Book Review—

Who Better To Teach About Swimming Than A Duck?

Drowning is a preventable tragedy, especially if children are taught at an early age three simple rules that Kim and Stew Leonard Jr outlined in their first book, Stewie the Duck Learns To Swim: learn to swim, wear a life vest if you’re near the water, and always have an adult watch when you’re in the water.

The Leonards lost a 21-month old son, Stewie, in an accidental drowning while on a family vacation in St Martin in 1989. The following year the family created The Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation, which is committed to teaching kids to swim.

Then in October 2000 the couple and their four daughters put together the aforementioned book in the hopes, they have said, of raising awareness about this preventable occurrence and saving lives.

Now the family has followed with a second book, Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck (Kimberly Press, Norwalk; May 2005, 32 pages, ISBN 0-9668611-3-2, $9.99 hardcover), which picks up with the title character facing the fears children sometimes face when they first begin taking swimming lessons and picking up the skills those early lessons provide.

For their second book, the Leonards also came up with three bullet points of importance. They contacted swim coaches to help identify what may be the most important steps for beginning swimmers.

“These are to first, teach kids how to blow out of their nose. When most kids fall into the water, they panic and inhale,” the Leonards wrote in the introduction for Swimming Lessons.

“The next lesson is to teach them to roll on their backs and float. Kids are great at this and it could mean the difference between life and death.

“Then, if they learn to kick, they can easily get to the side of the pool or shore safely,” they continued.

Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck follows Stewie through a basic swimming course. Parents who are taking their own children to swim lessons will recognize the same series of lessons their kids are going through. Those who have yet to start their children in lessons will see what their future swim instructors will expect of their children: getting into a pool or body of water safely, floating on one’s back, and even kicking their way to the safety of a poolside or shore line.

The book’s target audience is children ages two to seven.

The story also examines what most coaches must work through regularly: Helping a child who is afraid, for whatever reason, to put his or her face in the water.

Colorful and child-friendly illustrations by Vicky Lowe help the Leonards’ story move very quickly. Like the first book, which included “The Water Safety Song,” each of the three stages Stewie and his swim class friends work through is accompanied by an easy-to-learn verse for “The Swimming Song.”

Children can sing the new verses to the familiar tune of “Row Row Row Your Boat,” and can sing along with a CD that is included with each book. The CD additionally includes the full story and songs of Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck, separate tracks for “The Swimming Song” (one with lyrics, one instrumental), and a reprise of “The Swimming Song” from the Leonards’ first book.

Swimming Lessons also includes an ABC’s of Water Safety for parents, as recommended by Water Watchers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Literally a three-step list for parents, the one page reminder that follows the story of Stewie the Duck and his friends is a smart little bonus for parents of children of all ages.

As with the Leonards’ first book, all proceeds from the sales of Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck will go to The Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation, which is committed to teaching preschoolers and younger school-age children how to swim and the promotion of water safety for children of all ages and adults.

The Foundation has provided scholarships for thousands of swimming lessons and safety equipment to local YMCA chapters and Swim America, a national learn-to-swim program. It has also sponsored water safety awareness events including book readings, children’s concerts and health fairs.

The Foundation was honored in April with a National Education Award from The National Water Safety Congress (NWSC). It was the first award of its kind from the 53-year old foundation.

“We felt that The Stew Leonard III Water Safety Foundation deserved to be recognized…for their significant contributions in promoting water safety education through the Stewie the Duck Learns To Swim book and video, which have reached more than 50,000 children with vital safety messages that save lives,” said National Water Safety Congress President Bob Pharr. “Kim and Stew Leonard, Jr took a personal tragedy and focused their energies on preventing a similar tragedy from occurring in other families, and the entire board of directors felt that we needed to recognize this in a momentous and prestigious way.”

The Foundation was also honored with a Regional Award from NWSC “for developing the first child’s guide to water safety, for children age two to six, and assisting more than 10,000 children learn to swim.”

Copies of Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim and Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck are available at all three Stew Leonard’s stores, and also from Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, and the Leonards’ site www.StewieTheDuck.com.