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Parents' Guide to

Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice

By Carrie Kingsley, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 4+

Powerful story helps guide talk of bias, shootings.

Book Marianne Celano , Marietta Collins , Ann Hazzard History 2018
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child's Story About Racial Injustice Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

IgnisFatuus
IgnisFatuus Parent of 2 and 5-year-old
June 11, 2021
age 7+

A difficult topic handled gracefully

Please ignore the one-star reviews from the angry, defensive blowhards; they're not an accurate assessment of the book, at all. We watched a Youtube video of this book, since they didn't have it at our local library and I didn't necessarily want to buy it. It's a difficult and necessary subject that kids need to know, and the book serves as a sort of parents' starting point to talking about racial injustice in America. I say "starting point" because objectively, it still has problems--namely, the language of the book simplifies systemic racism into more personal bias--it is described as a pattern of "being nice to white people and mean to Black people." Which, I mean, that simplification is necessary when writing a book directed at children, but adults should be aware of the shortcomings of this (understandable) simplification, and be ready to correct/clarify/expand.
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What's the Story?

SOMETHING HAPPENED IN OUR TOWN follows two families, one Black and one White, in the aftermath of police shooting a Black man in their community. The families' discussions, questions, and answers focus on how children process traumatic events, and aims to help children identify and counter racial bias. At the end of the story are guidelines for discussing race and racism, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues for parents and caregivers.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

The simple, direct language the authors use in the story and the appendix of resources makes this a phenomenally good resource for families to talk about racial bias. Something Happened in Our Town offers a gentle, age-appropriate account of a troubling, all-too-real situation kids may hear about in their community or on the news. Clear language about the police killing of a Black man provides the terminology, discussion questions, and children's perspective on the impact of racial bias. The clarity of ideas and the emphasis on growth and responsibility, coupled with the tools to start and continue important discussions, make this book an essential read.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about racial bias they've seen in their school or community that is similar to that discussed in Something Happened in Our Town. What have you seen, and how did you feel when it happened? What made those events memorable for you?

  • Do you think jokes about skin color are funny? Why or why not?

  • How can something you say hurt another kid's feelings?

Book Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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