The furry and feathered stars of a children’s book on electric cooperatives are back, and this time they are highlighting the importance of electric safety.

“Cat & Duck Electric Safety” is the third children’s book written and illustrated by Patrick Wood, communications manager at Co-Mo Connect, based in Tipton, Missouri. The co-op released his first two books, “Cat, Duck and the Electric Cooperative” and “Lineman Larry and Kilowatt Katie,” earlier this year.

The latest book focuses on the proper use of electric outlets, the dangers of playing near power lines and pad-mounted transformers, downed power lines and other dangers. Cat and Duck address readers directly to help make the lessons more memorable for the target age group, preschool through second grade.

Like the first two books, Wood plans to read “Cat & Duck Electric Safety” at preschools, library story times and elementary schools. But the new book has more interactive features to appeal to large groups of wriggling, antsy children.

“A book can be really good to read at home to your kids, but when you're trying to read it to a group of 30 or more students, that’s a lot of little attentions that are very hard to keep,” Wood said.

In the third book, the animals speak in a more conversational style and directly ask readers to turn the page or invite them to clap when a character in the book makes a safe choice, such as not flying a kite near an overhead power line. When a character’s hand is about to poke a pencil into an outlet, Cat yells “That is not a plug! DON’T PUT THAT IN THE OUTLET!”

“There’s a lot more humor and more expressive moments, when I have to act it out a little bit more, especially with the cat character who is just beside himself,” Wood said. “Hopefully, that continues to engage readers more and remember the lessons that are taught.”

Wood also learned a lesson from Amazon, which is publishing paperback versions of the Cat and Duck books. The online retailer has specific publishing specs, “or otherwise you have to redo your entire book, which I did. But that was fine because I got to update the art style.”

So far, Wood has received orders from co-ops in more than 25 states, “and I’ve lost count of how many co-ops have requested them.” Tideland EMC kicked off a summer campaign inviting members to send photos of their children’s cutout version of Lineman Larry from their vacations. The Pantego, North Carolina-based co-op has rolled out related activities and will run the photos in an upcoming newsletter.

And to honor requests from several co-ops, Wood has added “Kilowatt Katie,” a female lineworker, to the Flat Stanley-inspired book, “A Lineman’s Day with Lineman Larry.”

“There are a few female lineworkers out there now, and there’s no reason there can’t be more,” said Wood, who’s planning another book on linework during the seasons. “We’re hoping to encourage that.”