Don’t get kidnapped … Don’t get scooped!

I love and own most of the books shown above!
Today, I want to talk to you about the book Smarter than the Scoopers. 

  

Laura Candler has put together an amazing Julia Cook linky party over at her fabulous blog Corkboard Connections .  Julia's books are amazing, and the book Smarter than the Scoopers might save the life of a child you love. 

Talking about kidnapping is hard.  About a year ago (before buying the book), I sat down with my son to talk about strangers. But my problem was the words “The person might kill you or torture you!” were always on the tip of my tongue.  Of course, I was not going to say that to my 6 year old. But in an effort to find other words, I fumbled around, he looked confused, and I ended up talking about strangers being dangerous, and left it at that.

This is what happened later that same day:  
Location: Target
Motherhood Moment: Epic Fail
I asked the Target clerk where to find duct tape.

Jackson: Yelled in a very angry voice, 
“HE IS A STRANGER! 
DON'T TALK TO HIM!!!
DO YOU WANT ME TO GET KIDNAPPED?"
Me: "Jackson, don't scream at Target. You are with me, and you are not getting kidnapped!"

There must be a better way, and there is.
A Google search led me to my new favorite author, Julia Cook. She is a former school counselor who knows how to write books that kids can relate to. She write about various social issues and in this case wrote a book about avoiding being kidnapped. 

The book Smarter than the Scoopers, by Julia Cook is the perfect way to discuss ways to stay safe. The book talks only briefly about the “bad guys” called scoopers, rather it spends the majority of the time focused on what any child can do to stay safe.

 The goal of the book is not being on the look out for or "finding scoopers". Lord have mercy! I hope my son never finds a scooper. The book is about not being an easy target! 

SMART!

One of the reasons I love all of Julia Cook’s books are the pages that lay out the rules or tips. They actually look like little anchor charts.  They are simple to read, remember, and apply.

 Now for the fun part. SCOOP is actually an acronym! Kids love acronyms and it makes the material easy to recall.  So what does “scoop” stand for?

S  – be SMART
C – use you CALL list
O – zerO talking to strangers
O – keep strangers OUT of your personal space
P – always PAIR up

These 5 personal safety tips can save a child’s life.  This book is delightful and handles a very hard subject with a light touch.  

Flash back to the scene at Target.
If we had read the book sooner, the conversation could have gone like this...
"DON'T TALK TO HIM!

HE IS A STRANGER! 

DO YOU WANT ME TO GET KIDNAPPED?"

 My ideal response:  "You know buddy, you are right! He is a stranger, but let's think of what we learned from the book Scoop. This man is wearing a red shirt and has a name tag. He works here. We are paired up.  He is not in our personal space, and you are with your Mom. That makes us safe right now.  We will not follow him out of the store. We will just follow him to the duct tape isle."

This book gives me a better vocabulary for dealing with keeping my son safe and the fears that creep into my mind as I am falling asleep at night. "Will he know what to do?" After reading this book, I can yes.  He will be smart about scoopers.

I created this freebie to go with Julia Cook's book.  I hope it help kids make their own anchor chart and to write about their thoughts. Click {here} to download the freebie. Click {here} to buy Julia's amazing book Scoop. 

 I hope that the people you love never meet a scooper!
In case you want to buy the book Scoop. I am offering a $10 Amazon gift card to my readers!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


My great pal Lisa is giving away a $10 gift card as well. So hop on over to her blog by clicking {here} for another chance to win.