Customer Reviews

The Bare Naked Book (Annick Toddler Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I sat down with my son to read this book I was prepared to read about body parts including the "private" ones. It was a real treat to see these parts on a wide variety on bodies. After I read it I sat and thought about how much it really means to share a book like this with my son. For him to see moms with thick tummies and dads with double chins. How unique the characters' facial features and body types were. Slowly it began to occur to me that something was not quite right. Everyone in this book is white.

Normally I do not notice when books have primarily white characters. Our family is caucasion and so we naturally identify with white characters. But when a book like this comes along, and I can see how much the illutrator has made a point of depicting such a wide variety of people, it really feels like something is missing when the characters all have basically light skin.

It is still a very good book, and I highly recommend it.

I bought this book after hearing about it from friends and it certainly lives up to the praise. Both my kids love it and it's very matter of fact about our bodies and how we are different and the same.

This book was purchased for a 26 month old girl who was very curious about the opposite sex and their parts. It was just the right thing! Not too much detail as with other books about our bodies . It simply goes over the various parts of the body in a matter of fact way that is both sweet and light. Many of the books I looked at were too detailed or sophisticated for her.

Lovely little vignettes of real people doing everyday things with their bodies (blowing their nose, making a funny face, taking a bath, slurping spaghetti, nursing a baby). When I say "real," I mean their houses are messy, their hairstyles are lame, and the kids are jumping naked on the bed. Personally I find it refreshing and my toddler loves it too.

I agree with the other reviewer that it would have been nice to have a greater range of ethnicities depicted, but I disagree that everyone in the book is caucasian (maybe my 2006 edition was revised...?).

I love the concept of this book. Each page illustrates a body part on different people: feet, nipples, etc. It presents bodies in a fun, silly and matter of fact way. This is exactly what I want for my kids. I have two problems. The first one is that the book uses the word "vagina" rather than "vulva." This is absolutely wrong. It's like using the word esophagus instead of mouth. It's not accurate. I'll probably white-out and edit the page with the correct term. My second issue are the illustrations. They've become a bit dated with out of style clothing, hair, etc. I know kind of silly, but I take my kids' books pretty seriously, and I want to enjoy them too. I find myself wanting to hum the theme of "Hair" when I read it. I so wish the authors would update this book with new illustrations and accurate terminology! If you do decide to purchase this book, please use the word "vulva" with your children.

This book was OK. It does have one page where it shows the difference between boys and girls and uses the proper names, however, it wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it is a great start. I bought it for my three year old son who started asking if mommy have "balls" (testicles);o) So we got over that hump, I will keep looking for something more specific to the differences between boys and girls, not just naked bodies.

There is so much to like about this book! Matter of fact, your-body-is-good (whether hairless or hairy or flabby or fit or young or old) message, neat and careful illustrations. And my preschooler loves it.

Two things grate at me: one is the whiteness of the book, as mentioned by a previous reviewer. The other is inaccuracy. There's a drawing of a whole family in the bathroom, with a parent and child bathing, a little boy about to use the toilet, and a little girl drying herself with a towel. And the book says, "penises--that's for boys, vaginas--that's for girls." In this context, penis is NOT equivalent to vagina. He's peeing. And it's not a vagina we're looking at anyway, it's a vulva. Vulva is a perfectly good word. A person looking for a matter of fact book about accepting your body shouldn't have to suddenly be faced with a page too coy use the right word.

So when I read it I use the right word, and everybody is happy. I'm very glad I have this book and hope it will be updated.