Starting back at school, or going back after any long stretch away, can bring up a mix of feelings for children – excitement, nerves, and sometimes real anxiety about fitting back in. The free illustrated books Lenny and Lily in Lockdown and Lenny and Lily Return to School were created to help children make sense of exactly those feelings, put words (or pictures) on what’s worrying them, and feel more ready for the return to the classroom.
Because the stories are told entirely in pictures, your child doesn’t need to be able to read to follow along. That makes them suitable for children in mainstream schools and in special education settings alike.
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Lenny and Lily Books Helping Kids Going Back to School
Both stories were originally written to help children process the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the emotions at their heart – missing friends, feeling unsettled by change, worrying about fitting back in – are ones children can experience around any return to school, not just during a pandemic. That’s part of why the books remain a useful, gentle resource for parents and teachers today.
Both stories are structured around the 5 Losses and 5 Levers of the Recovery Curriculum.
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The Recovery Curriculum
The Recovery Curriculum was developed by Professor Barry Carpenter, Professor of Mental Health in Education at Oxford Brookes University, and Matthew Carpenter, Principal of Baxter College in Kidderminster. It sets out five areas schools and families can focus on to help children resettle after time away from the classroom:
#### Lever 1: Relationships
Children may not return joyfully straight away, and relationships that were thriving before may need to be rebuilt. Reach out to greet them warmly, and use existing relationships to cushion the discomfort of returning.
#### Lever 2: Community
Children’s lives will have been centred on home and community for a period of time. Listening to what has happened during that time, and understanding the needs of the wider community, helps ease the transition of learning back into school.
#### Lever 3: Transparent Curriculum
Children may feel they’ve lost learning time. Showing them how gaps are being addressed – and involving them in that process – helps heal any sense of loss.
#### Lever 4: Metacognition
Children will have been learning in different ways while away from school. Making the skills needed for classroom learning explicit again helps them rebuild confidence as learners.
#### Lever 5: Space
Children need space to rediscover themselves and find their voice around what they’ve been through. It’s natural to want to make sure no child falls behind, but that drive needs to be balanced with space for children to simply be.
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Lenny and Lily in Lockdown
In Lenny and Lily in Lockdown, by Prof Barry Carpenter, Ali Erskine and Jenny Hawkes, illustrated by Charlotte Firmin, Lenny and Lily live next door to each other. Every day they walk to school together and play with the same group of friends.
Then one day their teacher explains there’s a pandemic, and that school will be closing for some weeks while they learn at home instead. Lenny and Lily feel sad and abandoned.
The story follows Lenny and Lily’s experience of loss and change during lockdown – how they find ways to keep their friendship going, the challenges of learning at home, and the range of emotions they each go through.
Lenny and Lily Return to School
In Lenny and Lily Return to School, also by Prof Barry Carpenter, Ali Erskine and Jenny Hawkes, Lenny and Lily have had very different experiences of lockdown, but now it’s time for them both to go back to school.
Lily is excited to see her friends again, but Lenny has enjoyed being home with his family and feels more anxious about returning.
Once back at school, they each face different challenges. Lenny struggles to reconnect with his friends and find his place in the group again. Lily finds she’s fallen behind the pace of lessons and struggles to keep up.
The story explores the emotions Lenny and Lily go through as they settle back in and rebuild relationships with teachers and friends.
Supporting notes at the end of each story give teaching staff and parents guidance on how to use the stories with children.
Both stories can be downloaded free from Books Beyond Words.
About Books Beyond Words
Books Beyond Words uses picture stories to help people work through different types of situations together, including:
- everyday opportunities and experiences
- things that are about to happen, like a hospital visit
- life decisions, such as a relationship or an operation
- things that have already happened, like losing someone you love
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Lenny and Lily books free?
Yes, both books are available to download free of charge from Books Beyond Words.
Do children need to be able to read the books?
No. Both stories are told entirely through pictures, so children don’t need reading skills to follow them, and they work well for children in mainstream and special education settings alike.
What age group are the books aimed at?
They’re designed for primary-aged children, though the wordless format means they can be adapted for a wider age range with adult support.
What is the Recovery Curriculum?
It’s a framework developed by education specialists to help schools support children resettling after time away from the classroom, built around five areas: relationships, community, a transparent curriculum, metacognition, and space.
Are these books only useful for pandemic-related worries?
No. While they were written with the Covid-19 lockdowns in mind, the themes of change, separation from friends, and anxiety about returning to school are relevant whenever a child faces a big transition back into the classroom.
Related Reads
- Get Your Free Copy of Coronavirus: A Book for Children
- Tips on Getting Organised for Back to School Safely
- How to De-Stress During Stressful Times: Essential Tips for Parents
Save These Ideas for Later
If this isn’t the right moment to download the books, bookmark this page or save it to your favourite parenting folder so it’s easy to find again when you need it. You can also browse our full collection of back-to-school ideas any time you need fresh inspiration.
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We’d love to hear from you – have the Lenny and Lily books been useful in your house? Let us know in the comments below.
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