While May marked Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Month, the need to share life-saving water safety messages continues year-round, especially during the warm days of late summer. The Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego is encouraging families, schools, and libraries to keep the conversation going with the 2025 Water Safety Family Book Pool Project.
Why Water Safety Books Matter
Books open the door to important conversations that can help keep kids safe. Water Safety books give clear, memorable guidance, like Josh the Baby Otter, which inspires children to pledge: “I promise to get an adult when I go near the water.” You can find more recommended titles in the National Drowning Prevention Alliance Teacher Toolkit.
Water Family books celebrate the joy and connection water brings—from family beach trips to cultural traditions. In A Mermaid Girl, for example, Heba beams with excitement as she wears her new yellow burkini to the community pool for the first time, ready to sparkle like the sun alongside her family.
WHALE Tales: Water Safety for Kids
The American Red Cross recently refreshed its Longfellow’s WHALE Tales program which is a fun, interactive, dryland water safety course for elementary-aged children. WHALE (Water Habits Are Learned Early) helps kids become “water smart” before they ever dip their toes in a pool. Learn more at www.redcross.org/take-a-class/teach-water-safety/whale-tales.
How to Get Involved This Year and Beyond
- Check out your library’s display of Water Safety and Water Family books or request these titles if they’re not yet available.
- Read together as a family and start ongoing conversations about safe water habits.
- Ask your library about Josh the Baby Otter (available in English and Spanish) and help spread the word.
- Share your impact by telling us your favorite books, quotes, or moments, and sending photos from your reading sessions.
We’ve compiled a list of 50 plus recommended children’s books in our 2025 Book Pool to help make water safety a lifelong family discussion. Whether it’s pool days, beach trips, or boat rides, these stories help create a culture where every child is “water smart” and every family can enjoy the water safely.
Together, we can turn every season into water safety season.
Find a peak of our book list below and more resources at preventdrowningfoundation.org.
- A Diver like Me by Sanaa Chege
- A Mermaid Girl by Sana Rafi
- Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior by Carole Lindstrom
- Barkley’s Great Escape by Wanda Wyont
- Bubbles . . . UP! by Jacqueline Davies
- CALLUM TAKES SWIMMING LESSONS by Marcia Stanley
- CAN STARFISH MAKE A WISH? by Jill and Robbin White
- Cannonball: A Fun, Summertime Read About Believing In Yourself and Having Fun by Sacha Cotter
- Colin & Friends Wait for a Grown Up/ Colin y amigos Esperan a un Adulto by Alissa Magrum
- Daniel Learns to Swim (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) by Alexandra Cassel Schwartz
- Don’t Worry, Little Crab by Chris Haughton
- Eddie Wen’ Go by Marion Lyman-Mersereau
- Float Like A Boat: The Aquatic Problem Solvers of Enchanted Brook by Michelle McKinney
- Froggy Learns to Swim by Jonathan London
- Giraffes Can’t Swim, Can They by Nancy Lessard Downing
- Hoku The Stargazer: The Exciting Pirate Adventure! by Ellie Crowe & Juliet Fry
- HOLLY’S DAY AT THE POOL by Benson Shum
- I WILL SWIM NEXT TIME by Emily Joof
- Indi Surfs by Chris Gorman
- Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall
- Jay’s Swimming Journey: How one little swimmer learned to pay attention to what’s important! by Elli Overton
- JOSH THE OTTER by Blake Collingsworth
- Julián Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love
- Learn to Swim with Lou! by Kim Shults
- Leo Can Swim by Anna McQuinn
- Let’s Go to the Beach! Beach Safety Tips with Lifeguard Leslie by Leslie Schwene
- Llama Llama Learns to Swim by Anna Dewdney
- Lottie & Walter by Anna Walker
- Maisy Learns to Swim: A Maisy First Experience Book by Lucy Cousins
- Mop Rides the Waves of Life: A Story of Mindfulness and Surfing by Jaimal Yogis
- Our Pool by Lucy Ruth Cummins
- Pool by Jihyeon Lee
- Raisah and the Boat Trip by Nadia Ali
- Safety First (The Real Life Adventures of Jo Jo Bean) by Trace Wilkins Francis
- Sakamoto’s Swim Club: How a Teacher Led an Unlikely Team to Victory by Julie Abery
- Saturday Is Swimming Day by Hyewon Yum
- SPOT GOES TO THE SWIMMING POOL by Eric Hill
- Starfish by Lisa Fipps
- STEWIE THE DUCK LEARNS TO SWIM by Kim and Stew Leonard Jr
- Swim Team: A Graphic Novel by Johnnie Christmas
- Swim Time with Stewie the Duck by Kim and Stew Leonard Jr.
- Swim, Baby, Swim!: Preparing For Your First Swim Lesson by Angel Zysk
- Swimmers by María José Ferrada
- Swimming Lessons with Stewie the Duck by Kim and Stew Leonard Jr.
- Swimming Toward a Dream: Yusra Mardini’s Incredible Journey from Refugee to Olympic Swimmer by Reem Faruqi
- Take a Breath Seth by Maile Lyle, Irelyn Quick, and Finley Jackson
- TEACH THE BEACH by Don Walsh
- The Doctor Says: Let’s Talk About Water Safety by Dr. Pat Morgan
- The Polar Bear Who Couldn’t, Wouldn’t Swim by Karen and Brian Cohn
- THE ROYALS GO TO THE BEACH by Madeline Brindley
- Together We Swim by Valerie Bolling
- Violet Finds Her Float by Kristine McCarren
- Water Safety for Kids in 6 languages (English, Spanish and French Edition) by Kimberly Peterson
- When You Can Swim by Jack Wong
**any suggestions for book additions to this list, please email mary@poolsafetymom.com
