"In The Year 2020" is a fictional children's book that takes place in Lucia, an animal world, where the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic serves as a catalyst to bring everyone together to work on eradicating the virus and solving many of the other pressing issues that our world is facing. This ultimately leads to a better, healthier world. It is filled with colorful, beautiful, detailed, and captivating illustrations that are perfect for children of every age group.

This story may take place in animal world, but its message is sure to inspire anyone who reads it that working to make our planet a safe, inclusive, and happy home for us all is always worth it!

♥

The sound of laughter,

the sight of togetherness,

the taste of love,

the feeling of hope,

now fills up our world.

♥

From the Author:

2020 was very painful. Between the incomprehensible amount of lives lost, jobs lost, deadly wildfires, and toilet paper shortages, it's definitely not a year we want to relive. The truth is that children lived through this unsettling and confusing experience, too. My intention with this book is to offer an opportunity for them to see the good that can come from overcoming adversity and working together.

This book is not intended to be a historical recount of all the bad that happened which, is why it falls under the fiction genre and takes place in an animal world. A lot of thought went into using this book and its message to allude to real world events. In the book you will see representations of the following events that took place in 2020 that were buried underneath the chaos and continuous challenges of the year and overlooked while being meaningful social and environmental challenges:

1. LGBTQIA rights progressed more than they ever have in the US with laws passed to legalize same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Transgender rights were furthermore protected by the US Supreme Court, as employers can no longer legally fire individuals for being Transgender.
2. The BLM movement expanded and made its mark in the country, and the world, uniting people of all races to bring unity and equality to all. The momentum from this movement led to a historic participation of the Black community in 2020 elections.
3. US Carbon Emissions dropped by 10% which is the biggest annual decline since WWII. This sets our emissions goals back on track to reduce global emissions.
4. Pink Dolphins, considered an endangered species, were once again seen in Hong Kong shores due to the decline in human marine activity which suggests their species is slowly restoring. Penguin population in Galapagos increased.

While I know none of these things take away from the mess 2020, I wrote this book with the intention of teaching children about overcoming adversity and about what kind of world is possible when people (in this case animals) work together. May this book be a little glimmer of light, positivity, and joy in an otherwise dark year.