A Terrible Thing Happened

By Margaret M. Holmes

Book Overview

A Gentle Story to Help Children Talk About Difficult Feelings After a Traumatic or Confusing Event

Some experiences are hard to talk about, especially for children. A Terrible Thing Happened is a comforting picture book that helps kids make sense of big emotions after something upsetting has happened. Without naming the event, the story follows Sherman, a young raccoon who begins to feel worried, angry, and confused. With patience, comfort, and support, Sherman learns that talking about his feelings can help him start to feel better.

Thoughtfully written and illustrated by child development specialists, this book gives families, caregivers, and educators a reassuring way to open conversations about big emotions. It validates children's feelings, shows that all emotions are welcome, and reminds them they are safe, cared for, and never alone. This beautiful story helps children understand that healing begins when we share how we feel.

Key Features

Supports Emotional Processing Helps children ages 4-8 recognize and express feelings like sadness, worry, and anger after a difficult or confusing experience. Sensitive, Universal Storytelling The upsetting event is never described, so the book can be used in many different situations without adding distress. Guidance for Adults Included Features a supportive note with simple, practical suggestions to help grown-ups talk about feelings in a caring and age-appropriate way. Ideal for Emotional Learning & Healing Encourages coping skills, resilience, and emotional understanding. Perfect for home, school, or counseling settings. Trusted Publisher From Magination Press, the children's imprint of the American Psychological Association, experts in child development and well-being.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557987017
• ISBN13: 9781557987013
• Release Date: June 2020
• Publisher: Magination Press -- American Psychological As
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.51 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 8.0" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 5 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 4

Customer Reviews

Written in a language children can understand! Very helpful!

Young children who have witnessed various types of violence or suffered a trauma of any kind can be helped by this book. The book is written in language children understand, using loving animal characters that they can relate to. It shows them that there is hope if they don't lock their feelings inside, and it teaches them to find some caring person to talk to. Another reason I like this book is because it teaches adults the signs to look for in disturbed children, and what to do to help the children who need counseling. It's not only a great resource for parents, it's wonderful for professional counselors as well. Highly recommended. - Betty Dravis, August 2007

Excellent!!

Although Holme's work is in the form of a children's book, it can be used in a variety of settings for counselors. I have shared this book with my students at the university level and they have used Holmes's work in a variety of school counseling settings. It is very helpful in that it does not adhere to a specific type of trauma or violence. Excellent!

Excellent, highly recommended!

I just can't get over how wonderful this book is. It's perfectly stated so that the child reading it or being read to can understand that there are others out there that feel the same way. The information in the back of the book to parents and caregivers is superb. I'm going to purchase a copy for a few of my friends, and for my sons school. Our family and community has had two serious tragedies in three months, and this book helped my son immensely, having lost his older brother a few months ago. This book is wonderful and simply stated.

A Perfect Help for Understanding Trauma

This book is absolutely perfect for helping children who have experienced trauma understand their feelings, consciously and subconsciously. The story is straight forward about how sometimes we try to hide from the scary feelings created by trauma and how we may act out because of our trying to suppress those feelings. It also gives children an entre' into how to handle these feelings while not telling them that everything will go back to the way it was. Spectacular! Probably the best child's self-help book I've read in a long time.

Great for Teachers and Parents to Use

This is a wonderful book for teachers or parents to use with younger children. It uses a fun character to show different emotions that children have after witnessing or being a part of something that is tramatic to them. This could be their parents fighting, divorce, abuse, etc. That is what is so wonderful about this book; it does not tell what the character witnessed. As a result of this, it can apply to a number of situations. This book also helps children to realize that it helps to talk about what is bothering them. This is a must read!