Redding Chico Eureka

REDDING, Calif. — Drowning is among the main causes of loss of life for kids below 14, and with the quantity of waterways throughout Shasta County First 5 Shasta is placing a e-book on water security from two Redding swim coaches in lecture rooms throughout the county.

“Pawter in the Water’ is a book and accompanying musical album of swimming lessons by local swim coaches Angie Baker and Cali Brennan. All part of their mission to make children safer around water. Coming out with the book and album in 2023.

Written by Redding swim coaches angie Baker and Calli Brennan,{ } Pawter in the Water gives important lessons to help kids stay safe near the water. Photo taken at Sun Oaks Club in Redding on March 26, 2026.{ }

Their book and album are focused around five rules, ranging from how to survive if you fall in to if you see someone else in trouble. With a song to match to help kids remember. Baker and Brennan said they wrote the book to take drowning off that leading spot of death. They shared the lessons Pawter teaches already helped one little girl save another’s life after they fell in a river.

“She remembered rule number 5 which is ‘help others from the side’,” Baker defined. “She looked around and she found and saw a rusty metal pipe that she then reached out to her friend, and they helped pull her friend out of the water.“

They say while silly, the musical rhyming of the song and book together helped the lessons stick in the girls mind. With the proven success First 5 Shasta offered a grant to the pair of swim coaches , and are making the books available in TK and Kindergarten classrooms across schools in Shasta County. Baker and Brennan said they hope to one day see them in every classroom with children under 10.

Pawter’s 5 Rules vary from how you can keep protected when swimming to how you can save another person in the event that they fall in. Photo taken at Sun Oaks Club in Redding on March 26, 2026.{ }

The coaches stated they’re persevering with their wider water security efforts. Hosting a free Water Safety Play Day on the Sun Oaks Club, the place they host common classes, on Wednesday April fifteenth from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.