One April Morning is set April 1995 in Oklahoma city. On April 19th , Oklahoma City faced a terrorist attack that killed and injured hundred of people including children. The main characters of the story are some elementary schoolers that are reflecting on the bombing. They feel anger, mourning, sadness and fear. The children consoled each other and eventually moved on from the situation.
I felt as though this story handled the concept of mourning and death in a way that was raw yet realistic to how those that are affected by it feel . Rarely do you see stories about a child's account of a disaster such as this. The story may be suitable to present on the anniversary of the bombing so children will learn that piece of history and even reflect if their family was affected. ( )

Summary:
One April Morning is a picture book that begins with an author’s note telling how she interviewed children after the Oklahoma City Bombing. The author also writes a letter to parents and teaches instructing them on the purpose of writing the book. The author wants this book to be used as a way to help children cope with disaster. As the author begins the story she starts with before 9:00 a.m. on April 19, 1995. She tells how the morning was a typical morning until 9:02 a.m. when a bomb rocked the Oklahoma City. In this book children explained how fearful, angry, scared, and confused they were on that dreadful day. A little girl named Cicely stated, “All of a sudden we heard this big boom the trees bent over and the door flew open.” Many of the child had similar reactions. Throughout the story until the end, the author speaks of the courage of rescue workers, daily visits to the bombsite by elected officials and the many stuffed animals left for the children who suffered and died during the disaster.

Personal Reaction:
The historical realism of this story brings back memories and feelings of sadness that I felt on that day. I remember the day the bomb killed all of those people, especially the children. I was three months pregnant with my third child on the day of the bombing. I had just given birth to my second child five months earlier. As I was cleaning the house and saw the words “breaking news” flash across the screen, I was thinking about how my husband and I were going to be able to take care of a third child. As the news reporter begin to speak about the daycare and the many children presumed dead. I begin to rub my hands across my stomach and thank God for the safety, health, and blessing of all of my children. Sometimes when I’m reminded of disasters, I always remember what I was doing at the exact time and day of the disaster.

Classroom Extension Ideas: 1.) The students, teacher, and parents can take a field trip to the Oklahoma City Memorial for students to see, experience, and try to understand the events which occurred on that dreadful day. The Memorial staff has a lot of educational information to offer to students. 2.) Take a field trip to Lowe’s and have students pick out a memorial tree to plant outside the school in honor of the children who died.

I recommend this book to any child dealing with emotional confusion, trauma, or loss. One April Morning is a book about Oklahoma City bombing. April 19, 1995 was a date that no one in the Alfred P Murah Building would forget. During the historic event more than 500 people were wounded, 169 were killed, 19 children died and over 100 children lost a parent or both. This book does well at describing the emotions and surroundings during this time. As a reader, I felt hat I was there in the classrooms. The author uses quotes throughout the book from actual students who were involved in the bombing. Many of the quotes described the children's emotions. By the end of the book the children were able understand why bad things happen and what they can do to make things better. It is ok to talk about your feelings! ( )

This is about the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. This was told by children who lived through this and their emotional recovery. I was 5 at the time and do not know much about this. It was very informative and emotional. The passages were boxed in which was different. The pictures were colorful and full of life. My coworker's step mom died during this bombing which was interesting to learn. On the back cover was a picture of these children from ages 5-14. ( )

One April Morning is a story about children's response to the horrendous day of the Oklahoma CIty bombing . Children from all ages give their responses to what took place. The author does not include those who were immediately affected. One of the results that came up in the responses is that the children were not sleeping like they usually did. They speak of the fear that they live with, not knowing what ccould happen is something that they were not aware of before this event. One child responds saying that she could not sleep normally and that the way she was finally able to sleep is by sleeping under her bed. The children spoke of how the community came together. They share with us what they saw as everyone raised money to pay for those who were injured in the bombing, as well as for the donations of food and shelter for volunteers. They share that they could not understand how someone could take out there anger on innocent people. They also shared the shock of babies dying in this event. The children found that healing was possible, one way that this took place for them is by helping others. ( )