On the News by Jillian Roberts is a picture book that I would included in elementary classrooms to help facilitate the conversation about what we see on the news and how to talk about it. I'm not sure if I would encourage this text to be read aloud or instead be used within small groups.

A really great resource for caregivers, especially in the current climate of things. I like how the dialogue was handled. Suitable for a variety of ages.

Though this book aims to teach adults and children how to dissect and talk about tragic events (whether natural, man-made or terrorist), it really is a superfluous book - one can turn on TV and simply tell the kid how or what or why far better than buying this book.

On the News: Our First Talk About Tragedy is a children's non-fiction book written by Dr. Jillian Roberts and illustrated by Jane Heinrichs.

In thirty-two pages, this informative and interesting book focuses on how to introduce and inform children about the natural disasters and other tragedies. The question-and-answer format is geared towards helping parents have meaningful conversations with their children, as well as assist with dealing with tragedies shown on the news.

On the News is a quality resource for children, particularly first through third grades. It's a part of The World Around Us series.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's a unfortunate situation, But we often has serious yet confusing things on the news. Whether it be oil spills, floods, or bombings, there comes a time that we need to discuss the scary things on the news with our children. This book does a great job of explaining the different things that can be going on in the world, and what it , means to us. This book can be a great source of information for children as well as parents. I highly recommend that all parents, and teachers read this.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!

This is a great book to discuss serious matters without being too frightening or overwhelming. On the left side of each spread, there is a question asked by a child, with an answer provided on the right side. Topics covered include natural disasters and tragedies caused by people both accidentally and intentionally. It also talks about how people might feel as a result of tragedies and how to handle those feelings.
I read this with my five-year-old twins, and it was a good experience. They were both interested in the topic and the questions asked in the book fit with what they wanted to know about. It definitely does its job in starting meaningful discussions. The one thing that I wish were different is that it would have been nice if each photograph were labeled to tell what tragedy it was depicting; my son asked about EVERY picture, wanting to know where it happened and what was going on. (I read an ARC, so perhaps they will be labeled in the finished product.)

I read an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

With the exposure to troubling news this book would be a great way to open up a dialogue with children about what they are feeling and what is happening.

I love this book, but I hate that this book is needed. We live in a 24/7 news cycle world. Explaining that to kids can be hard, but Dr. Roberts is here to help. This book uses both illustrations and real pictures to point out what is being explained. In this instance, its about tragedies and disasters seen on the news. The author takes time to discuss the difference between the two, why they happen, and how people are affected. This series has been a great source of information for parents and kids, to help them understand everyday life.