• Age: 3 to 5
• Grade: p to k
• Reading age: 3 to 5

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. Available in French as À chacun son masque.

Marla Lesage est une infirmière qui aime raconter des histoires, vraies ou imaginées, en dessinant, en peignant, en illustrant et en décrivant des scènes de la vie urbaine. Ses oeuvres figurent dans des collections privées au Canada, aux États-Unis et en Australie, et son premier livre illustré, Pirate Year Round, est paru en 2019. Elle a eu l’idée d’écrire À chacun son masque en visitant une ferme pédagogique. Ses enfants, masqués, ont alors découvert que les masques ont un superpouvoir : bloquer les odeurs nauséabondes ! Marla habite près de Fredericton, au Nouveau-Brunswick.

Marla Lesage's profile page

• Commended, BC Books for BC Schools
• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens, starred selection
• Winner, The Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick (NB) Book Awards - The Alice Kitts Memorial Award for Excellence in Picture Book Writing

“Calm and helpful words to encourage us to look at those who wear masks for a variety of reasons. Double-page spreads effectively create scenarios, often familiar to the children who will be reading or sharing this book.”

Sal's Fiction Addiction

“Will be a useful addition to your collection of teaching resources…Charming.”

Canadian Teacher Magazine

“A timely book. The engaging rhymes and beautiful illustrations representing diverse community members, show readers different reasons masks are worn.”

Toronto Star

“A book for the moment in which we find ourselves, and it offers a ready avenue for opening discussions with our children about what is occurring in the world around them. Recommended.”

CM: Canadian Review of Materials