50 Ridiculous Scenarios. One Goal: Keep TOM Alive.

Fifty disasters. Fifty chances to be the hero TOM desperately needs. One very entertaining way to accidentally learn first aid.

Yesterday we introduced you to TOM — the lovably reckless character at the heart of Can You Save TOM? by John L. Today we're going a little deeper into what the book actually is, why it works, and why it looks nothing like any first aid book you've ever seen before.

The short version: it's an interactive choose-your-own-adventure game where every adventure is a disaster TOM has caused himself, and every choice you make either saves him or makes things significantly, comically worse. It's also — somehow — genuinely educational. TOM has a gift for making safety information stick.

A taste of TOM's 50 disasters

The book spans 50 chapters, each one a fresh catastrophe. Here's a small sample of what's waiting inside:

🐻 The Gummy DisasterTOM ate 37 gummy vitamins. He now wonders if he's turning into a blueberry.

🐍 The Snake Named GaryTOM tried to pet a wild snake. He named it first, which made the bite worse somehow.

💨 The Mystery DrinkTOM found an unlabelled liquid and thought "only one way to find out."

🏃 The Treadmill of DoomTOM got on a treadmill. TOM got off a treadmill. Not by choice.

🎆 The Fireworks 'Experiment'TOM had hypotheses about fireworks. Science did not go his way.

🧱 The Lego TrapTOM walked across a dark room. It went exactly as you'd expect.

🦷 The DIY Toothache FixTOM had a toothache. TOM had a toolbox. TOM made some choices.

🐝 The BeesTOM found a nest. TOM had a stick. The bees had opinions.

Each of these is a full chapter — scenario, multiple-choice options, consequences for every answer (good and terrible), a riddle or drawing prompt, and a real educational section explaining the actual first aid behind the chaos.

How the book works

📖 The Format — Chapter by Chapter

1) TOM gets into troubleEach chapter opens with a short, ridiculous scenario. TOM is in some kind of predicament — usually one that was entirely avoidable.

2) You choose what to doFour options. Some are clearly wrong. Some look plausible. One is correct. Choose wisely — or TOM might end up glowing, screaming, or calling for his mum.

3) You find out what happensThe correct answer comes with an explanation. The wrong answers come with consequences — short, funny descriptions of exactly how badly things went.

4) You learn the real scienceEvery chapter ends with a short educational section — the actual first aid, biology, or safety knowledge behind TOM's chaos. No textbook required.

5) You earn (or lose) pointsTrack your score through

out the book. At the end, total it up to find out if you're a Tom-Saving Legend — or just as doomed as he is.

Everything packed into one book

🎯 50 Scenarios

Every chapter a new disaster, each one worse than the last for TOM.

✏️ Drawing Prompts

Silly challenges scattered throughout to keep young readers laughing.

🧩 Riddles & Jokes

The jokes are intentionally terrible. TOM would have it no other way.

📱 QR Codes

Scan to reach real safety videos and trusted first aid resources.

🏆Scoring System

Track every choice. Find out at the end if you're a Legend or a liability.

🩺Real First Aid

Every chapter teaches a genuine safety skill, wrapped in TOM's chaos.

The scoring system: are YOU a Tom-Saving Legend?

One of the best touches in the book is that it keeps score. Every time you make a choice — right or wrong — it feeds into a running total. At the very end, you tally everything up against the scoring card and find out where you land.

🏆 TOM Survival Score Card

Your final tally at the end of all 50 chapters will place you in one of these legendary (or not so legendary) categories:

Top ScoreTom-Saving Legend — TOM owes you his life. Possibly multiple lives.

Mid ScoreDecent effort — TOM survived most things, with a few bumps along the way.

Low ScoreJust as doomed as he is — you and TOM should probably never be left unsupervised.

The scoring makes the book brilliantly replayable. Kids who find out they scored badly the first time will want to go back and beat it. Kids who score well want to beat their own record, or test a sibling. It turns a book into a game — and the game turns into a quietly excellent first aid education.

Who is this book actually for?

Officially, Can You Save TOM? is aimed at children aged 8 and up. In practice, it works for a much wider audience than that.

Kids aged 8–14---The primary audience. Funny enough to hold their attention, educational enough to actually teach something.

Families reading together-----Perfect for family game nights. Read a chapter each, compare answers, argue about Gary the snake.

Teachers & educators----The QR codes link to trusted resources. The scenarios cover a broad curriculum of safety topics.

Adults, honestly first aid knowledge fades. TOM makes it stick again. No judgment if you miss a few questions.

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