Nettie's back for Denny author's second children's book on cyber security

Denny author Wendy Goucher and Herald Bairn cartoonist Jim Barker have once again joined forces for the new book, Which One is Nettie?.

Wendy has written the book, which like the first in the series featuring heroine Nettie aims to get parents and young children discussing – in a fun and memorable way – the dangers you can run into when you venture online, and Jim has drawn the colourful illustrations bringing the characters to life.

Wendy, an information and risk training consultant, said: “The series is about opening conversations with very small children and start to have language to help adults talk to children about online.

“This book focuses on screen locks and access controls.

"Nettie, who has permission to use her grandfather’s tablet, gets distracted and doesn't use the screen lock.

"Charlie the dog falls into Cyberland and ends up going to a picnic she was going to go to, and pretends to be her.

"He makes a mess of the picnic. When Nettie goes back, she talks to her grandparents and says it’s all Charlie’s fault.

"However, they say it isn’t actually, you’re supposed to lock the screen as it stops things getting spoiled.

"Young children may not be able to read words or passwords, but they can begin to understand the importance of keeping things safe

"These books are about opening up a discussion with young children on what happened, why it happened and how to stop it happening.

"I hope the stories will help parents with the language to use with their children when talking about online safety and help them to keep themselves safe online.”

Wendy describes writing the children’s books as “a labour of love” and says the release of the secnod one is particularly special.

She said: “The first book was published in July 2020 and I didn’t really get the chance to share it with children myself because of Covid.

"This time I’ve already visited a school and read it with children. It’s nice to see how the children react to it.”

And she says she has at least one or two more books planned for the series, which is aimed at children aged three to five.

Local cartoonist, Jim Barker, who produces the Herald’s Bairn cartoon each week, said the collaboration came about after working with Wendy for several years producing illustrations for her computer security lectures.

He said: “About five years ago she approached me with the ideas she'd had for a series of children’s books featuring a little girl and her robot companion.

"These developed into Nettie and Webby and her adventures in Cyberland inside her tablet.

"Having drawn the Bairn and other cartoon artwork for so long, children’s book illustration is a new area for me and one I’d certainly like to explore further.”

Which One is Nettie? and Wendy’s first book – Nettie in Cyberland – are both available to buy online now.

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