Customer Reviews

It's Not the Stork!: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends (The Family Library)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Many people think that this book, and the topic of sex and sexuality, should be avoided until the child asks about it. They hope such questions will arise around puberty. YOU SHOULD TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT SEX AND THEIR BODIES WHEN THEY'RE OLD ENOUGH TO WALK AND INTERACT WITH OTHER HUMANS. Why? Because if you wait until puberty to talk about "parts" and "making love", kissing, etc., you're leaving thirteen years during which your child can and --10%+ for young boys and 20%+ for young girls--will get sexually abused by somebody who takes advantage of the fact that they don't know any better.

This book is a blessing. In a not-too-graphic fashion, it depicts the differences between boys and girls, differences between men and women, and pregnancy. If you are uncomfortable teaching your toddler about sex, at the very least teach him/her the differences between boys and girls, and what is and isn't appropriate touching. As this book has nice cartoony but anatomically correct pictures of a naked boy and a naked girl, a parent can use it with a child of any age to *at least* show where is appropriate touching for which sex without frightening the child. I would recommend holding off the actual sex part of the book until the child is around nine or ten, but please parents, you must be comfortable teaching your child about his or her own body and what is appropriate touching from anybody to your child and from your child to anybody else.

With regards to content, the book uses simple text and real words. For example, "penis" and "vagina". I think parents ought to use these words with their children and teach them when it is appropriate to use them. For parents afraid that using such real language will land them in embarrassing situations, note that your children won't yell out curse words or anatomy words unless you pay attention to them when they do it.

With regards to the book's pictures, they are pretty cartoonish but anatomically correct. There is a picture of mom & dad having sex, but nothing that would be considered pornagraphic in any way. The picture of mom giving birth is more comical than anything else, not graphic at all.

Buy the book, share the anatomy part with your toddler, share the sex part with your prepubescent child, share the birth part with your twelve- or thirteen-year-old, but don't wait for your child to discover their sexuality at the hands of a "friend"-of-the-family (70%+ of child molestations) or the television (most people in my generation).

When my kids started asking reproduction and anatomy questions, I checked out and read the reviews of every book on the subject I could find. I'm an RN, so it was important to me that it was accurate as well as engaging for my kids. I am so glad I picked this one. My children were 4 and 6 when we bought this book, and they absolutely loved it from the first reading. So did I. It has all the information I was hoping for and it is presented so appropriately for the age. Nothing is scary or more detailed than necessary. The illustrations are bright and fun and keep the kids engaged. The book is set up in such a way that is easy to navigate - that is, you can read it from beginning to end, and it flows appropriately - starting with body parts and boy/girl differences, reproduction in the middle, and a small section at the end about good and bad touches. You can also easily jump to the section that you or your child prefers without taking away from the book. For example, my daughter is fascinated by the cartoon showing the sperm swimming to the egg and we often just start there.

As a parent of young children and as an RN, I recommend this book to all parents

I bought this because my five year old girl started asking "Where do babies come from?" The book is honest without being graphic and the pictures are not shocking. She liked the little cartoons and the simplified diagrahams. Besides just teaching the very basics about sex and where do babies come from, it also helped open the door to the conversation about good touches and bad touches. Who is allowed to touch you and what to do if someone touches you that shouldn't be.

My daughter really liked the book and didn't find it overwhelming. However, before someone buys this book, or any other book like this for their toddle, I would definitely suggest looking around at a lot of books on this topic.

I was not offended by anything in this book, but I felt that the basic information I want to convey to our kids got lost. There are too many subtopics, the illustrations overwhelm the text (and at some points are a bit too descriptive), the speech balloons are distracting.....the book goes in so many different directions. I would rather cover each area with a separate book and a separate discussion. For someone who is looking for a very basic, no frills, no confusion book about the essentials of human reproduction and nothing else, I recommend Before You Were a Baby by Paul Showers and Kay Sperry Showers. It's out of print but can be purchased used.

I first heard about this book on the news. I think it is an appropriate "tool" in aiding your children "over time". At different ages it will be extremely useful, we do not plan to go over the whole book at one time with our daughter, but at the different ages she advances to. I think its great to use correct names for body parts, we should not be ashamed to do so. And its great to understand how the body works. I was never taught about ovaries and thought I was dieing when I had my first period. No one ever taught me about sex which is why I had sex at 16, people who teach their children in advance and at appropriate ages will instill in them important knowledge and give this the upper hand vrs. other children who's parents aren't telling them anything!

I recently checked this book out from our local library and I thought it was so great that I came here to purchase it. My son is almost 6 and knows most of what is in this book already, but it is presented in such an entertaining, yet accurate, fashion that he's enjoyed reading further on the subjects presented and I would like to have our own copy both for him and the child I am expecting.

I do not believe there is anything in this book that is inappropriate for children over 4 (it says right on the cover that it is for age 4 and up). Even the section on sex is very mild and makes a clear point of telling children why they are not ready to take part in the act themselves. I have always been candid with my son when it comes to any of the subjects in the book as I feel that the sooner they learn, the less taboo the matter is and the more likely they are to make good choices in the future.

Parts of the book are amusing little comic strips, something I think that children will enjoy breaking up the monotony of the more structured sections, but all of the pages have some little jokes or comments by bird and bee characters to keep the attention of young children while still staying on subject.

While it is very cute, I've found that it is more informative than most books I have checked out on the various topics. It teaches about the differences between boys and girls, growing up, reproduction and fetal development, okay touches vs. not okay touches, friendships and more.

A truly excellent resource presented in a manner that kids will actually enjoy!

I bought this book a while ago for my three and a half year old daughter. After perusing it myself a bit, I left it lying around for her to discover on her own and waited for her to bring it to me. She's insatiable with books, so of course she found it right away. We read it pretty much cover to cover within the first two nights. After that she seemed to lose interest for a while, but several weeks later I found her "reading" it on her own, and since then she's returned to it an average of once or twice a week. I almost always let her decide how to read it (the exception being that I have prodded her to read the section on good and bad touches). Sometimes she wants me to read every word, sometimes she only wants the cartoons. Sometimes she wants the whole book, sometimes only certain parts. Mostly she focuses on the baby growing in the mommy's tummy. She doesn't want to hear much about the sexual act itself and she tends to gloss over the part about how the baby comes out (she often says the baby comes out through the mommy's mouth).

That's the great thing about this book, that kids can decide for themselves what they want to hear based on their own developmental level. I believe that kids are great at self-selecting what they're ready for and that, other than correcting false understandings such as the above-referenced idea that the baby is born through the mother's mouth, the parent can simply let the child lead the way. If a child is not ready to learn about a particular aspect, s/he will simply tune it out and gloss over that part. But it's a decision the child needs to make - parents need to be prepared to deal with anything the child is ready for and should never underestimate the child. This book works well whether read as a whole, or simply in stand-alone chapters touching only on specific interests or concerns.

Even the parts of the book that my daughter doesn't take much interest in are still important. For instance, the section about different kinds of families. My daughter has been exposed to many different types of families, so I'm sure she thinks "whatever", but it's good to have another source to normalize different ideas of what makes a family. Also, there are parts that feel a bit like a lecture (e.g., telling kids that they don't have to do everything their friends want them to and their friends don't have to do everything they want them to), but I think it's necessary for kids to hear it, even if they gloss over it.

The one thing I would like to see added is a section on genetics. My husband and I are a mixed race couple and my daughter is starting to show interest in the differences between us and how she and her baby sister look similar to and different from each other and us. It would be nice to have a section to tie this in to sex/reproduction so she has a better understanding of how she got to be who she is.

But overall this is a wonderful book to start a conversation with a young child and give him/her basic information to understand his/her body and where s/he came from. It's perfectly targeted to younger children, as older children will probably find the cartoons and other graphics rather cheesy, and it doesn't cover quite the range or depth of information that an older child needs (for instance, it doesn't cover much about puberty). But for young children it presents basic information they need to understand about their bodies and where they came from in a visual format that is easy to understand and feel comfortable with. Ideally this book will be a touchstone for further discussion and learning, as well as a signal to the child that his/her parents are open and approachable about even the most personal matters.

I was informed of these books from a friend of mine that is a sexual educator. What a joy they are! Very simple, yet detailed. No candy coating. But they are age appropriate. I would highly recommend these books to any parent. It makes the birds and the bees talk easier. There might be a little too much info for some people. But in my eyes, there isn't a such thing as too much info. We need to inform our children that their bodies are sacred and why they are. My 7 yr old daughter will play school with her "imaginary friends" and these books. Its awesome to hear her explain it. Again I have ready many a book on this subject and these (there are three total written by this author, ranging in ages from 4, 7 & 10 and up.) We have them all and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I got this book for my two boys, ages 10 and 5. They were so interested in it. My 10 year old's best friend was there the night when I started reading it to my 5 year old. At first they were giggling at some at the pictures. But pretty soon I had all three of them on the couch with me just soaking up information. They even asked some questions, and said they learned some things they didn't realize. It's very simple, and to the point, without going into great detail. The pictures are cartoons, but very realistic. It's a great book to start out with, because it doesn't get bogged down with details that are too complicated for children this age. I plan on getting the next two books for my older son.

Bought this to help me answer those questions my 7 year old was asking. The age for this is listed as 4. I don't think I would use it for a child that young but it was perfect for what I needed. The illustrations are great, very child friendly. The descriptions were not overly graphic. I would recommend it to any one to help open the discussion with their child.