The planet isn't called Earth anymore. It's now Dearth — a place with depleting essentials. It's also where Zyrus the Virus (Tulika Books) is rooted in. Featuring Zyrus, who we dare say is an 'adorable' anxious little virus with spikes, as its protagonist, it hopes to take readers aged above eight on an adventure of learning and discovery not about the pandemic and its ravages, but what they must learn from it.

Coupled with engaging illustrations by Niloufer Wadia, the book has been authored by Zai Whitaker, who grew up in Mumbai and currently lives and works at the Madras Crocodile Bank near Chennai, which she helped set up over 40 years ago. Over a phone call, Whitaker tells us that she has never been this happy with a book. The author of the award-winning Salim Mammoo and Me, also acknowledges that she has perhaps never written anything so quickly, in the span of seven weeks. "With every book, many strands come together. As someone working in a zoo and on several environmental projects across the country, the environmental scenario is pretty much at the back of my head. The Coronavirus is reminding us of every message that scientists had long warned us about," she says.