Safety Around Water

Children's Literature - Marilyn Courtot

The format for the books in the "Staying Safe" series is exactly the same. After an introduction, there is a statement, "In this book, each section presents a special... hazard." The dots represent the subject of the book—school, playground, home, or water. A situation involving a safety decision is described, and there are choices. The incorrect ones get a no sign and the correct ones receive star. The text explains why an alternative is a good or bad choice. The text is a bit pedantic, especially the "what have you learned?" recap, which is found on the choice pages. Another unappealing part of the book is that it often states that an adult should become part of the solution. Sometimes, that just is not always possible, so for this reviewer, I felt there were not any other realistic options presented. In addition, the correct choice always seemed to be "c," the final one. It makes laying out the book easy, but does not make readers really think about the choices and the correct answers. The illustrations are photographs of kids in action, and they are generally engaging. One cannot quibble with the advice. The recommendations for water safety state that one should always have an adult watching, never run in the pool area, never jump on people in the pool, never dive until an adult tells you that it is safe, and so forth. The book closes with a glossary and lists of a few more books to read and several websites to visit. The final page contains an index. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot