'Showing love for everyone': Parents write book encouraging children to wear masks
A Florida couple who wrote and illustrated the book, “The Love Behind the Mask,” said they wanted to create a book that could help young children understand the importance of a mask.
“The book was basically talking to my own kids about why we have to wear the masks,” Lizy Toth said.
When the coronavirus pandemic began, Lizy and Chris Toth, who are parents of young twins boys, had the idea to create a children’s book to explain why masks are worn.
“I do believe we wear the mask to not only protect ourselves and our family, but to protect everyone. Really showing love for everyone,” Lizy Toth said.
Chris Toth lost his job because of the pandemic and felt it was the perfect time to follow his dreams of being an illustrator.
“When she had the idea for this book, I was like, 'Well, I have nothing else going on right now, let’s do it,'” Chris Toth said.
Their children, Max and Zak, were surprised to hear their parents were writing a book, but feel it is an important topic.
“Well, because most of time kids think of masks as something bad because that’s somewhat of what criminals wear when they are robbing a bank,” Zak Toth said.
Thanks to their parents, they understand masks can help protect everyone from viruses.
“It’s not scary at all. They are wearing the mask because they care,” Max Toth read.
As some young children across the country prepare to return to school and wear a mask, the couple hopes this book could be used by teachers.
“So when they first come into school they can go through the book and maybe help the whole class feel really good about wearing masks all day and doing it because they want to, not because they have to,” Chris Toth said.
The book is available on Amazon.
The Palm Beach Gardens couple hopes to get the book into local schools as a tool for education.