A well-intentioned but less than satisfactory picture book on sex education for primary-grade children, from the team behind Dinosaurs Die (1996), and other guides. In simple words and drawings, the book covers anatomical differences (both external and internal) between boys and girls; rudimentary facts about sexual behavior (including masturbation), pregnancy, and birth; and information about ``good'' touching and ``bad'' touching. Set on a nearly impossible course, the book errs by providing both too much information and too little. Certain structures (e.g., clitoris, seminal vesicles, foreskin) are mentioned in the text or shown in diagrams with no further explanation. Intercourse is defined as ``when a man and woman fit his penis into her vagina,'' but the diagrams of the male and female organs make such a ``fit'' inconceivable. That sperm and egg meet during intercourse is clear, but ejaculation and the motility of sperm are not mentioned, possibly giving rise to some alarming speculations about the mechanics of coitus. In the section about ``bad touch'' the child is advised to ``speak up and tell him or her to stop. If that doesn't work, tell your mom or dad or another grown-up.'' A responsible adult should be informed of any inappropriate touching. The laudable ambition—to make it easier for parents to talk with their children—is only partially realized. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-316-10915-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1997
Rick the bear and his pal, Jack the rabbit, star in their second emergent reader, featuring just one or two short and simple sentences per page. Rick is sick in bed and Jack tries to help by bringing hot tea and an ice pack, by sitting on Rick’s tummy, and finally by curling up next to Rick for a nap. McPhail’s appealing animal characters are full of expression as always, with the pair of devoted friends featured in circular watercolor-and-ink illustrations alternating with pages of text. The actual story is just 16 pages long, with the remaining pages devoted to a follow-up activity (creating a friendship award), a page of discussion questions, author biography, and two pages of information about the Green Light Readers series, including a list of titles. This format seems intended for classroom use and includes guided reading and Reading Recovery levels for teachers. (Easy reader. 5-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-15-205091-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Green Light/Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2004
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
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