Rowe student writes the book on keeping Mainers safe - Lewiston Sun Journal

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Liam Holland thumbs through the book he wrote in school about the coronavirus. Supplied photo

“His work brought a smile to many faces…”

Robert Long

Maine CDC

PARIS — Everyone has their own way of coping with the spread of COVID-19. Guy E. Rowe kindergarten student Liam Holland decided to face it head on and write the book on it.

After the Norway elementary school closed in November because of a COVID-19 outbreak detected there, Liam had to take his classes with teacher Miss Kendra Threeton through Zoom sessions for weeks.

“When I was stuck at home I could see my teacher because she was teaching lessons on my laptop,” Liam explained. “We were trapped at home and couldn’t go to school.”

The very day Liam and all of his school mates were able to return to school on Nov. 30 he decided to take what he had learned about the coronavirus and turn it into a story. You could say it’s a bit of science fiction with a big dose of reality driving the plot.

And what was his inspiration?

“The coronavirus germs are like specks. I like specks. So I wrote about it,” he said. “I want to let people know how to be safe; I wrote about the coronavirus. The virus is really dangerous. It can make people sick, and they can even die.

“[In the story] a scientist made a pink ball. He tried to put it in a catapult to go into space. But it didn’t go high enough and it landed in Maine. It splatted on the state.”

It did not take long for Liam to complete his draft of the book, aptly named “The Book about Coronavirus.” He drew out his story during his free time at school, when students are able to work on individual creative projects.

“He spent the day [at school] drawing the book, just pencil marks on the page and it was all stapled up when he brought it home,” explained Liam’s mother Alyson. “He couldn’t wait to tell me the story. As soon as he got home he showed it to me and asked me to write it all down as we went along. It was so precious.”

“Mom wrote down the words for me,” Liam added. “Then we colored it, and me and mom added some new things to the pictures.”

And not satisfied with just one book, he immediately went to work on a second, “The Garbage Book,” and is already at work on a third.

“The Garbage Book is about recycling,” Liam said. “It’s good to recycle and bad to not recycle. And it’s bad to litter. When you recycle, you can make new things out of old things.

“We still need to color it. The next one will on farms and I’ve done two pages so far. Farms are homes to farm animals. In my farm book I have pigs, a bird, cows, horses, a rabbit and a goat. And a llama too.”

During the interview, Alyson decided to share news about a special honor for Liam and The Book About the Coronavirus.

“I found the CDC’s Facebook page and messaged the link to a video we made of Liam with his book,” she said. “They sent back a couple of messages saying that they enjoyed his hard work and that they wanted to mail him a [thank you] note and a certificate.”

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To Liam she said, “The CDC is a group that helps to keep everyone healthy by sharing ways for them to stay healthy. So when it comes to the coronavirus they’ve been sharing information about wearing masks, when we should wear them and where, about washing our hands. I sent them your video and they loved it so much they are going to send you a certificate.”

“What’s a certificate?” the young writer asked his mother.

“It’s like an award, like when you got your diploma from pre-school,” she answered.

“Is it a medal?”

It’s on a piece of paper.”

“Well, I have a toy medal,” he told her.

“Liam Holland is a great example of how people from all over Maine have come together to help each other deal with the challenges posed by COVID-19,” said Maine CDC Communications Director Robert Long.

“His work brought a smile to many faces of those of us who have been working for months without a break to help Maine people understand COVID-“19 and best protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus. If he does not grow up to become a famous author or film director, he could have a bright future in public health. Thank you, Liam!”

In addition to the recognition from Maine’s Center for Disease Control, SAD 17 is honoring Liam by including his book in this year’s digital time capsule archive, History in the Hills. Miss Threeton, Liam’s teacher at Rowe School, is also as impressed with her student.

“Liam is a very hardworking student,” she said in an email statement. “He is always looking for something new to learn, and loves to share his knowledge with his classmates. We recently started our writing unit that emphasizes sharing our ideas with the world – using our writing to show and tell.

“Liam never ceases to amaze me with what he decides to write about, and how much effort he puts into it. I am so very proud of him.”

The video made by his proud parents has received very nice feedback on their social media pages.

“I don’t often post about my kids, but this had an important message that is good to share,” said Alyson. “And I also want to thank the school system for Liam’s understanding of mask-wearing. We’ve discussed it at home and when we go in public we wear a mask.

“So we’ve had some conversation at home, but for him to have such a great understanding of masks and know that they are there to protect other people, the school – with their consistent follow-through and commitment to following the CDC guidelines – is a huge reason for Liam’s knowledge and interest in all of this.”

“The Book About Coronavirus says to wear a mask,” Liam said. “To keep germs from getting to other people. Masks save the world.”