel Scheffler (Gruffalo, The Gruffalo’s Child, and The Whale and the Snail with author Julia Donaldson).

An audio version has been read by actor Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Notting Hill, Paddington, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein), and is available at the App Store’s CloudAloud streaming app for children’s literacy.

In clear, simple language, the book explains what the virus is, how one catches it, what happens when you’re ill, why places children usually go are closed, what it’s like to be stuck at home, what children can do to help, and “what will happen next.”

The book can be downloaded here.