Sex Is a Funny Word a Book About Bodies Feelings and You
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It's wonderfully inclusive, and I love the level of detail it gives. This book describes body parts and all the ways bodies can be different without getting too deep into the mechanics of sex, so i
The kids at the library know exactly where this is shelved, and sneak off into aisles to read it all the time. I've talked to them about it multiple times, that it's okay for them to read and that's what it's there for! One finally checked it out this week, so I thought it was about time I read it too.It's wonderfully inclusive, and I love the level of detail it gives. This book describes body parts and all the ways bodies can be different without getting too deep into the mechanics of sex, so it's a great introduction for younger readers (ages 9 to 12ish, I'd say). The authors continually make a point of how to treat others' bodies with respect and how all ways of having bodies or feelings are okay, but that boundaries are important. Highly recommend for the curious kiddo.
Of course some parents will have issues with the explicit nature and some of the drawings, but, parents will always find problems with things. There are short sections on inappropriate ("secret") touching and masturbation that are done really well. Otherwise it's really not about sex as an act at all.
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This book talks about the difference between three ways we use the word sex: 1. A perso Thank goodness for this book!!! I have been looking for a way to open the conversation with my kid about sex, and this is such a great resource. We are a queer family that includes a transgender person, so most of the resources about sex are not helpful for us because they describe sex in overly simplistic terms both around describing what genders have what body parts, and also equating sex with reproduction.
This book talks about the difference between three ways we use the word sex: 1. A person's sex to describe what body parts a person has (different than gender); 2. Sex as a way for people to share touch and pleasure; 3. One way grown ups make babies (reproduction). This is so helpful for our family because there is no sex in our story of the way our child came to the world.
(This book is an excellent accompaniment to the intro book called What Makes A Baby? That book just talks about the biology of what it takes to create a human, and has no mention of sexuality, focuses more on biology and diverse ways that families come together.)
One of the things I love about this book is that there is a core theme throughout each section that talks about four key words: Respect, Trust, Joy, and Justice. That sets a tone of preparing kids for understanding consent, cultural difference, pleasure.
It also leaves a lot of room for whoever is reading to discuss key questions in each chapter and talk about what is true for their family, for their community, for their culture. Really well done - setting a tone that balances offering clear definitions but also doesn't limit the definitions to the ones in this book.
I'm so grateful to the authors of this book! Thank you for creating this queer friendly, anti-racist, gender fluid resource for families to support our kids in understanding how to navigate so many complexities of learning about sex! ...more
The book features four relatable kids who take the reader through all the topics covered in the book with humor and a little bit of sass. The illustrations are cartoony and colorful in a Todd Parr kind of way. And the book is very open towards gender non-conforming and LGBTQIA kids.
I've always been a fan of It's Not the Stork for this particular topic but I love, love, love that this book takes it a much needed step further.
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"Progressives" won't stop until everything is destroyed. They eat their own and most are overweight chicks with blue hair so they aren't a threat but to go after children? That's just low man. An 8 year old has no business thinking or discussing what he/she/it/za is attracted to or how they identify sexually. Dude, I was thinking about teenage mutant ninja turtles, goosebumps and mario kart at age 8. It's amazing that you can now go online, admit to abusing your kids, and be apart of this group that praises you for it. More people need to stand up against this insanity. You haven't even gone through puberty at age 8. You don't know what it means to be gay or straight or whatever buzzword is trendy today.
Another thing, either homosexuals are born the way they are or you can choose your sexual identity. You cannot have it both ways! Why are all "progressives" so devoid of logic? I don't get it, this is basic stuff.
I found this comment from a transgender person regarding this book:
"As a transgender person, this shit is f***ing stupid.
Being transgender sucks. It's not something you want to be. Sure, we should make children knowledgeable that hey, this kind of thing exists, but its absurd that some people think we should try and shove it in kids faces."
Another quote I found in regards to this abomination:
"This book asks children to act like adults and question the fundamentals of their body at an early age. If that sounds dangerous or like bad parenting, it's because this book is not about helping children feel whole — it's about promoting the ideology of broken adults."
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I'm being far more specific and preachy about this topic than this book does--in fact, it's really a gentle breeze that runs through the book. Other topics broached, and again, with a very light touch, are crushes/relationships, "secret touching" (used to be called good touch/bad touch), masturbation, words associated with sex, and so on. It utilizes four "characters" who represent fairly fluid categories of individuals: for the most part, their sexuality is ambiguous.
I do wish there had been more specificity. There was no discussion of the mechanics of sex, nor was there any discussion of "sex words" beyond the word "sexy." There was some discussion of sexual organs (described in this book as "middle parts," which I thought was nice--any part of the body can be private, the author argues), but nothing clinical. The illustrations served to show that body parts can look markedly different from person to person, from age to age, which actually can come as a surprise in this time of standardized and totally unachieveable standards of beauty. My son and I laughed at several of the illustrated scenes, and we found the use of question marks and exclamation marks to convey a character's sense of befuddlement or shock really endearing. This book doesn't really explain what sex is, but it provides parents a really low-key way to reinforce the ideas of trust, justice, joy, and respect in the context of all kinds of relationships, sexual and otherwise, as well as an easy way to introduce LGBT "acceptance" or "understanding," which is still in short supply.
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I don't really know why I picked this book up but I loved the title and it seems like a funny graphic novel. However after I was done Bloody hell is this book bad. Yes bad! This book reads like you are learning about the birds and the bees from Mr. Brady, you know the father from the Brady Bunch. However I was not looking forward to hearing long lengthy statements that beat around the bush and never make any sense when he is done talking. I never have been more confused about my body in my life.
I don't really know why I picked this book up but I loved the title and it seems like a funny graphic novel. However after I was done with this book I was not quite sure about myself. Are my touches bad, are my morals wrong, should I be dating girls? So many unanswered questions. God why would someone write this book and with kids in mind. No no no! This book is going back on the library shelf far in the back corner of the kids parenting section and hopefully will never come down again. I would pass this book up if you ever cross it path. You have been warned! ...more
I can appreciate an approach to teaching kids about sex in healthy ways. I think it is the right step towards abandoning abstinence as the only option. I think the approach in this book was an honest effort: welcoming of questions and inclusive of all types of people and situations. Most importantly, I liked the effort made towards helping kids come forward about abuse.
However, I can't help thinking that a lot of the subjects talked about are incredibly vague as a
Read this for Banned Books Week!I can appreciate an approach to teaching kids about sex in healthy ways. I think it is the right step towards abandoning abstinence as the only option. I think the approach in this book was an honest effort: welcoming of questions and inclusive of all types of people and situations. Most importantly, I liked the effort made towards helping kids come forward about abuse.
However, I can't help thinking that a lot of the subjects talked about are incredibly vague as a result of being so inclusive. Perhaps I'm too far away from that time when I knew nothing about these subjects. But I think this book could have been a great opportunity to discuss these subjects a bit more concretely.
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The illustrations are vibrant and playful. The text is accessible and consistently supports discussion with trusted adults.
(LGBTQA+ friendly, diverse characters)
This book was amazing! It has so many thought provoking questions. And I lik
As a parent, and as an asexual, I read a lot of books about sex to help prepare me as much as I can for when my two daughters are older and I need to give them the sex talk, as well as guide them through their teenage years. I used to be worried about how I wouldnt understand what they will go through. But it is such a fascinating subject, and I have learned so much and I'm beginning to feel so confident in my knowledge.This book was amazing! It has so many thought provoking questions. And I like how they're worded as if there's no wrong answer. Also it subtly doesn't mention boy and girl parts. It just says "some bodies have" this or that. And it is so matter or fact and unbiased about how different peoples bodies can look.
This book does introduces the idea of trans and non-binary in a few pages, but its as well done as the rest of the book! It talks about consent in all forms of touching as well as bad touching, which is worded so well. So easy and concise and simple to understand for children.
Certain parts would be better at different stages, and the book even says that in the introduction. It would be good to own and share with your children in stages as they grow.
This doesn't actually say what sex (intercourse) is. It talks a lot about bodies, touching, consent, and feelings. But not intercourse. So it's for slightly younger kids than the usual sex talk, depending on how you feel of course. For the real sex talk you'll need something more. But this is such a great starting point! I highly recommend this for all parents!
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I picked up this book to find resources for families to help their students navigate developmental milestones. The front of the book has a guide for adults who plan to read this material with their kid(s). I appreciate their recommendations and highlighting which topics would benefit from structured conversations.
This book follows several middle-school-aged students. Their discussions on relationships, love, and res
I'm a middle school counselor, working with kids who are going through puberty.I picked up this book to find resources for families to help their students navigate developmental milestones. The front of the book has a guide for adults who plan to read this material with their kid(s). I appreciate their recommendations and highlighting which topics would benefit from structured conversations.
This book follows several middle-school-aged students. Their discussions on relationships, love, and respect are all illustrated with colorful cartoons.
I love the attention to detail and inclusivity (both illustrations and language). The author also addresses issues of consent (for any touching, including hugs). I would absolutely recommend this book for families who are getting ready to have "the talk!"
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I wish I'd had this book when I was a youngster, and my heart broke a little realizing how different things could have been had I had this in my arsenal as a pre-teen. I wish I'd been given this kind of permission and been invited to think about what I wanted for myself, and what I thought about things like my body and sex.
This boo
When I finished reading this book, my first thought was, "How do I get this book into the hands of every single parent, caretaker, teacher, child, and parent-to-be?"I wish I'd had this book when I was a youngster, and my heart broke a little realizing how different things could have been had I had this in my arsenal as a pre-teen. I wish I'd been given this kind of permission and been invited to think about what I wanted for myself, and what I thought about things like my body and sex.
This book is revolutionary, the concepts are groundbreaking, and I want to see an entire movement of young people raised on books like this. That's how we change the world.
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I will make mistakes as a parent, in important areas, yes. But I'm grateful to have the opportunity to give my son something different, and, hopefully, better than I was given.
10/10, would recommend.
Respect. Trust. Joy. Justice...Everything that was missing from my own childhood sex education.I will make mistakes as a parent, in important areas, yes. But I'm grateful to have the opportunity to give my son something different, and, hopefully, better than I was given.
10/10, would recommend.
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As with the preceding book for younger kids by t
Many great things, especially because the point is reading together and asking questions and having discussions. In this day and age, there is no point NOT talking to your kids about LGBTQ sexuality, because it is simply part of the world, and if it's not something you talk about, your kids will learn about it from others. This book is very open about the fact that while most people fit well with standard gender norms, not everyone feels that way.As with the preceding book for younger kids by this author/illustrator pair, the illustrations were not great for me. While the body part drawings were good (cartoony but also realistic), the overall feel is not-human, which i don't think was the intention.
Good section on "secret touching" which most parents will have learned as bad touch. Secrets are usually destructive, so labeling this as secret touching in my opinion is very good. This is along side helpful/hurtful touch, which again is a good approach in my opinion, as unwelcome touching is not always harmful (i.e. doctor exams).
The one big content issue is biological. Doctors DO determine if a baby is a boy or girl by what they see on the outside, and that isn't the whole story, but internal organs and DNA also "show" sex, which was not presented at all. I think it is dishonest to not discuss this in the name of inclusivity. Why not include it but still affirm it is safe to not feel like you reflect your biology? It will eventually be something that needs to be faced by anyone departing from their biological reality.
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There are some people who are upset and think this book is bad. Well, all they have to do is say "it's not for me" and walk away. They don't want anyone to read it. I say parents and guardians need to read it and see if it is a book that would benefit the kids they are responsible for and not worry about what others say.
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It's presented like a comic, and the whole thing is in brightly colored and engaging drawings. We follow four characters between 8 and 11 years of age, who are all different and have great personalities.
The book goes over,
- trust, respect, justice, and joy as they pertain to ourselves, our bodies, and other peoples' bodies
- touch, when touch is ok, how to ask for permission to touch, that it ok to not want to be touched, and that secret touching (when som
It's presented like a comic, and the whole thing is in brightly colored and engaging drawings. We follow four characters between 8 and 11 years of age, who are all different and have great personalities.
The book goes over,
- trust, respect, justice, and joy as they pertain to ourselves, our bodies, and other peoples' bodies
- touch, when touch is ok, how to ask for permission to touch, that it ok to not want to be touched, and that secret touching (when someone asks you to keep it a secret) is something that should be shared with a trusted adult.
- sexual reproductive organs (again, these are drawings) that emphasize that not all sex organs look the same!
- that it is ok to feel like you aren't exactly what everyone else thinks (as far as sex and gender)
- and so much more!
I love that at the ends of each chapter there are a few questions for kids to think about and talk about with their trusted adults.
I wish I could have read a book like this in my younger years. So much shame and harm comes from not teaching comprehensive and necessary sex education.
...moreCory is the co-author of four books, including the ALA Stonewall Honor Book Sex Is a Funny Word, Wh
Raised in the 1970s by a children's librarian and a sex therapist, Cory Silverberg grew up to be a sex educator, an author, and queer person who smiles a lot when they talk. Cory received a master's degree in education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.Cory is the co-author of four books, including the ALA Stonewall Honor Book Sex Is a Funny Word, What Makes a Baby, and most recently, You Know, Sex, all with Fiona Smyth. Their life is full of kids. All of them know where babies come from. Some know more.
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