A former educational psychologist from Troon has just reached the top three in the book charts with her imaginative children’s take on the pandemic.

Dorothy Gallagher’s latest publication, The Big Bad Cold, takes coronavirus into a magical woodland setting.

And it succinctly demonstrates the need for social distancing and all the other restrictions that prevent it spreading from animal to animal.

Like her previous children’s publication, ‘Scarecrows Dream on Createspace’, which has since been used on the literacy curriculum in schools, The Big Bad Cold has been met with five-star reviews.

Dorothy hopes her new picture book will be a gentle allegorical introduction to pandemic restrictions for younger children.

She explained: “The Big Bad Cold is the tale of woodland creatures whose community is smitten by a virus.

“It is a gentle explanation of the reason for social distancing and the consequences of non-compliance.

“The characters and location have been chosen to distance children from potentially anxiety-provoking personal experiences.

“The illustrations are deliberately child-like, partly because I am no artist but also to encourage children to create their own story worlds.”

The Big Bad Cold follows the fortunes of Olivia Owl, Suzy Squirrel, Granny Mole and the rest of the creatures as the virus threatens them, their friends and families, and their entire woodlands.

With delightful illustrations, Dorothy’s new book demonstrates the need for following the rules, and what can go wrong when they are broken.

The Big Bad Cold is heart-warming tale full of loveable creatures and sneezing.

And it is the perfect way for parents, grandparents and teachers to broach the subject of Covid-19.

Dorothy added: “When the animals of Tumbledown Wood become ill with the big bad cold, Olivia Owl tells the creatures of Cosy Wood that to keep safe, they need to stay away from their friends in Tumbledown for a while.

“But Suzy Squirrel has other plans and soon everyone in Cosy Wood is sneezing.

“Then there’s Granny Mole whose daughter and her family live in Mayville Wood.

“She is sad about not being able to visit her family and worried that her grandchildren won’t understand why she is not coming to see them.”

For further information visit Amazon and search for Dorothy Gallagher.