Something Happened in Our Town

Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP and Marietta Collins, PhD and Ann Hazzard, PhD June 9, 2020 4:19 pm

A Black man is shot by a policeman, and Emma and Josh have questions.

Emma asks her mom, “Why did the police shoot that man?” Josh asks his mom, “Can police go to jail?”

Both families, one Black and one White, talk about the shooting, about the history of racial injustice in the United States, and about how they can help break the pattern of racism.

Hear authors, Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP, read their book Something Happened in Our Town, aloud.

For resources about how to read the book aloud with kids, click here.

For a list of books and resources, click here.

by Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP

This Article's Author

Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP worked together for over two decades as Emory University School of Medicine faculty members, serving children and families in Atlanta. All three psychologists have been involved in community advocacy efforts focused on children’s behavioral health and social justice. Dr. Celano and Dr. Hazzard have developed and utilized therapeutic stories in individual and group therapy with children and teens. They all live in the Atlanta, GA area.

by Marietta Collins, PhD

This Article's Author

by Ann Hazzard, PhD

This Article's Author

Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP, is a co-author of Something Happened in Our Town and Something Happened in Our Park. As a psychologist, she has utilized therapeutic stories in treatment with children and teens. As a community advocate, she has focused on children's behavioral health and social justice.

Related Books from Magination Press

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

Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP

Emma and Josh heard that something happened in their town. A Black man was shot by the police.

“Why did the police shoot that man?”

“Can police go to jail?”

Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one White, one Black — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children’s questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives.

Includes an extensive Note to Parents and Caregivers with guidelines for discussing race and racism with children, child-friendly definitions, and sample dialogues.

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