[ti:More Children’s Books Dealing with Violent Events Like Shootings] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]This school year, some students in the United States [00:05.20]have bigger worries than completing all of their homework. [00:11.28]Demand has been growing for children's books [00:15.48]that deal with traumatic events such as school shootings. [00:21.24]Sales of books for young readers on violence, grief, [00:26.92]and difficult emotions have increased for nine straight years. [00:33.48]Nearly six million copies of such books were sold in 2021. [00:41.04]That is more than double the amount sold in 2012. [00:46.28]Those numbers come from NPD Book Scan, [00:50.56]which examines U.S. sales of printed books. [00:56.04]Officials say mental health issues [00:58.88]such as anxiety and depression [01:01.96]have risen sharply among young Americans. [01:06.00]Educators and other supporters [01:09.36]say children's books can play a part [01:13.20]in helping young people deal with such issues. [01:17.12]Kristine Enderle is editorial director at Magination Press, [01:23.52]the children's publishing division [01:25.92]of the American Psychology Association. [01:29.60]She said it may seem like "second nature" [01:33.68]to try to protect children from tragic news events. [01:38.40]But it's "proving difficult [01:41.00]to avoid big society issues," Enderle said. [01:45.96]"Kids face these issues and challenges [01:49.56]in their day-to-day life," she added. [01:53.92]The book I'm Not Scared...I'm Prepared [01:57.44]was first published in 2014. [02:00.92]In the story, a teacher shows children what to do [02:05.28]when a "dangerous someone" is in their school. [02:09.40]The book was reprinted several times to meet demand [02:14.92]after the mass shooting [02:17.20]at an elementary school in Texas earlier this year. [02:22.72]Barnes & Noble is a nationwide bookseller. [02:26.12]It said that bookstores around the country [02:30.00]see interest in some books rise and fall [02:33.72]depending on local and national events. [02:37.36]Some newer books deal directly with real-world gun violence. [02:43.92]Michele Gay's 7-year-old daughter Josephine [02:48.28]was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. [02:55.08]Gay turned to children's books [02:57.64]to help her two surviving daughters. [03:01.04]One picture book she read to them was The Ant Hill Disaster. [03:06.64]The story tells about an ant [03:10.04]that is afraid of going back to school after it is destroyed. [03:16.64]Gay, who co-founded the nonprofit group Safe and Sound Schools, [03:22.92]said The Ant Hill Disaster and other books [03:26.88]were a source of comfort for her two daughters. [03:31.60]Experts say parents should make sure [03:34.52]that books dealing with trauma [03:36.96]have the support of mental health professionals. [03:41.28]Aryeh Sova is a Chicago-based psychologist. [03:45.80]He is working with children who attended the July 4 parade [03:51.20]outside of Chicago where seven people were killed in a mass shooting. [03:57.44]He said that a child who asks many questions about a traumatic event [04:04.16]may be feeling anxious or thinking a lot about it. [04:08.76]"If it's coming from the kid's need, then books could be a great way [04:14.12]for kids to learn and to read together with their parents [04:18.84]and to review it on their own and to process it at their own speed..." Sova said. [04:26.20]But bringing up violence when a child is not worried about it [04:31.44]could increase their anxiety unnecessarily, Sova added. [04:37.88]In her graphic novel Numb to This, writer Kindra Neely [04:43.44]describes the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon, [04:50.08]which she survived. [04:52.72]She also describes her efforts to heal after the event, [04:57.60]even as mass shootings continued to happen around the country. [05:03.88]Little, Brown Books for Young Readers published Neely's book. [05:08.64]Andrea Colvin is the publishing company's editorial director. [05:13.68]She said that, at first, she was shocked [05:18.04]when Neely suggested the book idea. [05:22.00]"I had to remember that, yes [05:25.24]this is what our stories are like now," Colvin said. [05:30.00]"This is what young people have experienced." [05:33.96]I'm Ashley Thompson. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM