Comforting Kids in the Face of Tragedy
Comforting Kids in the Face of Tragedy
Helping Young People Deal with News of Violence
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
The following links offer helpful strategies from well-respected national organizations and leaders, including the expert on childhood feelings, Mr. Rogers.
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
Fourth-Seventh Grade
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
Second and Third Grade
Fourth-Seventh Grade
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
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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. |
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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
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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
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Corduroy by Don Freeman | Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg | Cinderella by Kinuko Craft |
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King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood | Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey | Strega Nona by Tomie De Paola |
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The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney | Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman | Anansi and the Moss-Covered Rock by Eric A. Kimmel |
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Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever by Richard Scarry |
Second and Third Grade
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The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary | Junie B. Jones By Barbara Park | Babymouse by Jennifer L. Holm |
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Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater | Geronimo Stilton by Geronimo Stilton | Sugar Plum Ballerinas by Whoopi Goldberg |
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Stuart Little by E.B. White | Lucy Rose: Here’s the Thing About Me by Katy Kelly |
Fourth-Seventh Grade
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The Borrowers by Mary Norton | The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis | Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling |
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Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis | The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster | Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan |
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick | The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake | The Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor |
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A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle |