Ben and the Bug

By Natalie Reeves Billing

What it’s about?

When Ben meets Bug at the swing park, they instantly become the best of friends.

But when everyone around them gets sick, Ben wonders about the identity of his new playmate.

Ben and the Bug is written for families looking for a friendly approach to discussions around Coronavirus.

What I think:

As the mum of a 5 year old who was in full-time nursery when lockdown started and has just started Reception, this book has been really helpful.

Covid was easier to explain when we were staying in, buy now restrictions have been eased, albeit temporarily, having to explain why we can do somethings but not others; why he can play friends at school but not go to a birthday party has become tricker.

This is a great book for helping to explain some of ways germs spread in a kid-friendly way. Covid is a friendly green bug that Ben can see but the adults can’t. Ben brings him home but members of family get sick.

We really love the fact that Ben’s mum is a doctor and working towards a vaccination.

The book uses a great balance of kid-froendly and scientific language to explain the idea of immunity and vaccinations. We had a chat about the vaccinations he had as a baby and why the were important.

The book ends in a reassuring way explaining rules, symptoms and hand washing.

This is a gem of a book for anyone whose children still have questions or are feeling anxious about being back at school.

About the author:

Natalie Reeves Billing is a Liverpool lass with a dark sense of humour, which often spills onto the page. She loves to write spooky, fantastical stories for young audiences, and dabbles in poetry, contemporary fiction.

Natalie spent most of her early career in the music industry as a performer and professional songwriter. This lead, almost inevitably, to storytelling.

Natalie is an Arvon Foundation friend and is a student of the Golden Egg Academy. She is mentored under the Lloyds Bank SSE program, with her Bubs Literacy project. She is published in several anthologies with her poetry and flash fiction, including the Writing on the Wall, Read Now, Write Now, and is involved in several collaborations with fellow writers across poetry, song, and scriptwriting.

Her new book, My Mummy is a Monster (part of the Monstrous Me collection) will be available in March 2020 and Carry Love in June 2020
Connect with Natalie on Twitter @BillingReeves.

Thank you to Natalie and Anne Cater for inviting me to be a part of this fab blog tour. My Little Monster has enjoyed reading it this week and we will definitely be recommend it on the school run.