Hong Kong-based children’s author Martha Keswick plonks a stack of books onto a table, the publications part of her COPE Disaster Series. And while the subject matter is heavy, the series’ message is positive; it shares information on ways to increase the disaster resilience of children around the world, especially those living in disadvantaged areas. “Each book focuses on a different natural disaster, and so far we have covered earthquakes, tsunami, floods and cyclones. Our next topic is storm surges,” says Keswick, recalling the mess left behind by the rise in water levels when Typhoon Mangkhut ripped through Hong Kong in 2018. Characters in the series, lovingly sketched by California-based illustrator Mariko Jesse, include Grand Mistress Fu, a Chinese martial arts teacher who escaped death when her school collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake . Her squad includes four orphaned children: Candy, Ollie, Ping and Eddy. Once published, the book files are available free of charge – and free of copyright restrictions. “We team up with our partners in each country to disseminate these materials where the needs are.” The Hong Kong Jockey Club Disaster Preparedness and Response Institute recently translated the COPE Earthquake and Tsunami books into traditional Chinese and will distribute them as part of their primary school disaster risk reduction programmes. The latest addition to the series is COPE Covid-19 , where tips on how to stay healthy and happy during the pandemic are shared along with stories about families affected by the virus, including that of eight-year-old Zain, from Pakistan, whose father has been stuck in Thailand for five months. “While Covid-19 is not technically a natural disaster, we felt the topic needed covering,” says Keswick, adding that the book has received support from the United Nations Children’s Fund, Unicef. Unicef HK will translate and disseminate COPE Covid-19 to 500,000 kindergarten and primary schoolchildren, and 100,000 parents and carers. Dean of research at Singapore’s James Cook University, Caryn West, who consulted on COPE Covid-19 , says authenticity was key. “Ensuring the books were conceptually correct, that a common disaster language was used, and that the storyline reflected the place the disaster happened in and the events that took place were all important to ensuring credibility and authenticity of the message being delivered,” says West, whose research portfolio includes disaster preparedness, mitigation and recovery. “With something like a global pandemic, children have been exposed to conversations, news stories and experiences such as isolation, illness and, at times, deaths, that they are ill-equipped to deal with.”