Something Bad Happened: A Kid's Guide to Coping With Events in the News

by Dawn Huebner

When we learn about something bad - even when we hear only bits and pieces of it - our brains get busy trying to make sense of what we've heard. Seeing distressing events on the news, or hearing about them later, can feel scary and overwhelming. Talking about what happened, and how we feel about it, is hugely important.

Something Bad Happened guides children aged 6 to 12 and the adults who care about them through tough conversations about news of large-scale events, addressing questions such as: "Where did it happen?" "Why did it happen?" And, "Will it happen again?" Feelings like sadness, fear and confusion are normalized, and coping tools provided.

For children and parents to read together, or by a child with a parent nearby, this helpful resource by a child psychologist best-selling author provides comfort, support and action plans for children learning about the big bad things happening in our world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle Grade

80 pages, Paperback

Published September 19, 2019

About the author

Dawn Huebner, PhD, is a Clinical Psychologist and Parent Coach specializing in childhood anxiety. She is the author of 20 books for children (and one for therapists), including bestsellers What to Do When You Worry Too Much and Outsmarting Worry.

Dr. Huebner recognized the need for lively, easy-to-read take-home materials to help children practice the strategies they were learning in her office. She created a format effective for 6-12-year olds – the What to Do Guides for Kids - teaching complex psychological concepts using metaphors, language, and humor easily understood by children. Subsequent books maintain her distinctive voice while adding a layer of detail and sophistication appreciated by older children and teens.

All of Dr. Huebner’s books echo her philosophy - that children can and should be taught to help themselves, and that they are capable of overcoming even stuck-seeming challenges.
Dr. Huebner’s books sell briskly around the world, and have been translated into 23 languages. She has been featured on the TODAY Show, CNN.com, WebMD and many other news and information outlets, and is frequently interviewed by popular parenting magazines. Dr. Huebner’s TEDx talk on Rethinking Anxiety has been viewed over a million times.

Dr. Huebner enjoys hearing from readers. She is always at work on her next book...

Reviews

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a very well structured and useful book. I think it makes most sense to use with children who are already quite anxious and/or children who ask questions about bad things that happen, or who live in a place where bad things happen regularly.

It’s written in such a way that children could read it on their own or read it together with an adult. There are things to ponder and exercises to complete, to help understand what’s happened, why it happened, how one and the people around oneself feel about what happened and what to do about it.

I would recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rhiannon Langley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book full of useful advice and activities to support children to process their thoughts and feelings relating to world events. The generic nature of the book means it can be easily adapted to any set of circumstances and I particularly liked the calming tone in which the book was written. I would recommend this book to all parents and teachers.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an electronic ARC from Jessica Kingsley Publishers through NetGalley.
How do you help children cope after traumatic events? Huebner has written a book for parents to read with children 6 - 12 years old. It's deliberately generic so readers can use it in various situations.
Adults need to read the opening chapter offering tips and guidance for helping kids move through the emotional responses to such events. I appreciate her emphasis that this is not a book for children and families who have been directly involved in traumatic events. Rather, it's a guide to open dialogue and discussion.
The rest of the book is broken into ten chapters for children to read. Huebner takes readers through steps to cope with the aftermath of "bad events." Through short statements and engaging activities, families can process their emotions and responses and move to actions to relieve stress and fears.
The print is small but written in short paragraphs. Kids could read on their own with an adult nearby or read together with the adult in their lives.

[Aimee Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the whole idea of this book, as a mum to two young children and the state our world is in, i thought great something I can use to help explain when questions get asked. I loved the ideas of reading the book together but I feel like there wasn't much for the child to grasp on to apart from some mindfulness meditation.. I will definitely give it a try though with my eldest (aged 9) hears anything on the news and asks questions.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

When bad, sad, or scary things happen in the news, kids are aware. Adults attempting to hide it not only doesn't work--but allows rumors and worries to fester. This book is a general guide for young people, and their parents, in navigating the big emotions that arise when negative news events occur.

Well-written and necessary, this is a book that belongs in classrooms and school and public libraries. It speaks to kids and parents in age-appropriate ways but never talks down to them.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is written for children to be read with or near a trusted adult.

I feel like its a good start to open the topic of how to talk about bad things that are happening but I feel like its very much just an introduction.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! I can wholeheartedly say that I will be recommending this book to parents and kids I minister to. It is an amazing book with lots of practical tips and understandable for kids to read.

[OjoAusana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its sad we need books like this but the way this book is set up, it can help for such a vast array of. "Bad things". This is a must-own book for parents for sure.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to have on my psych bookshelf to help students navigate through big events in the news.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

A very thoughtful book to help kids - and parents - discuss something bad or scary that might have happened in the news. It's designed to be very flexible, so you can use it for whatever purpose you need, whether that's a natural catastrophe, a community problem or anything else.

It gives good guidelines for parents (and kids) how to best use it, explains that sometimes people say things that aren't true or share details you don't need, and that even the news gets it wrong sometimes. (These are good points for grownups to remember too.) And then it goes on to explain that when something bad happens, good people from around the world join together to help make it better and stop it happening again... and there might be a way you can help.

The part I liked the most was where it explained about risk and the likelihood of something you heard about actually happening to you. Again, this is something grownups need to remember too.

The only reason I took off 1/2 star is because the "fill in the blanks/draw a picture" parts mean this is essentially a single-use book if you use it as instructed, though obviously parents can use it to start conversations over and over. You can even use it to explain why they shouldn't be trying to watch the TV programs you're watching when they should be in bed!

One caveat from the ARC: the Kindle version I had suffered from some formatting issues, but I'm sure those will be corrected in the main copy.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

[Cat]

It's a shame we even need a book like this, but it's very lucky we do. I think this will help parents, teachers, anyone who works with or lives with children 6-12, help children deal with the scary things that are going on in the world today. It's hard to protect even the youngest children from hearing frightening news about wars, murders, abductions, etc... This book will help ease the discussion and calm frightened kids. When my generation was that age we were far more protected by our parents, teachers, and other adults. Whenever they were talking about something that wasn't meant for young ears, they clammed up. Not so much when we had our own kids. We talked about everything with the kids RIGHT THERE WITHIN EAR SHOT. But for the most part, we didn't have school shootings, 911, suicide bombers, etc... This book would make a great gift for any adult who has or works with children. It can smooth the discussions and calm the fears.
I received a Kindle arc from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always difficult to decide how much or what to say to children in your life when something unsettling happens in the world. Sometimes the event is on such a scale that you cannot shield your 6-12 year olds from it, and they will hear about it at school or among peers even if you decide not to discuss it. This book is a good resource for parents to use when their children begin to question events that happen in the world. It is one to keep on hand for just such an occasion.

[LenaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is nice resource for how to navigate the conversations when something bad does happen. It is written for all ages and I could see this being useful to many who work with children. This is would be a title that could be used by social workers with groups, by teachers with students, by clubs supporting students, and the list could go on. Parnets will find the information useful also. I will be adding this to my collection.

I was provided an advance copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book means well. It is a good concept too. I remember how hard it was to explain the attacks on 9/11, when my daughter was in elementary school. It was scary, and it was hard to explain.

So the thought of a good that might have helped that situation, sounded like a fabulous idea.

And while the book does address being scared, the whys and wherefores, and it addressing feeling helpless, it does so in a clinical way.



We learn what addreneline is and fight or flight.

We learn to know when something is near or far away.

And we learn about likelihood, how likely something could happen to you.

But in all of this, I didn't feel there was anything that kids could latch on to, other than mindful meditation,.

I do like that the book recommends being an activist and find somethings you can do around the house and its world.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[RedRobinXXX · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am reviewing this book for Dawn Huebner, Children's Nonfiction, and NetGalley who gave me a copy of their book for an honest review.
It wasn't quite what I expected. I thought there'd be more about what to do / how to explain awful world events to kids but it just didn't seem to tick the boxes for me.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an educator in the public school system and a Life Coach for people with Asperger’s Syndrome, I cannot say enough good things about this book. Although it is geared towards children, and to be read with an adult or with an adult present, I found it was helpful for me as an adult as well. The book is written in child friendly language, which can be difficult to come by, especially when dealing with a tragedy.

This book will be useful to educators and parents or anyone who needs to explain a difficult event to a child. I know I am challenged every day to answer questions of my students in a way that does not minimize the event, but that makes it easier for them to understand.

Many times our school gives us materials to use to discuss a tragedy with our class when it happens, but I find them inadequate so do not use them. This book, however, is the perfect tool to lead a class discussion. I found the suggested activities to be useful as well and a great springboard to further discussions (if necessary).

This is a go to book that can be used over and over to generate discussions and to use as a reminder to children that despite the bad thing that happened, they are safe. The illustrations are wonderful and a perfect companion to the words on the page.

I LOVE this book and will recommend it my colleagues and purchase it for my class.

My only advice would be to add something at the beginning to qualify the author. When I first started reading I wanted to know more about the author and why I should trust his/her opinion/advice.

[Victoria Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting idea, offering adults with responsibility for children ways in to discussing some of the more difficult and upsetting issues that are raised in the media today. Tackled in more general terms, Huebner attempts to provide adults with a rough script to help them tackle a range of different news stories that children are likely to encounter - the 'script' (I term it this loosely) is easy to adapt to suit your children's needs and understanding of the world without scaring them. Huebner encourages discussion as a tool for exploring the aspects that children are likely to find scary and most worrying. A little patronising in places, but adaptable and useful in a Primary classroom context.

[Amanda Osenga · Rating 5 out of 5]

It breaks my heart to think about how often this book is needed. We live in such an uncertain world and this is an absolute gem of a resource for parents. It’s written in a way that will help children, and adults, process and find comfort through whatever bad thing happened. I have a teaching and curriculum development background and this is a high-quality, well thought out and thorough resource. Parents, teachers, counselors, children's pastors, and more could use this book. It will help open dialogue and provide processing and healing. I was given the chance to review a digital Advanced Reader Copy through NetGalley to share my honest opinions with you.