With the goal of creating an “ideal” children’s book to explain COVID-19, we reviewed scholarly articles about children’s concepts of illness and about what constitutes effective writing and illustrating for children’s books. Then, using our own rating grid, we conducted a content analysis of several children’s books about COVID-19. We considered the strengths of this existing literature as well as what elements are missing from it to then craft a picture book that effectively addresses social-emotional and cognitive aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and is inclusive, developmentally-appropriate, and child-centered.