"Something Happened to Our Mom" is a beautifully illustrated book that manages to address a very complex topic like parental addiction, doing sowith sensitivity and clarity. While it focuses specifically on dependence of prescripted medication, its approach is broad enough to be helpful in explaining other types of addiction as well.

The text and illustrations allow children to understand what is happening in their family without feeling guilty or alone, and the additional resources included are extremely valuable for guiding caregivers in answering children’s questions in an age-appropriate and thoughtful way.

Since its publication, this book has become an essential on my shelf. I wholeheartedly recommend it to caregivers and families facing these challenges, as it provides a much-needed bridge for communication and support.

“Something Happened to Our Mom” is a sensitively written exploration of one family’s experience with addiction. Claire’s mom becomes addicted to pain medication after an accident. Her mom behaves strangely and, after a call to 911 because Mom won’t wake up, Aunt Sarah returns to help the family and get Mom into an addiction recovery program. Claire and her little brother Emmett go to a kids’ program and find that they know some of the kids there. Soon, life is improving even if there are bumps in the road.

The story offers insight into addiction and the effect on a family without overburdening kids. An extensive Note to Caregivers and Educators explains addiction, how the opioid crisis took hold, and the impact of addiction on children. I particularly appreciated the section “Challenge Stigma and Misinformation.” It offers specific ways to discuss addiction that affirms the humanity of someone who is suffering from addiction and redirects people into a more healthy conversation.

This book is great for kids who might know someone who struggles with addiction. It would also be great to have in schools where addiction levels are high in the community as it might help kids understand the bigger picture. There are many places that open opportunities for discussion, so this book should be read with an adult.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Magination Press, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really love that more books are being written for kids about addiction. I think the hardest thing kids have to deal with is having to take care of them or their siblings, yet blaming themselves for how their parents got in this situation. It's a hard topic for them to understand so this book can definitely help with that. My only criticism is that I wish it was a little longer.

Thank you to Netgalley, Ann Hazzard, Marianne Celano, Marietta Collins, and Magination Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher, American Psychological Association, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tenderly written story of a family coping with opioid addiction. Claire's mom was injured in a car accident and continuing to use the pain pills was her coping mechanism. Readers see how Claire and her younger brother, Emmett were affected by this. We also see their mom reach a crisis point and get the help she needed. Fortunately, they had a supportive aunt who cared for them while their mom healed. I appreciate the powerful middle of the night scene when Claire's mom chooses to get rid of the pills rather than take them. Hazzard emphasizes the breadth of addiction types and how many families are affected. The message that children are not to blame comes through as well.
The informative text at the end is well worth studying as adults.

Claire’s life turns upside down when her mom is in a car accident.
Although Mom’s body gradually heals, she doesn’t seem like herself. Sometimes she doesn’t go to work, and Claire has to take care of her younger brother, Emmett, more and more.
This is a story how to cope with hard situations in our family.

While we never want our students to go through something difficult or traumatic, it is our duty to ensure that they are prepared as best as I they can be and to support them through their feelings. "Something Happened to Our Mom" shows the story of a family who must grapple with their mother's addiction and the ups and downs that come with her seeking treatment. I think this is an important book to share with children of all ages who may need extra support in dealing with issues of addiction and change.

This book may be what some children need to understand what is going on at home. Good resources for school counselors and social workers to work with elementary aged students. Extensive information at the end supports adults using the text as well. The book is written by the American Psychological Association giving more credibility to this text and the support it can provide.

The problems that too many children are having because a parent has become dependent on prescription drugs and how that has affected the entire family are very clearly addressed here in the form of a story. At the end there are several pages directed to caregivers and educators by this group of caring professionals. Excellent starting point and resource.
The illustrations by Rita Tan are meaningful in representing the different feelings the children are having. Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age, including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room, or your local public library!
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital Galley on Thorium PDF from Magination Press — American Psychological Association via NetGalley. Pub Date Oct 07, 2025 *****review
#SomethingHappenedtoOurMom by @hazzard_ann with @mpcelano and @mhcollins1913 and @ritarainbowstudio @maginationpress @americanpsychologicalassoc @apa_org #netgalley
#parentaladdiction #rxmedaddiction #familysecrets #guiltfeelings #angerissues #substanceabuse #12steps @childrensbookcouncil @goodreads #picturebookart #kidlit #picturebook #illustration #childrensbooks #imagination #bookbub #fears

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review—a picture book for kids whose parents are going through a rough patch with addiction.

This book has great photos. It would be a very beneficial book for children with addicted parents to understand. However, as a former preschool teacher; the language and directness in this story is well above even an advanced reader in 6th grade. The complexity to this story would go right over any kids head and fill them with so many questions. It seemed far stretched how blunt the mom was to her children. I think the concept is needed but the storyline itself was no where near kids level.

This is a very intense book about a child whose mother has substance use disorder. I would strongly recommend reading the entire book before reading to a child, as it may not relate to that child or may not be the exact scenario.

As someone who grew up with an alcoholic parent I felt like I absolutely had to take a look at this book. The can definitely recognize and relate the experiences and can totally see where the author(s) intentions were, but I think unfortunately this book misses the mark a bit. the language is very stilted and clinical for a picture book age audience. There are good messages, like that it is not the kids fault, but it is just the presentation. The words don't have any flow to the them and while the illustrations are beautiful, if still reads very much to me as an informational adult style language. Often children of addicts are parentified as the older girl in the book is, and just because they are forced into that role doesn't mean that they should have to read about their situation in the language of adults. Metaphors and such can be a powerful tool to help kids connect to these topics and to speak at their level.
Again love the intention but I think it needs more finesse.

This will be a very important book in my classroom. Addiction in families is increasingly prevalent in my school. Finding short and relatable books has been a struggle until now.

For children with parents who are dealing with addiction, this book is an insightful look at how these things can happen and how it is not the child's fault, nor their responsibility to "fix it". The back matter is filled with information on what to do and organizations to reach out to, giving families and schools resources to help this vulnerable population.

This is a good, informative picture book for kids. Both children whose family members suffer from addiction and those who do not experience that can learn something from this story. I do think that the writing style is a bit "to the point," which may be unappealing to younger children and somewhat jarring to all readers. The tone is also quite melancholic, which makes sense given its subject matter; however, I believe this story could be told in a gentler manner, without taking away from the gravity of it. Overall, it is important for children to be aware of such issues, and I think this book does a fine job of informing children about addiction.

First, thanks to the author for bringing such a difficult subject to young children.

This powerful book tackles a difficult subject, told with empathy and compassion. The artwork is beautiful and does a good job showing addiction from a child's eyes without getting too in-depth or graphic. Its a fantastic resource to explain and discuss addiction to young children, providing gentle child-appropriate explanations.. It also addresses the emotion of guilt and blame, and how challenging is to stop addiction. I would have liked to see more interaction between mother and daughter, perhaps a conversation about how they feel and how they can help each other. At such a young age, children confuse situations and emotions. It’s important to let them know how an addict feels and the consequences.

Thank you so much to Magination Press and Netgalley for the ebook to read a review.

After their mom gets hurt she starts taking pills and can’t stop. The children’s lives change and become worse until their aunty comes to help them and their mom starts to get help for her addiction. Soon their lives are starting to come back together again.

This was powerful, emotional and so important. Addiction is a big thing that can happen to anyone at anytime, for any reason. I loved how the story tells this delicate difficult issue but tells it in a simple and beautiful way.

The children’s lives had changed so much it became a roller coaster for them, from when things first started to the girl becoming a carer at such a young age, having to figure out all the grown up jobs, then having to readjust with all the new things coming into her life.

I really appreciated how it was told, how it was handled and explained for a young audience. I loved that it showed a new friendship group, with the children joining a therapy group, seeing children they didn’t expect to have difficulties in their lives. The book had really sweet illustrations throughout which were great to look at, it also had lots of additional information provided which is such a great resource.

A delicate but honest portrayal of children living in the shadows of a parent's addiction struggles. When her mother becomes dependent on pain pills after a car accident, our young protagonist and her younger brother struggle to take care of themselves. When their mother accidentally overdoses and (thankfully) comes home from the hospital, she finally opens up and explains how she is recovering from addiction.

With a lot of help from new-found friends in a children's support group, they learn how to better understand the complexities of addiction and recovery -- and most of all, how they're not to blame. Their mother is home and taking things one day at at time; while, like addiction itself, it's not a 100% happily ever after, it's a beautifully hopeful (and realistic!) ending. The back pages are also incredibly detailed and informative with stats, tips on starting dialogues with children about addiction, and helpful resources as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book carries a powerful message with deep empathy, accompanied by calm and gentle illustrations. I could barely hold back my tears—even though I haven’t personally experienced addiction within my family or close circle. Maybe it was simply a different time when access to drugs wasn’t as widespread as it is today.

Who knows how life could have turned out... and I can only hope my children will never feel desperate enough to step into that cycle. But what truly stands out in this book is the reminder that addiction doesn’t only happen to “bad” people—everyone has their own story. A heartbreaking but necessary read.

This was an informative book for children about a very serious topic. I think it was pretty wordy but I imagine that for the right child, it provides just the right amount of information and story to be helpful.