Customer Reviews

Stewie the Duck Learns to Swim

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I teach many children to swim, but this book can save more lives than any swimming lesson program, because it can reach so many more children. After reading Stewie The Duck Learns To Swim, children will remind their parents about proper water safety habits! They'll say things like "Mom, I want to go swimming; will you watch me?" or "I want to go swimming, but I need to have my life vest on first." Even more exciting, children will understand how important it is to take swimming lessons, and even older kids who may be tempted to swim in unofficial swimming holes, reservoirs, etc., may very well thing twice before doing so.

Rob Polley
Program Director
SwimAmerica

Ive read this book to my sister so many times and the first time i ever read it to her..she memorized it the rules and the song. It is so easy to catch on to and is very fun but a important message. This is the BEST book and you should get this for any young children. ...it could save your childs life. I HIGHLY recommend this book!!

I usually read three or four different books to my son at bedtime, but now we read "Stewie the Duck" and sing the "Water Safety Song" from the CD! Andrew even requests that we play the CD in the car, and we all sing the water safety song together! This book is a must-have for anyone with young children, because water safety is "the most important thing".

This is a very basic story about a duck who isn't allowed to swim with the other ducks until he learns the rules. The main ideas of the story are repeated several times throughout the book and set to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The song goes "Don't jump in 'til you learn to swim, cover your chest with a safe life vest. A grown up must watch you in the pool. You'll be safe if you learn these rules."

The book includes a CD that includes reading the of the story as well as different children singing the same song about five times. I did not give this book a five star rating because the children singing on the cd cannot sing and will make the hair on your back stand up if you are any bit musically inclined. There is one track on the cd that has all the kids singing together and is bearable to listen too.

Nonetheless, this book and cd are a favorite of my 2 and 4 year old girls (I would not recommend this book for anyone over six). I keep the cd in the kitchen all summer long and I play it while I get breakfast ready, especially on days that we go to the pool or beach. The girls especially love it because the book shows Stewie learning to swim at the YMCA where my girls are also taking swimming lessons.

Please note that this book only teaches safety rules and does not provide any instruction for swimming.

I will also mention that the author, Stew Leonard, the supermarket entrepeneur, got involved in water safety for children after his son drowned. This is an excellent tool for all parents to use to avoid this kind of tragedy. I strongly recommend it for every toddler.

I am a water safety instructor who teaches swimming lessons according to American Red Cross Guidelines. I teach outside so on days it rains we have to find other activities. I thought this book would be perfect for my younger students, but the Red Cross already makes a book close to what this book is teaching. I think this book is perfect for parents who want their children to know about water safety if they have a pool or grow up/vacation around bodies of water. Touching story as to why the parents wrote the book. I admire them for what they have done.

This is a wonderful resource for parents, teachers and coaches. Stewie the Duck is one of the few books available that addresses drowning, one of the most significant injury-related risks our children face. The authors teach children critical survival skills in a loving, age-appropriate, and fun way. Children really enjoy the CD, and being able to incorporate music makes the lessons fun and effective. This adorable, intelligent book was so impressive that we utilized it in our water safety curriculum program, and have received very positive feedback about it.

While it's not particularly well-written (the prose is fairly awkward in places), this book is really quite good at presenting water safety rules in a way that kids will want to read, and the song will definitely help them remember. This is a book my daughter has repeatedly asked me to read and I am happy to do it. However, I really wish I had previewed the included cd before I played it for her, because while she likes to listen to it, the condescending speech of the voice-over actors and the off-key singing of the children are like nails scraping across a blackboard to me. It is really and truly awful. That being said, my daughter does like the cd and I'm willing to grit my teeth while we listen to it if it means she'll be safer around water.

I have read this book for years now to my disabled children and then I brought it with me when I switched to kindergarten. It is an awesome way to teach the basics of water safety. It also works great as a center time book. It was a favorite pick for the kindergarten children.

I'm a preschool swim instructor at my local YMCA. When it thunders, we do "land" activities since we are unable to go into the pool. It is hard to keep the attention of 3-6 year olds who came expecting a swim lesson, especially since our "thunder kits" are geared to older children. I set out to find 3 or 4 books to use specifically for this purpose. I immediately added this one to my cart when I saw it. It is adorable and has a great message. It is quick enough to read to the kids and leaves enough room for safety discussion. It goes along beautifully with the safety pieces we have built into our water lessons also.

I put the CD on in my car for my 2 young sons to listen to and they loved it as well. My 6 year old asked why they kept playing the song over and over again, while the 3 year old sang the song over and over again. I told my older son that that was the point. Get the rules in their head by repetition and song and now his little brother will be extra safe in the pool.

This book was great for my 4 year old twins. They no longer try to climb the pool fence and instruct others entering the pool to wear a sage life vest and have a grown up watch you. The background to the story is touching. Stewie reached the heart of my kids!