The disaster preparedness activity book, titled
'A Scary Thing Happened,' features various disasters, such as
hurricanes and floods, and includes an illustration on it's
cover showing what is clearly one of the World Trade Center
towers on fire with a plane flying toward the second tower.
The image is repeated within the book three times
on a single page, which children are encouraged to color in.
The caption above reads, "You might hear
about it again and again on the T.V. or radio or read about
it in the newspaper."
Critics have charged that parents should make
the decision whether or not and exactly how to educate their
children about 9/11 and that children should not be exposed
to government-issued material for such purposes.
The coloring book was created in 2003 for the
Freeborn County Crisis Response Team in Minnesota.
Although the images look like they have been drawn by a child,
they were actually illustrated by Red Cross volunteer and 68-year-old
grandmother of 10, Marlys Jentoft. Jentoft told The
Smoking Gun website that she was unaware of the
recent criticism of the coloring book, but would redo the drawings
if asked.
In a statement, FEMA spokesman John Shea said:
"We removed the content from our website
after reviewing www.FEMA.gov for appropriate material. FEMA
for kids assists children in understanding disasters and we
will continue to post appropriate material that supports its
mission."
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FEMA spokesman Clark Stevens added, "The
coloring book, which was put online in 2003, was removed last
week, and FEMA is currently reviewing all Web content designed
and posted by the previous administration."
Watch a local Fox News report on the coloring
book below:
The activity book can be viewed in full at this
link (PDF).
The FEMA
websitefor
kids has come under continued criticism for encouraging
parents and teachers to introduce their children to material
related to the federal government's emergency management procedures
and the department of homeland security.
A case in point is FEMA's definition
of terrorism on it's website for kids, which differs
slightly from everybody else's:
"Terrorism is the use of threat or violence
to scare governments into changing their policies."
"Terrorists are criminals and when they are
caught they are put on trial."
"Acts of terrorism include: threats of violence..."
Other sections of the site include games and cartoons
relating to Citizen
Corps programs for kids, while those who sign up
to become "Disaster
Action Kids" get to be part of a special Email
group, that receives "exciting news and information"
directly from FEMA.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been 
Although the images look like they have been drawn by a child,
they were actually illustrated by Red Cross volunteer and 68-year-old
grandmother of 10, Marlys Jentoft. Jentoft told 