Without a hint of jargon, Reiss sums up a lot of what experts have been advising on television and in the popular press. Her introductory remarks lend a sense of how acts of terrorism can affect various age groups--from infants to teens--but the text focuses on elementary and middle-graders, kids who understand the events and recognize at least some of the implications but are unable to handle their feelings and fit the facts into the context of their everyday lives. She goes on to summarize strategies (including using art and play) to help kids deal with fear and emotional overload, and she offers answers, truthful without being scary, to a number of questions kids are likely to ask: "Did this happen because I was bad?" "Are there any terrorists here?" She never pretends to know all the answers, but her commonsensical, secular approach is a good place to begin the soothing process. Stephanie Zvirin
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Aviva Bock, psychotherapist and Harvard Medical School instructor
"Compassionate, intuitive, accessible. A wonderful resource for every parent and teacher."
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