Boys, Girls & Body Science: A First Book About Facts of Life

Rating:
Summary: Great approach, well-written, great book
Review: I took a chance buying this book when no-one had written any reviews about it, but the publisher write-up looked so good I had to give it a try - and I am quite glad I did. In the book, Meg, a nurse, is invited to a classroom to explain about what she calls 'body science' (reproduction). In a most gentle, sensitive, and delicate manner, she teaches the children to think about 'embarrassing' things in the way that a scientist would, then she goes on to teach about those 'embarrassing' subjects. This book is written on a very basic level, big illustrations and only a few paragraphs of text on each page, obviously written for a younger audience. The book perceptively takes into account what the children's responses and reactions may be, which makes the reader feel like they are understood, and makes them feel at ease. My 8 year old daughter understood everything and was not 'grossed out' at all, to her it was all very matter-of-fact, but my 10 year old son groaned a big 'yuck' at the one unavoidably direct sentence in the whole book (there is no way around explaining the nitty-gritty of how babies are made...) My 10 year old son's reaction should not deter you from buying this book, I don't think anyone could present this material any better. My 13 year old son liked the book and learned from it but said it was written for younger kids. I am very pleased with this book and will be using it for my two youngest children when they are old enough to be ready for it. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect book on the facts of life for my 8 year old
Review: This is really an extraordinarily well balanced presentation of the facts of life for an 8 or 9 year old. The characters in the book reacted exactly like my 8 year old when hearing the somewhat embarrassing (for him) facts of life. My son laughed pretty hard as the character in the book said "Yuck!" when hearing how babies are made. This book had tactful but direct illustrations and overall the book is a wonderful aide to any parent who wants to make sure their children understand the basic facts of life.