We Wear Masks

We Wear Masks is a fun tool to help children make sense of this new reality and make wearing masks less scary and more relatable.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many children have been introduced to wearing face masks and seeing others in masks. Author and illustrator Marla Lesage normalizes mask-wearing by introducing young readers to artists, ranchers, pilots, welders, scientists and many more people who already wear masks in their day-to-day lives. This delightful, rhyming picture book will help explain to children why wearing a mask is important as we interact with others in our communities. Readers will learn that, when they put on their mask, they are choosing to be kind and considerate of others.

This book can be used as a conversation starter about the pandemic, the spread of germs and viruses, and what families can do to keep themselves and the people they care about safe.

Orca Book Publishers is pleased to offer We Wear Masks in two accessible editions. The audiobook features alternate text descriptions of images, including the cover. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

Kirstie Hudson is an award-winning author, editor and journalist. She was a reporter and producer with the CBC in Toronto, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Victoria. Kirstie's work was recognized with a Jack Webster Award and Radio Television Digital News Association Awards. She co-authored two books about the making of the Witness Blanket with Indigenous artist Carey Newman. In 2020 Picking Up the Pieces was a finalist for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize. In 2023, The Witness Blanket was the winner of the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Nonfiction and a finalist for the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. She lives in Victoria, BC.

• The Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick (NB) Book Awards - The Alice Kitts Memorial Award for Excellence in Picture Book WritingWinner 2021
• CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selectionCommended 2021
• BC Books for BC SchoolsCommended 2021