This week, I almost reviewed Stolen Colors, and I still will, later this summer.
But after spending a day at a FIFA World Cup event with my own kids and feeling so relieved that I had a way to reach them if they wandered off, I knew I had to switch gears.
Summer means amusement parks, water parks, concerts, festivals, all the busy, family friendly chaos where kids can get separated from us in seconds. So this week’s pick is an oldie but goodie that belongs in every family’s summer safety library: A Little Book About Safety.
This one is geared toward kids around three to seven years old, and it walks through exactly what to do if your child gets lost in a crowd. If you only grab one book before your next trip this summer, let it be this one.
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00:01 — Why I switched this week’s pick I share the story of being at a FIFA World Cup event with my kids and why that experience made me want to talk about lost child safety right now, during peak summer travel season. I also introduce the book itself, A Little Book About Safety, and who it is best suited for.
04:35 — Meeting Hugo Hippo and safety tips one through five We meet Hugo Hippo on a summer day at the Happy Herd Community Pool with his family. As Hugo moves through his day, the book counts out its ten safety tips one at a time.
Tip 1: It helps to know your safe adult’s name and phone number
Tip 2: The parts of your body covered by a bathing suit are private
Tip 3: Make sure you can always see your safe adult, and they can always see you
Tip 4: It is okay to say no if you feel scared or uncomfortable, and to pay attention to that uh oh feeling
Tip 5: You are the boss of your own body, and it is okay to say stop to anyone, even a bigger kid or a grown up
09:02 — When Hugo gets lost: safety tips six through ten This is the heart of the book for me. Hugo is asked by a stranger to help him and to keep it secret, and has to decide what to do. Then Hugo gets separated from his family and has to put everything he has learned into practice.
Tip 6: Grown ups you do not know should not ask you for help, and they should not ask you to keep secrets
Tip 7: If anyone, even someone you already know, asks you to go anywhere or do anything unexpected, check with a safe adult first
Tip 8: If you ever get lost, stop where you are and yell for your safe adult, using their name if you know it
Tip 9: If yelling does not work, you can ask a mom with kids, or a woman with kids, for help
Tip 10: When we make smart, safe choices, we can all live happy, healthy lives together
13:18 — My closing thoughts and what is coming next I talk about why these story based lessons land so well with little kids, how to use the book again on a road trip as a refresher, and a preview of the Stolen Colors review still coming later this summer.
What I love most about this book is how it normalizes the moment a kid gets lost instead of treating it like a failure on the parent’s part. It happens, even to the most attentive among us, and the most useful thing we can do is prepare our kids ahead of time rather than panic after the fact. The phone number practice, the stay put and yell instruction, and the reminder to look for another mom with kids if yelling does not work are all small, concrete actions a three or four year old can actually remember and use.
I also appreciate that the secret keeping moment with the ostrich does not introduce fear of strangers in general. It teaches kids to notice the pattern, an adult asking for help and asking them to keep it quiet, and to check first with a safe adult. That is the same safe adult concept that shows up across evidence based prevention curricula, the idea that every child should have at least one trusted adult they can go to without hesitation. This book gives that concept a face and a story that a young child will actually hold onto at the pool, the airport, or the fair.
If your child is in that three to seven age range and you have a trip, a concert, or a crowded summer event coming up, this is the book to read together this week.
Ruby’s Studio: The Safety Show, the companion video series referenced in the review, previously available on Netflix.
Stolen Colors, the book originally planned for this week, coming later this summer in a future review.
Watch for the Stolen Colors review later this summer, closer to the season’s end.
In the meantime, this is a great week to add A Little Book About Safety to your travel bag before your next family outing.
Available for iOS and Android
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