“They’re both very small and they highlight just how small a child also is on a farm and through them being out and about I’m trying to help children understand about making good decisions,” author Harriet Bremner said.
Bremner, a primary school-teacher, is passionate about children and reading but there’s a deeper meaning behind Be Safe, Be Seen.
Her partner James died in a farm machinery accident in Hakataramea Valley in January last year.
Writing the book has been good therapy.
“My grief is in my book,” she says.
Be Safe, Be Seen is being launched in Amberley in North Canterbury on Monday.
She wants young children to heed the safety messages and if they struggle with the script illustrator Dana Johnstone’s caricatures also paint a very good picture.
Bremner hopes older siblings, parents and grandparents reading the book to the younger children will be encouraged to make safe choices on-farm or at work every day.
Poppy is her own serious little dachshund and silly young Ted belongs to her brother George. Ted rolls into the middle pages of the book on a two-wheeler with Poppy exhorting him to think safe.
The story starts in the farmyard where our heroes are dwarfed by big farm animals and machinery.
“It’s tough being little and Poppy is always looking up at the world. We know that some people don’t always look down and around them when they’re driving a tractor.”
Bremner teaches five-year-olds at Amuri Area School and has read them the story.
“They love Poppy. She hangs out in class sometimes and the children are fascinated with her as a little sausage dog and amazed at the things she can do.”
She knew Poppy would be a good drawcard and it was easy to relate the story to children’s pets.
A friend teaching in the city read the book to her class and, as well as the farm context, they could see it apply where they lived . . . where to stand and what to do around cars and trucks.
“They had brilliant conversations about it.
“I’m saying in the book to take children out on the farm but to talk to them about it first. I feel that with all the technology they have today that children spend more time indoors and people are more nervous about them being outside.
“We’re so lucky with the outside spaces we have and children should be experiencing them and learning how to be safe there.”
Bremner is promoting the book along with WorkSafe. She wrote the book first and then contacted WorkSafe and found it coincided with the agency’s message about safety. She worked closely with senior media adviser Nicky Barton, a farmer’s daughter who wants to see people get out there and be safe.
WorkSafe senior agriculture adviser Al McCone said the book tells a positive story for children, coming at an important time just ahead of school holidays and the Christmas break.
“Three children have died on New Zealand farms this year and agriculture continues to have a tragic record for fatalities.
“We’re encouraging farmers to make sensible decisions and be aware of the risks on-farm and Harriet’s story is one way families can connect with these actions.”
Bremner said her book will serve a really important purpose if just one family can be kept together.
“I remember a few years ago a child having a hi-vis vest on and saying that he could now stand on the road and not get run over. Well, it doesn’t work like that. We need to spark conversations between children and parents about the blind spots.”
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The book will be launched at Brew Moon in Amberley, from 6pm on Monday, December 10. The launch price is $20 a copy and the book is also available at Harriet Bremner’s website www.gurtandpops.com at $23 a copy.
