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I love that Fred Rogers quote,“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

I am a highly sensitive parent raising three highly sensitive children.

We have learned to limit our children’s exposure to news media. They are still young and the news contains messages that their emotions cannot yet process. It’s simply too much sometimes.

And yet, some news is impossible to avoid.

Explaining tragedy to children is challenging. There is a balance between providing developmentally appropriate information and helping children to feel safe and in control of their world.

I’ve learned that high-quality picture books can help.

Recently, our family had the chance to check out a heartwarming book by Holly M. McGhee. It is called Come with Me. It exemplifies the Fred Rogers quote… and I think this book is a fantastic tool for talking to children about tricky topics.

‘Come with Me’ Offers Parents a Way to Talk to Kids in the Aftermath of Tragedy

‘Come with Me’ is a heartwarming story of kindness

In Come with Me, a little girl becomes scared after watching the news, which was filled with anger and hatred.

She asks her papa if there is anything she can do to make the world a better place. His response? “Come with me.”

Together, the little girl and her papa went out into the city and onto the subway. The city was filled with people from all over the world and they were kind to everyone they met.

Later, the little girl is once again frightened by the news. She asks her mama what she can do. Her response? “Come with me.”

Together, the little girl and her mama went to the grocery store. There, they saw people from all over the world. The little girl learned that one person cannot represent an entire family, race, or country.

As her family sat down to dinner that night, the little girl wonders aloud if she can do something by herself to make an impact on the world around her. She asks if she can walk the dog… alone.

Her parents decide not to live in fear and so they let the little girl walk the dog, alone.

In the hallway of her apartment building, the little girl meets a neighbor boy. He asks where she is going. Her response? “Come with me.”

Together, the little girl, her dog, and her new friend walked the city streets. They met people from around the world and they were kind to everyone. They learned that kind acts matter.

Come with Me empowers children by showing them that they can have an impact on their small patch of this earth and that small acts of kindness and love make a big difference.

‘Come with Me’ is a special, post 9/11 collaboration

Come with Me is a special collaboration between author and illustrator. Sixteen years ago, author Holly McGhee was scared and wary after the terror attacks on 9/11. McGhee found comfort from an illustration sent to her by her friend, Pascal Lemaitre, an artist from Brussels. Last year, in 2016, a terrorist attack occurred in Lemaitre’s city. United by tragedy, McGhee and Lemaitre decided to band together to create a work of kindness and optimism.

I am thankful to have this book in our collection. If you have a sensitive kiddo, you’re going to want to add this one to your library tote!

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Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley

Cait is a school psychologist, mom to three amazing children, and an unexpected homeschooler. She loves nature, good books, board games, strong coffee, and dancing in her kitchen. Cait believes homeschooling *can* be almost all fun and games!

Cait co-hosts The Homeschool Sisters Podcast and is co-founder of Raising Poppies, a community for parents of gifted and twice-exceptional children. Cait is also founder of the Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a fantastic community of book-loving parents and the Gameschool Community at My Little Poppies, a vibrant community of gameschoolers.

Cait is a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool. Her work has also appeared on The Huffington Post, The Mighty, Scary Mommy, GeekMom, and many others. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram
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