Sixteen years after losing their 21-month old son to a drowning accident, Kim and Stew Leonard, Jr. are doubling their efforts to help educate parents and children about the importance of water safety.
The Leonard?s second children?s book - Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck, is written for children ages two through seven, and addresses the skills and fears children face when they first start taking swimming lessons.
When young readers first met Stewie the Duck, he was prevented from swimming with the ?big ducks? until he learned the water safety rules -- learn to swim, always wear a life vest and have a grown-up watch you in the pool. Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck opens with Stewie asking his mom if he can take swimming lessons now that he knows the water safety rules. New characters Avery the Otter, Cameron the Frog, Hunter the Puppy and Susannah the Swan, along with Swim Coach Rob, encompass Stewie?s swim class, and together they help each other pass the swim test and receive a coveted ?safe swimmer? medal. The lessons are reinforced with a new song the children learn ? "It?s Fun at Swimming School" ? sung to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
"In the process of writing the book, we contacted swim coaches and asked them to identify the most important steps for beginning swimmers, and what some of the biggest barriers are for children in learning how to swim. We address these in three easy lessons Stewie and his swim class learn and also how they overcome children?s biggest fear ? putting their head in the water," says Stew Leonard, Jr.
"When most kids fall into the water, they panic and inhale, so the first lesson teaches them to blow bubbles out of their nose. Next, Stewie?s swim class learns to roll onto their back and float. Learning this skill can mean the difference between life and death. The last lesson addressed in the book is kicking, so a child can get to the side of the pool or shore safely."
The Leonard's first book, Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim, received a National Water Safety Youth Education Award from the National Water Safety Congress, and is used in water safety courses throughout the country, including the Phoenix Children's Hospital Water Watchers program. More than 30,000 copies of the book have been sold, with all proceeds from both books going to water safety programs and providing swimming lesson scholarships.