Just an idea: Have you contacted the publishers? Given the current situation, they might be open to helping provide digital copies. Not sure whether publishers are "essential" in NYC right now; I know the educational company I work for (Seattle area) has shut its offices temporarily.
Also, just saying: this is one of those times when teachers really need to be flexible about book or topic choices, to understand that not everything they want or believe is in the cloud library is available right now, free with multiple copies, in the format they want it. (We school librarians, and public librarians who see the kids after school with impossible requirements in their assignments, know what I mean.) Before planning a unit, teachers need to consult with their librarians to examine online catalogs, see what's available digitally for multiple users, and craft lessons around what there is, not what they wish were there or what's sitting back in the book room in school. Maybe expanding "child soldiers" into "recent child experiences in wartime," focusing on primary sources if possible. Including audiobooks as an option.
I'm not criticizing teachers, I would not want to be putting lessons together in current circumstances and I admire what they are doing, but when it comes to 100ish kids having access to the same book(s) that may not be available digitally, the reality of including the librarian in collaborative unit planning hits home.
Cathy Andronik