London Mayor praises school teacher on children’s book promoting Covid vaccine

A school teacher who wrote a children’s book promoting the Covid vaccine has been praised by the Mayor of London.

Banji Alexander was inspired to write his book, “Lockdown Looms: Reggie’s Birthday Party”, because of the effect of the pandemic.

Mr Alexander, a teacher at an inner-city South London school, said: “I didn’t have a book that I could use to walk my learners through the Covid-19 pandemic and the strange new world around us: masks, social distancing, home schooling, vaccinations, bereavements etc.

“With all the laws and social distancing rules which were in place, several children had to be kept away from family members for prolonged periods.

“Special celebrations such as birthdays and religious festivals were markedly different.

“When I started writing the book, I knew that I wanted to point to light at the end of the tunnel – a different type of happy ending which would help both adults and children with their mental health.”

Sadiq Khan wrote to Mr Alexander to thank him for his work as a teacher during the pandemic.

He wrote: “Teachers like yourself have gone above and beyond to show care and commitment to your students.

“Your support has been so vital to ensuring students are not only educated, but given the tools to develop resilience, as we continue to adjust to extraordinary times.”