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A Very Touching Book...for Little People and for Big People
Book Details:Format: PaperbackPublication Date: 7/1/1983Pages: 52
52 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 11, 2012
This has been a fantastic resource for me and my husband in our efforts in teaching our children appopritate physical and sexual information. Our approach has been to use the book and it's candid, fact based teaching as a catalist to other discussions on the topics of healthy sexuality and physical saftey. This book offers opportunities for both child and parent to become more comfortable with topics that often times our culture makes shameful and embarrasing. Promoting healthy ideals of both physical and sexual awarness. I highly recommend this book to parents and caregivers.
July 24, 2008
Great book to read to children about appropriate touching and body parts.
It is creative and the picture make you laugh.
Wonderful book all round.
It is creative and the picture make you laugh.
Wonderful book all round.
October 17, 2018
I’d give this a solid 4.5. I really, really liked the second half of the book addressing “secret touching”. Hindman does a great job of providing examples of sexually abusive (secret) touching. I like how she describes that keeping “special parts” private is important until we are adults and why. She also informs the reader how to disclose “secret touching” without shaming and why it’s important to talk about “secret touching” if it has happened. It really provides a safe place for a young reader to understand the issue of “secret touching”.
With that said, the illustrations were not my favorite. In a book like this, geared towards kids, I thought some of the images were complicated and hard to understand. I also thought the illustrations in the first half of the book describing male and female special parts seemed awkward. I preferred the illustration style of “Sex is a funny word” better. Also, I didn’t feel that Hindman describes the “purple face syndrome” very clearly.
Overall, i thought this book was a solid presentation of sexual issues in a comfortable and conversation-engaging format.
As a side note, I read this with my 4 and 6 year old after my initial reading and thought it went over really well.
With that said, the illustrations were not my favorite. In a book like this, geared towards kids, I thought some of the images were complicated and hard to understand. I also thought the illustrations in the first half of the book describing male and female special parts seemed awkward. I preferred the illustration style of “Sex is a funny word” better. Also, I didn’t feel that Hindman describes the “purple face syndrome” very clearly.
Overall, i thought this book was a solid presentation of sexual issues in a comfortable and conversation-engaging format.
As a side note, I read this with my 4 and 6 year old after my initial reading and thought it went over really well.
August 12, 2018
Oh my gosh, so good. It explained things that I have been trying to explain to my girls in a *very* age appropriate way. For parents who are uncomfortable with bringing up these conversations it provides an easy format with some comedic relief sprinkled in here and there. Such an important topic for children to truly understand.
May 25, 2009
I really like the approach of this book. But for 2 reasons I view it as more of a resource for parents/adults to know how to talk to kids about sexual abuse rather than a book to read with kids to teach them about it. (1) There are a lot of pages with a lot of text on each page that would make it hard for a child to remain interested in all of the info on each page and to stay focused for the entire book. (2) Some of the early pictures show naked people ... I'm not saying that it's not appropriate to talk about the parts of our bodies and use correct terminology, but these pictures just seemed not really age-appropriate for the audience. But this is a personal thing and you might feel differently. I think maybe I would only show a few of the pages as I just generally talked about the issue?
Here is a rough outline of how the subject is approached:
* Talk about feelings
* Our bodies and how boys are different from girls
* Explains that there are parts of our bodies that are special and that's why we cover them. (I like one part in particular that shows people at the grocery store that are mostly naked but with other random body parts covered -- such as hands, ears, feet -- to show how our clothes cover the special parts of our bodies.
* When we are adults we can share the special parts of our bodies with someone else and that it's an important decision
* Define Good Touching
* Define Bad Touching
* Define Secret Touching
* Gives examples of Secret Touching and explains the difference (ie: doctor's visits, changing diapers, etc)
This book is FULL of information so I'm sure I missed something here, but this should give you a general idea. I think it's definitely a book worth checking out (if you are a parent), if for no other reason than to figure out how to approach this subject with your own kids. My sister-in-law had another book that dealt with this subject that I like better in how it presents the information to kids, but I think the information is actually better in this book along with how it is approached so I would choose this book first.
Here is a rough outline of how the subject is approached:
* Talk about feelings
* Our bodies and how boys are different from girls
* Explains that there are parts of our bodies that are special and that's why we cover them. (I like one part in particular that shows people at the grocery store that are mostly naked but with other random body parts covered -- such as hands, ears, feet -- to show how our clothes cover the special parts of our bodies.
* When we are adults we can share the special parts of our bodies with someone else and that it's an important decision
* Define Good Touching
* Define Bad Touching
* Define Secret Touching
* Gives examples of Secret Touching and explains the difference (ie: doctor's visits, changing diapers, etc)
This book is FULL of information so I'm sure I missed something here, but this should give you a general idea. I think it's definitely a book worth checking out (if you are a parent), if for no other reason than to figure out how to approach this subject with your own kids. My sister-in-law had another book that dealt with this subject that I like better in how it presents the information to kids, but I think the information is actually better in this book along with how it is approached so I would choose this book first.
October 13, 2012
After reading dozens of books about touch and sexual safety/sexual abuse for young children this is the first book that inspires me and makes me believe we can keep doing better. And it's one of the older titles (I think originally published in 1983).
It takes a much more complicated approach to talking and teaching about touch, moving beyond the geography of bodies (bad touch = touch in certain parts) and grounding the discussion in an understanding that touch can be good and bad, and that touching and exploring our bodies and other bodies is not necessarily a bad thing.
The author also does what many books in this genre don't bother doing; she drills down to the why. She answers, for herself at least, the question "why are some parts of our bodies private". I am fascinated by the author's explanation. It doesn't work for me, but it has been helpful in encouraging me to think through how I will explain this not only to children in my life but also in my own books for children about sexual health.
I would recommend this as a book that all children should read early and often. While the author's message and framing won't be to everyone's liking and won't fit with everyone's values and beliefs, it is written in a way that easily allows parents/caregivers to add in their own framing and answers. In this way it avoids the expert trap that I find leaves so many of these books wanting. Also the illustrations are great!
It takes a much more complicated approach to talking and teaching about touch, moving beyond the geography of bodies (bad touch = touch in certain parts) and grounding the discussion in an understanding that touch can be good and bad, and that touching and exploring our bodies and other bodies is not necessarily a bad thing.
The author also does what many books in this genre don't bother doing; she drills down to the why. She answers, for herself at least, the question "why are some parts of our bodies private". I am fascinated by the author's explanation. It doesn't work for me, but it has been helpful in encouraging me to think through how I will explain this not only to children in my life but also in my own books for children about sexual health.
I would recommend this as a book that all children should read early and often. While the author's message and framing won't be to everyone's liking and won't fit with everyone's values and beliefs, it is written in a way that easily allows parents/caregivers to add in their own framing and answers. In this way it avoids the expert trap that I find leaves so many of these books wanting. Also the illustrations are great!
August 5, 2014
My son's therapist recommended, let me read it first, and then she went through the book with my son over a course of three sessions. My son is eight years old and already starting puberty, after him and his therapist discussed the book i asked him how he felt about it. My son said that he likes how the book calls embarrassment "purple faces" and that the book answered most of his questions. He now wants to read a book about the changes your body goes through as you get older.
I have recommended this to other parents with children asking about thier bodies or kids that want to teach about good touch bad touch.
I have recommended this to other parents with children asking about thier bodies or kids that want to teach about good touch bad touch.
August 15, 2008
A great story, told with humor, that tackles a very serious subject. I don't read this one to our girls all the time, but I do read it occasionally to remind them about the kinds of touching.. good, bad, and secret
September 10, 2008
I use this book at work and it's great to use with the little ones who need to learn about boundaries and how to avoid "secret touching". Very child friendly with colorful pictures and simplified text.
September 12, 2008
Very good book that every parent should read to their children. I use it in my job all the time to teach children about secret touching and what to do. Great opener for all of those who have a hard time talking about sexual parts but want to teach safety.
December 22, 2011
This is a must read for parents. It is a great way to start teaching children how to understand and avoid or know what to do if they encounter sexual abuse. It's a great format for even the youngest of children.
February 23, 2010
A very good book with good information. However, it was quite wordy and long. Perhaps better for children a little older.
August 19, 2014
Must read for all kids and parents!
September 7, 2015
Useful book when a kid reaches that place where he/she starts asking questions about their body.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews