Let’s cut right to the chase. If you haven’t been keeping up with The Princess in Black series (from coauthors Shannon Hale and Dean Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham), you’re missing out on some seriously awesome storytelling.

We reviewed the first book way back when, and the series is now up to 7 books – in which our amazing princess has encountered the hungry bunny horde, had a mysterious playdate, fought a bathtime battle, and more.

Check out our conversation with Shannon and Dean Hale (from 2016) on The Great Big Beautiful Podcast here.

But now that the real world is facing one of its toughest adversaries – the Coronavirus – Princess Magnolia (and her wicked-awesome alter ego) aren’t lying down on the job.

Available to download right here (or from The Princess in Black website) is a brand-new FREE short story: The Princess in Black and the Case of the Coronavirus.

According to Shannon Hale, “LeUyen, Dean, and I are all parents self-isolating at home with our children. The anxiety and distancing is hard enough on our older kids, but we know that younger kids might be having an even harder time. We hoped that it’d help if a familiar book friend like the Princess in Black talked them through it.

“Even the Princess in Black is staying home! Even Princess Sneezewort had to cancel playdates! LeUyen had the idea of creating a short comic to download and share widely so caregivers could have an extra tool for talking to kids. Our goal is both to help kids understand what’s going on and to help them feel less alone.”