Our newly published book: Bye Bye Germs: Be a Handwashing Super Hero which was developed to teach children in a fun and engaging way about respiratory disease and the importance of handwashing has received great feedback from parents and teachers regarding its effectiveness!
Findings from a study conducted in November-December 2020 with 49 children has shown the book to be successful in improving children’s knowledge of germ transmission and handwashing. Following a book-reading activity in a primary school and nursery, 88% of children demonstrated an understanding in the importance of handwashing and 75% identified sources of microorganisms directly after reading the book based on respiratory disease transmission.
Upon feedback from teachers, 100% stated that they found the book helpful in teaching, noting that “children had fun reading the books and reflected this through their play” and “children spoke about the book whilst washing their hands”.
Furthermore, after reading the book at home with their children, 59% of parents stated that it had an impact with regards to improving awareness of germs and handwashing, with parents commenting:
“[the book had a] positive impact, explains the importance of hand washing in a simple but effective way for children.”
“[my child] has a good awareness anyway I think it helped to aid her understanding that little bit more”
“It was very visual (great clear pictures) which helped with the story. It had a clear message about how germs are passed and reminded my daughter to wash her hands often. She liked the idea of becoming a handwashing superhero!!”
“[I]keep reminding them of Joe and Jess in the story, it is always good for children to have a story to relate back to remind them and remember the importance of handwashing. E.g- saying to the children remember how Joe and Jess washed their hands in the story.”
“After reading the book we carried on talking about germs and where they can be. Helping to explore a topic we wouldn't usually discuss in detail”.
“I think this book is very informative and would be ideal for younger children when learning and practicing basic hygiene. It's explained very clearly and the pictures are great too”.
The book also received positive reports from a parent-group in Poland, with 100% stating they would buy and use the book with their children, commenting that:
“[The book provides] important knowledge for children [during] the pandemic”.
"Although a 5 year old child usually can’t read, he or she can still learn from the book because the illustrations show some instructions".
"They like the instructions on how to wash hands correctly".
After recently receiving funding to donate 1000 copies to schools in the UK, we are looking forward to receiving more feedback about Bye Bye Germs: Be a Handwashing Super Hero! To purchase a copy for yourself visit:https://medinabookshop.com/germs
If you have used any of the Germ’s Journey resources, please add your observations using our brief online questionnaire . It only takes a couple of minutes to complete but the feedback is extremely important for us to be able to continue developing resources.
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