Dallas elementary school students received free copies of a Winnie the Pooh book. The book featured the beloved bear but instead of a warm and fuzzy story, the story is about what to do during a school shooting. The book is called “Stay Safe”, published by Praetorian Consulting, a Houston-based crisis management firm.

The company has developed a curriculum created by active Texas police officers and teachers. The purpose of the Stay Safe learning system is to teach children how to remain safe and protect themselves if a dangerous school intrusion takes place, according to their website. The material is described as age appropriate and teaches and reinforces the concepts of Run, Hide, Fight recommended by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security.

Unfortunately, parents were not given a guide or context on the book before the children received them. The school district later apologized to parents, who were upset, as you might expect. The book is geared to children as young as 5 years old. Some parents called the book haunting and tone-deaf.

“If danger finds us, don’t stay, run away,” reads one line. “If we can’t get away, we have to fight with all our might.”
“When the danger is gone, we should not fuss,” reads another. “Instead, wait for a teacher or the police to come and find us.”

The reason Winnie the Pooh can be used is because the silly old bear entered the public domain last year. The copyright on Pooh expired. Using Pooh attempts to teach children important lessons in the least traumatic way possible. Pooh is a familiar character to them.

The book received national attention. It caused one gun-grabbing opportunist to respond on Twitter.

Winnie the Pooh is now teaching Texas kids about active shooters because the elected officials do not have the courage to keep our kids safe and pass common sense gun safety laws. https://t.co/PNXhIlrcxq pic.twitter.com/crPDeQ9dZm

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) May 23, 2023

There is evil in the world and even young children need information on how to protect themselves when something unthinkable happens. This seems to do that as gently as possible. One mother of two very young children was hesitant at first to read the book to them. Now she is glad she did and praises the book and its message.

A mother told the Oak Cliff Advocate that both of her sons, one in pre-kindergarten and the other in first grade, came home with the books. They both reportedly attend the same elementary school in Dallas.

Cindy Campos told the publication that she was initially apprehensive about reading the book to her children because of the underlying content. However, she said one of her sons kept asking about the book, so she decided to read it to him.

Campos told the Oak Cliff Advocate that the book initiated conversation in her house.

“Bowie asked so many questions before going to bed. And as a mom you have to figure out the correct but realistic way to say things,” she said.

Campos added, “there was nothing inappropriate about the book.”

Praetorian Consulting did not initially plan to sell the books as retail purchases. The books were sent to schools for free. Because of the sudden demand, though, it is now making them available for purchase online to help cover he costs of printing and shipping them.

As detailed above, we created the Stay Safe Learning System for school districts and did not intend to retail copies of the book/lesson plan. However, in the past, when individual parents or groups learned about the product and reached out to our company requesting copies (or additional copies), we would do our best to accommodate their needs, sending copies of the book/lesson plan to parents without charge.

However, due to the national and international attention the book has drawn, requests from individuals wanting to purchase single copies or small quantities of the book have been overwhelming. As a result, it has become necessary for our company to make the booklet available via a trusted e-commerce platform to help cover the costs associated with small quantity/retail printing/binding, internet sales commissions, and shipping.

It’s sad that such a beloved childhood literary character is used to teach children such serious lessons. It’s the world we live in. If Pooh can ease children into paying attention and absorbing the material, then it is well worth it to try to help keep them safe if something horrible happens.