If there ever was a book that I wish didn’t have to exist, this is one of them. But I’m so grateful that it does. This book is written for 4-8 years old and is an excellent guide to discussing racial injustice with children. The story follows two families, one Black and one White, as they process and discuss the news of a Black man shot by police.
Important note: I have struggled for months with how to write this incredibly necessary post. As a White woman, I approach the discussion of racial justice very cautiously – fully aware that I am not an expert, I am going to make many mistakes talking about it, and I am in a perpetual state of unlearning racial bias that comes with being raised an American. I prefer to listen and learn. Even in starting this post I spent a lot of time agonizing over whether I am supposed to capitalize “White.” (I would have normally said no, but the authors of this picture book and this article gave me some help in a complicated topic. I will proceed with capitalization to follow the authors’ lead in this book.) I am going to be careful with my words, but I am also approaching this as I do any picture book: looking for excellence & beauty, and sharing wonderful books. As a White woman who loves picture books, as a mother navigating important conversations about awful events, and as a human being trying to learn and break historical patterns—this book is a must.
Come learn with me through Something Happened in Our Town by Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, & Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP; illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin, 2018.
Continue reading “Review: Something Happened In Our Town By Celano, Collins, Hazzard, & Zivoin”
