The Star Ledger • Sunday, August 25, 2002

Here are some resources to help you help your children deal with the anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001:

-- Project Phoenix New Jersey, a state-funded project managed by the Association of Mental Health in New Jersey. The project provides free crisis counseling for adults and children, information, training for teachers and mental health professionals, and referrals to county mental health agencies. Its phone line is staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 1-(800) 294-HELP (4327), or visit its Web site at www.projectphoenixnj.com.

-- The Traumatic Loss Coalitions for Youth at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey hosts a Web site with information for parents about coping with the anniversary, available during the last week in August, at http://ubhc.umdnj.edu.

-- The Families and Work Institute in New York has launched an extensive curricula for teaching and talking about the tragedy -- 9/11 As History -- at www.911AsHistory.org. It includes a parents' guide compiled by New Jersey psychotherapist Maureen Underwood, as well as a section for students to contribute their thoughts and impressions of the anniversary.

-- The National Education Association plans to launch its 9/11 Web site tomorrow. It will include 100 suggested lesson plans, as well as information for parents and suggested family acitvities. "September 11th Remembered" can be found at www.nea.org.

-- The National Center for Children Exposed to Violence, at the Yale University Child Study Center, offers tips for parents about how to talk about 9/11, on its Web site at www.nccev.org.

-- Scholastic.com, the Web site of the educational publisher, will launch a new section, "9/11/2001: The Day That Changed America," on Thursday. The section is to include a special news report for kids, a parents' guide, and a teachers' guide.

There are several new books for parents, including:

-- "Living With the Boogeyman: Helping Your Child Cope with Fear, Terrorism and Living in a World of Uncertainty" ($14.95, Prima), by psychologist Richard Bromfield. The author, on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, provides hands-on practical advice while being sensitive to parents and children.

-- "The Secure Child" ($20, Perseus), by prominent child psychiatrist Stanley I. Greenspan, has a more scientific approach, couching advice in the context of stages of child development. While it does not directly address 9/11, it gives parents tools to instill feelings of safety, security and sense of self that helps children -- and adults -- cope with adversity, including terrorist attacks.

There are many new books for children, too.

Mental-health experts advise parents to read the books and determine if they are appropriate for their children. Some include explicit illustrations or characters who lose their lives in the attacks. Some titles are:

-- "The Mouse Family's Most Terrible, Terrifying Day: Helping Children Cope with Terrorism Fears" (New Horizon Press, 12.95), by school psychologist and publisher Joan S. Dunphy of Far Hills. For ages 6 to 9. This allegory uses the Mouse family to explore what happened on Sept. 11. The family loses Uncle Joel, who dies in the attack, and the parents of second grader Malachy Mouse try to him cope with his emotions.

-- "Fireboat: The Adventures of the John J. Harvey"(Putnam, $16.99), by Maira Kalman. For ages 5 and up. The book tells the inspiring true story of an out-of-commission fireboat that's puchased and renovated by a group of New York artists. The John J. Harvey was called back into service Sept. 11 to help battle the blaze at the World Trade Center. The book contains several graphic illustrations of the planes headed to the towers and the ensuing explosion.

-- "Understanding September 11th: Answering Questions About the Attacks on America" ($8.99, Viking), by Mitch Frank. For ages 12 and up. Frank, a reporter for Time magazine who covered the attacks, provides information in a question-and-answer format, covering simple questions like "Why attack the Twin Towers and the Pentagon?" to providing a global and political context to the tragedy by providing insights into U.S. foreign policy, Islam and the Mideast conflicts.

-- Peggy O'Crowley