Here’s how one magazine explained the Paris attacks for kids

"Are terrorists going to come to my house?"

"Is France at war?"

Those are natural questions for young children to ask — and their parents, in France and elsewhere, are struggling to find answers to the Nov. 13 attacks that left 129 people dead in the name of the complicated jihadist ideology of ISIS, the radical terrorist group that has taken credit for the killings.

Children are a visible part of the public mourning in Paris, bringing drawings and flowers to public spaces and lighting candles in memory of the victims. Yet processing the scale and emotion of the attacks — and knowing how to talk about them — is difficult for kids and adults alike.

A French youth magazine, Astrapi, is trying with a direct, plain-talking new explainer that it is distributing this weekend as a "news supplement" to its usual coverage for kids aged 7 to 11 years old.

"We'll help you understand," the supplement starts, addressing kids directly in the "tu" form that denotes closeness and familiarity in the otherwise formal French culture.

The leaflet, available in PDF form, includes illustrations by Frédéric Benaglia showing the Eiffel Tower weeping while holding hands with children; two kids talking about being afraid, with one prevailing with the idea that "terrorists fear liberty"; and a group of children behind a shield featuring the French flag and the word "liberty."

The explainer starts with a description of the death toll and the night's events, when "men filled with hatred decided to kill innocent people." It adds, "These men were planning the attacks for a long time."

"They killed while walking with weapons of war," Astrapi says, and adds, "the eight terrorists who committed these horrors were dead the same night."

Noting that adults and children have the same questions, the magazine poses the major ones: Why were innocent people killed? Who are the terrorists? Should we be afraid? What will we do now?

The supplement is punctuated with quotes from French children — Noe, Julie and Antoine — asking about the horrific images in the press, whether France is at war, and whether terrorists will come to children's houses.

The issues are tough enough that even military commanders have trouble comprehending them; as an analytical piece in The Atlantic noted, even Maj. Gen. Michael K. Nagata, who heads up U.S. special operations in the Middle East, has said of ISIS, "We have not defeated the idea. We do not even understand the idea."

Imagine then, the difficulty of making the attacks comprehensible to young children.

Astrapi tackles the complexity with surprising sophistication, providing easy to understand, bite-size definitions of terrorism, radicalism and France's role in conflicts in the Middle East. It makes an effort to distinguish between Islamism — a radical jihadist movement — and Islam itself.

"While the police conduct their investigation, we do not yet know much about these killers. What is known is that they are terrorists: people who use violence to impose their ideas. They're even willing to die for it," Astrapi tells kids.

" These attacks were committed by 'Islamist terrorists,' acting in the name of their religion, Islam, and who want to impose it by force on everybody. These attacks were committed by 'Islamist terrorists,' acting in the name of their religion, Islam, and who want to impose it by force on everybody. These ultraviolent people don't speak for the majority of Muslims, who practice their religion peacefully."

The article finishes by telling kids not to be scared and to resist fear in the face of terrorism.

"By killing randomly in the street or in a theater, the terrorists were looking to scare everybody. Everyone said, 'It could have been me,' which is what they want."

"Adults are also shocked … know that your home, your school, is safe. The best way to answer the violence and madness of these men is to continue living normally and to defend these ideas in respect to others."