CHRIS HADFIELD LAUNCHES KIDS' PANDEMIC STORY COLLECTION

MALVERN FAMILY RESOURCE CENTRE JOINED LOST & FOUND PROJECT

We all lost things to COVID-19, but the children Anusha Narendran works within northeast Scarborough lost part of their social and emotional development.

"And I thought it could not be recovered," she said on March 7 as the Canadian Children's Literacy Foundation's (CCLF) launched Lost & Found: A Digital Exhibit of Kids' Pandemic Stories.

The online project (lostandfoundstories.ca) — which has gathered 1,075 stories and counting — seemed an ideal fit for Malvern Family Resource Centre (MFRC) where Narendran manages children's programs.

She knew sharing stories in writing, art and video would offer children, parents, and educators the chance to reconnect. The pandemic isolated parents in the area and they felt alone, Narendran said.

"Young families in our community were particularly vulnerable."

Lost & Found aims to curate 5,000 stories and more are expected from educators this month, the pandemic's third anniversary in Canada, said Coralee D'Souza, a CCLF vice president.

Earlier in the MFRC's Morningside Heights building, Col. Chris Hadfield, a member of the group's board and the first Canadian to walk in space, read one of his children's books, The Darkest Dark, about a boy (Chris) who dreams of going to the moon but worries about aliens.

The retired astronaut knelt to catch whispered questions from a roomful of kids, explained to them what a guitar pick is, and sang a song about flying in space called "I.S.S. (Is Somebody Singing?)"

When a boy asked what the scariest part of being in space was, Hadfield said things are only scary "when you don't know what to do and you don't know what's coming."

On a wall facing him were stories on construction paper written by Scarborough children, or by parents on their behalf, last fall, which reflected how COVID-19 changed their world.

"During the pandemic, I coloured on the wall because I was home a lot. I wrote the ABC," a child named Hanshika said between some blue scribbles.

Another child, Arianna, struck a hopeful note in her story: "I spent lots of time with my mommy; we made cookies," it said.