Comforting Kids in the Face of Tragedy

It can be difficult to know how to help children process news they hear and see about random acts of violence. How do we help them feel safe? How much should we tell them? 

We offer you a list of Web and book resources -- compiled by Youth Collections Coordinator Wendy Lukehart -- to help guide children through what can be a scary and uncertain time for young minds. From tips and ideas for adults in starting the difficult conversations about violence, to children's books that kids can explore together with adults or on their own, to books that simply can provide comfort, there are many ways that you can help return children's lives to a sense of normalcy.

How Adults Can Find the Right Words and Manage Fears
Books to Use With Children
After the Questions ... Back to Childhood

How Adults Can Find the Right Words and Manage Fears

The following links offer helpful strategies from well-respected national organizations and leaders, including the expert on childhood feelings, Mr. Rogers. 

• Fred Rogers Talks about Tragic Events in the News -- The Fred Rogers Company offers tips and advice from Mr. Rogers himself, on how to help kids with confusing images, helping children feel secure, how to talk and listen, and more.
• Educators for Social Responsibility: Understanding World Events -- Educators started ESR in the 1980s to help teach students about the nuclear arms race and have since become a touchstone for teachers in educating children in times of crisis. In wake of the Newtown, Conn., shooting, ESR shares some helpful links for adults on engaging in conversations with children.
• National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Talking to Children About the Shooting -- Resources on talking to kids about catastrophic mass violence, a psychological first aid field guide, and information on traumatic grief, among others.
• Growing Up Brave: Expert Strategies for Helping Your Child Overcome Fear, Stress and Anxiety by Donna Pincus

Books to Use With Children

Oftentimes, books that are written to children can be most helpful in addressing their questions of "why" and offering comfort. All of the following books can be found at your local DC Public Library.
Preschool-Third Grade | Fourth-Seventh Grade


Preschool-Third Grade

When I Feel Scared by Cornelia Spelman	Sometimes Bad Things Happen by Ellen B. Jackson	On That Day: A Book of Hope for Children by Andrea Patel This book was published after 9/11, but is still quite useful.
Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep by Joyce Dunbar	You Hold Me and I’ll Hold You by Jo Carson	This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort by Georgia Heard

Fourth-Seventh Grade

Bad Stuff in the News: A Guide to Handling the Headlines by Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman	When a Friend Dies: A Book for Teens about Grieving and Healing by Marilyn E. Gootman	What Have You Lost? by Naomi Shihab Nye

After the Questions ... Back to Childhood

After their questions have been addressed, it is quite possible that children who are not in the immediate vicinity of the violence will want life to return to “normal.” They may want to snuggle with a parent and a familiar book, one that feels like an old friend. Your child may prefer adventure, fairy tales, humor or books on “how things work.” Older children may find comfort in fantasy, where good triumphs over evil.

Here is a sampling of suggestions. For more ideas for your child, please talk to one of our children’s librarians or visit our children’s pages.
Pre-School to First Grade | Second and Third Grade | Fourth-Seventh Grade


Pre-School to First Grade

Corduroy by Don Freeman	Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg	Cinderella by Kinuko Craft
King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood	Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey	Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola
The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney	Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman	Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel
Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever by Richard Scarry

Second and Third Grade

The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary	Junie B. Jones By Barbara Park	Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater	Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton	Sugar Plum Ballerinas by Whoopi Goldberg
Stuart Little by E.B. White	Lucy Rose: Here’s the Thing About Me by Katy Kelly

Fourth-Seventh Grade

The Borrowers by Mary Norton	The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis	Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis	The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster	Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick	The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake	The Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle