Helping Kids Feel Safe
with Stories
the power of empathy and creative action
“School’s Out, Camp’s In!” from Day of Disaster and Doom, with thanks to the City of Tampa Department of Parks and Recreation
You can’t tell kids that nothing’s going to happen.
But you can tell children that if something bad does happen, we live in a community – you are not alone, and kind people will be working hard to help.
This story shared in English and in Spanish, walks kids through the real-life experience of the 2024 catastrophic hurricanes in Tampa Bay – and how you can help yourself feel brave, by helping the people you love feel safe.
Every year when Hurricane Season starts in Florida, children are afraid – and grownups!
It’s easy for kids to feel scared and anxious when the news is full of emergency prep and storm forecasts. And it’s easy for grownups to feel like planning for a hurricane is one more chore we don’t have time to deal with.
But of course, you never know – as two back-to-back catastrophic hurricanes proved when they hit Tampa Bay in 2024. Everybody was affected, many are still trying to recover, and the memory of what everybody thought would never happen is chilling.
But Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton barely 2 weeks later were a vivid illustration of community and caring – as neighbors, cities, businesses and nonprofits stepped up to help in thoughtful and creative ways, amid heat, humidity and no AC.
Hero Bus by Aaron Fraser
with thanks to Creative Clay St Pete
Those storms also showed how valued and vital the people working every day behind the scenes to keep our cities going truly are – emergency services teams, city sanitation workers and municipal staff from all departments, electrical crews who drove through the night, and skilled volunteer ham radio operators.
So you can’t tell kids that nothing’s going to happen. But you can tell children that if something bad does happen, we live in a community – you are not alone, and kind people will be working hard to help.
And you can play these free Sparks Creative Stories in English and in Spanish, illustrated with photos of kind people working hard to clean things up and take care of people.
Day of Disaster and Doom! How to Stay Safe When It’s Scary
¡Un Día de Desastre! Cómo Sentirse Seguro Cuando da Miedo
And you can talk about having an emergency plan, as we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. (Such a terrific song for kids!)
In this story, a plucky girl who’s got her Save The Day Kit ready for emergencies and space invasions that never happen, winds up facing a very real hurricane – and manages her own fear by helping her little brother feel safe as they evacuate, and come home to their damaged home.
It’s a story with heart and lots of humor, as her little brother’s annoying pink bear Useless Joe evacuates with them – walking children through the experience of camping out in an elementary school shelter, and dealing with a tree falling, no electricity for a week, watching repair trucks rumble by, and putting their home back together with the help of kind friends, neighbors and family.
“Recovery underway,” with thanks to the City of St Petersburg
The English version is performed by the fabulous actors Vickie Daignault and Jim Sorenson, directed by James Rayfield. The Spanish version is beautifully translated and performed by the amazing Dora Arreola.
So many thanks to writer Margo Hammond for inspiring this story, to Creative Clay for sharing storm-inspired artwork, and to visual artist Kirk Ke Wang for sharing his beautiful series of paintings inspired by hurricane forecast maps.
Many thanks to these caring organizations for sharing photos of their work as illustrations.
The City of St Petersburg FL
The City of Tampa FL
Daystar Life Center
The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art
Reach St Pete
St Pete Free Clinic
Tampa Parks and Recreation
The Woodson African American Museum of Florida
Many thanks for the much-appreciated press coverage by
Bay News 9 – Author writes children’s audiobook based on last year’s hurricanes
Creative Loafing – St. Pete publisher offers free audio books for kids in preparation for hurricane season | Sparks Creative Stories uses storytelling to comfort kids’ storm anxieties
Fox 13 Tampa Bay – St. Pete playwright writes kid’s audiobook to help navigate hurricane stress during storm season | audiobook aims to help kids with hurricane anxiety
Daytime on WFLA Channel 8 – New audiobook helps kids navigate feelings during hurricane season | Comforting stories for kids during hurricane season
