As part of activities marking Drowning Prevention Week, the Duchess of York read a book ‘Tobi Learns to Swim’ on her daily YouTube channel, Storytime With Fergie And Friends on June 10, 2021.
‘Tobi Learns to Swim’ is a picture book for children aged 2 to 6 written by renowned Nigerian children’s books author, Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi. The book which is part of the Tobi Series, tells the story of 3-year-old Tobi who gets a swimming costume for her 3rd birthday present and takes on the challenge of learning how to swim, figuring out how to float and conquering the fear of water.
Drowning Prevention Week (DPW), this year is in June. The aim of the campaign is to give individuals and families the skills and the knowledge they require to enjoy the water safely. During Drowning Prevention Week, schools, clubs and other organisations host events to promote and educate about water safety.
With physical activities still limited across the globe at the moment, the Duchess contributed her quota towards assisting parents and guardians in helping children fall in love with swimming through her read aloud session featuring the book by Talabi.
Her reading of Talabi’s Tobi Learns to Swim has since garnered a lot of likes and created a buzz on social media, with many adult social media users praising the quality of Talabi’s picture book.
The Duchess, who was born Sarah Ferguson and nicknamed Fergie by the media recently signed a publishing deal for seven children’s books.
Olubunmi Aboderin Talabi is an author, publisher of Clever Clogs Books; and the convener of the Akada Children’s Book Festival.
Talabi said she “is passionate about creating visually-engaging, culturally-relevant content for children, and has a desire to see steadily increasing literacy rates in her community.” On how people can get the book, Talabi shared that it is available at the Clever Clogs Books website.
