Joshua and Stranger Danger by Joan E. Derrick

It takes kids on an adventure with a boy who finds himself in a dangerous situation, and shows exactly how to stay safe and what to do. I’ve tried to talk about Stranger Danger with my 5 and 6 year old children, but what do you say so that you don’t frighten them or rob them of their love of people, their extraverted nature and their innocence? Joshua and Stranger Danger is a lovely story which covers this issue in a very easy manner. After the incident is resolved, Tav visits Joshua telling him how to recognise his intuition and listen to his body language - both are early warning signs of danger.

They realise there is a need to teach children how to look at a person's behaviour to teach them what is normal behaviour for all people, including police officers and others whom they normally trust. Joshua's mum and teacher realise the difficulty young children would have in knowing who to trust from looking at appearances especially of people they are taught to trust. The police officer states, 'No policeman had been sent to the school.' With Tav's help, Joshua is able to give the policeman a description of the man and the vehicle he is driving. Checking with the Police Department confirms that his mum has not had an accident. Joshua gets a very big fright and runs to his teacher who alerts the School Principal. Instantly his soul buddy,Tav is between him and the policeman, shielding him - visible only to Joshua. Tav makes him aware this is not normal behaviour for a policeman reminding him of the school rules about not leaving the school grounds without his parent urging him to run to the safety of the schoolyard asking him to note what the policeman was doing. Before he can regain the safety of the schoolyard, he is stopped by a policeman who informs Joshua his mum is in hospital, having had an accident. Being very concerned about his mum, he is about to leave with the policeman. He finds himself in a stranger danger situation as he impulsively runs onto the footpath waving goodbye to his friend who is leaving for home with his mum.

Joshua is waiting for his mum to collect him from school as lessons are finished for the day.

Joshua and Stranger Danger by Joan E. Derrick