And Sexual Health (The Family Library) - Changing Bodies

Thank goodness for books on sex education for kids. As someone that received no information as a child/teenager, I find it challenging to talk with my daughter about this subject. This book series has been really helpful to both normalize and have open conversations about sex. I feel great about the fact that my daughter can (and does) sit for what seems like forever reading this book.
The cartoons and jokes keeps it lighthearted; which I think makes it more enjoyable to read. It covers topics such as: what is love, how babies grow, what is sex, and keeping safe (appropriate vs. inappropriate touching) and many more.
I think every family library should have this book series.

A friend recommended this book to us, and was she ever right on target! My 7-year-old son had known the basics--that babies grew in the mother's uterus and came from a sperm from the dad and an egg from the mom--for a long time. Now, however, he wanted to know how the sperm and egg got together. Enter "It's So Amazing!" He wanted to read it as soon as it arrived, and we have already read it through 3 times. He'll also sit and look through it on his own every once in a while. The book is really written at the perfect level for him without being at all condescending. Its straightforward, no-nonsense approach, with a little humor thrown in, sets just the right tone. The two narrator characters let kids know that it's ok if they feel curious and interested or if they feel embarrassed and shy about these questions. The illustrations are engaging and informative without being too graphic or cutesy. I particularly appreciated the brief discussion of C-sections, since he knows that's how he was born. I would recommend this to anyone who is comfortable with their child getting the straight scoop.

Covers a lot more than the basics and kid friendly. Conveniently got pregnant soon after reading this book with my kid so she understood everything. Definitely brought up questions of what mommy did to get pregnant..but I'm grateful she understood pregnancy way more than the average 8 year old by then.

Great book for teaching kids the facts of life. It doesn't shrink away from any topics. The images are really funny and had me laughing while reading the book with my daughter. I would recommend this book and the others in this series.

THIS IS THE GREATEST POSSIBLE RESOURCE. We are parents who would be more than happy and comfortable to talk to our daughter (she is 10) about anything, but the truth is, she isn't interested in that conversation with US and we really want her to be properly and well informed. Finally, there is a resource that we feel we can just hand over without limits. Thank you for writing this book. It could not be more clear, more honest, more open, more thorough, more perfect.

This is a wonderful book to help teach human development to children and youth. The information is presented using a comic book style format and humor. Children enjoyed looking through this book with an adult or alone. I would recommend this book for 3rd-6th or 7th graders. There are also two other books, "It's NOT the stork" which is the presented in the same format but fora slightly younger audience, maybe only through 3rd grade - because there are fewer details. I would recommend the other book - "It's Perfectly Normal" for maybe 5th or 6th onward because it gives more details and therefore may be for middle schoolers onward, etc... It's also at the families /child's readiness. I recommend buying all three and continuing the conversations as they arise or as the child is ready to discuss different material. I recommend this book and the others from this series. VERY well done. Very approachable and comfortable. Great way to start serious and necessary conversations. Media, embarrassment, fear, and friends, should not be our children's only teachers for such important sets of information.

This is a great book to start those important conversations with my daughter. We read a chapter or two a night and talk about what we have read. I can also answer my daughter's questions and/or clarify any misconceptions. The bird and bee characters and illustrations make the book more kid friendly and the topics not so intimidating to bring up with my child.

This was exactly what I needed for discussions with my tween. It organizes things well and was a great opening for discussions and questions! I even learned some things about boys that I didn't know! Highly recommend!

This book blends humor through the bird and the bee illustrated characters to keep the content semi-light. This books presents facts as well as represents what is going on in society. Before I gave it to our son I said he might read things in the book that aren't consistent with what he knows. The book provides reasons why women have abortions. While we are Catholic and oppose abortion, I said it is important to understand different attitudes toward issues and use your own moral compass to make informed decisions. And supplement reading the book with having an open dialogue with your kids!

My nine-year-old daughter devours factual books like mad. I decided that she was old enough now to delve into the facts of life. I wanted a book that was appropriate for her age group without dancing around the topic too much. This book was tastefully and engagingly written. It touches briefly on sex without dwelling on the mechanics, discusses sperm and eggs with cartoons, and talks about pregnancy with a brief page or so on delivery. More than that, it discusses anatomical differences in boys and girls and the reasons for them. I feel very confident that I've armed my daughter with appropriate facts that will help her to understand choices she will have to make in the next several years. All I can do is educate her to help her make good choices.

One of the best things about these books is that they are not geared toward either gender. It's an excellent introduction for both.

I also bought the book for my middle child, but given her tendency to tell everyone everything on her mind, I've opted to give it some time before I present her with the book. Ha!

I cannot recommend this book for families who prefer to shield their children from the facts of life. If you are concerned about introducing too much information to your child before you feel they are ready, this is not the book for you. If you are on the fence, however, and unsure about how tastefully this book is written, I can't recommend this book enough. I was nervous about presenting my daughter with this book but she stepped up with her maturity, absorbed the information, and that was that. Win/win for all!

I waited for my husband to have the conversation with my son and somehow he never quite got to it during christmas break. Thanks a lot, hubby. Anyway, I decided to turn to a professional and got this book. Each night my husband and I read the book a few chapters a night. I was not embarrassed and he seemed to be okay with it as well.
Really thought out and spells it all out in a way that is good for parent and kid.
It would have been nice if this had been around for all us.

Far too many parents will be scared by the frankness of this text. This text does not push an abstinence agenda, nor does it push a "free love" one either. It is a factual and frank text that exposes pre-teens (when they are ready) to sexuality in all its clinical, emotional, psychological, and inclusive complexity. I am raising my children to approach sex and sexuality in the same way I expect them to approach all of humanity's complexity- with frankness, accurate information, and exposure to all points of view. This is the text that will help you meet your goal if it is the same as mine. I wish my parent's had given it to me before my own sexual awakening and puberty. I will not make the same mistake.

How different these times are from when I had sex ed! As a physician mom I decided that no time was too early for kids to understand the miraculous workings of our bodies. I want them to have to vocabulary about their 'parts' and I want to normalize something that can too easily become taboo. My husband knew I purchased this but his eyes did grow wide when he walked in and I was talking about penises with my 4 and 6 year old. My kids didn't blink and eye. Some of this is too advanced for them but we just pick it up for a page or two when they ask. My 6 year old did tell her cousin a bit about how babies are made and despite this book her explanation was amusingly inaccurate. This just gave me an opportunity to explain it again - and to buy a copy of the book for her 8 year old cousin.

This book is incredible because it gives the facts in a nonjudgmental way. The pictures are beautiful and the colors are pleasing.
It's a perfect mixture of science and fun and the kids love it. It's a book they go back to over and over and that makes it worth owning instead of borrowing from the library. It is explicit, so you may want to pre-read it... although I was told that, and didn't. I just loved the other book (It's Not the Stork) so much, I trusted my gut and read the book as it is written, including the parts about self-simulation and safe touching.
I did introduce this book at ages 6 and 4 because I wanted this to be a normal part of life, not introducing it too late. Each time they read it, and as they mature, they get something different from it. It's like it's all there, but they see it differently as they are ready.
Definitely buy this book It's great.

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Very well done series of books for an often awkward topic for parents to discuss with their children. Purchased the first two in the series for now, will start with the 'youngest' one and move up as the time is right. It is so important to teach our children not to be ashamed of their bodies, and these books do a good job of presenting the facts as facts, not as silly things to be giggled about and embarrassed by.

This book's cartoon style and straightforward approach to sex education make it the ideal method for teaching children about reproduction and sexuality. It is frank and "to the point". This book deals with the world as it actually is, not as an idealized fantasy land. Therefore, religious zealots might have a problem with this book. But there is nothing that a rational person would find offensive.

I've given these to my tween god daughters. Easy to read. Covers alot of material from anatomy and physiology, to relationships, family structure, and sexuality. Better than other books out there. Highly recommended for the awkward talk.

This is an excellent book, I've recommended it over and over again to parents of tweens! It's very thorough and addresses so many questions with thoughtful and clear language. Great for kids to peruse on their own, and also as a way to open to the door to ongoing conversations.

It's provided a helpful discussion-starter for helping my daughter understand puberty and sexual development. There are sporadic "comic strips" with two animal characters that are not particularly useful.

Worked great for teaching my 9 year old son about the birds and the bees. Contained just the right amount of information with no embarrassing pictures. The illustrations were very simple and age appropriate and didn't have a ton of embarrassing detail. Especially the page about intercourse, it just showed two cartoonish people (just like the illustrations on the cover) under some blankets kissing. It didn't actually show anything, but it did describe it in about one sentence. Very simple and straightforward and minimally embarrassing for both parent and child.

My 5 (nearly 6) year old daughter LOVES this book. I read one or two chapters every night with her. I'm amazed how intensely a 5 year old is interested in how a baby is made. As a bonus, it also talked about "OK touches and NOT OK touches" which is important to know for a young child. This is really well written book and hits the right level for kids when talking about male/female bodies, sex and how babies are made in a really nice way.

This is a great book--accurate, non-judgmental information, and lots of other information that kids and teenagers need to know. A great resource for the MANY talks parents and/or loved ones hopefully have with their kids!

This book provides great conversation starters and takes away some of the more awkward moments of sex education. Wish I’d had that as a kid, but glad I have it for my kids now. I still talk to them and they still have questions, but it did help.

Excellent for our 3rd & 5th graders! There were lots of questions flying around our boys after their public school made a poor attempt to teach their friend's older siblings about this subject matter. The book is well laid out and pretty straight forward for the most part. The gay stuff and the love stuff is not perfect, so DO NOT let them read on their own if you have more traditional values regarding this stuff. The book generalizes love and sexual relationships towards acceptance rather than tolerance, but everything else is really good stuff. Anyway, long story short, we read the book first and then broke it down in sections as needed, and read it again with the boys.

I ordered this thinking it would be a basic introduction for my 12 year old daughter. They had a class at her school, but I wanted her to know more than just the facts from a parental family aspect. She needs to know that this is not a subject to take lightly. This book is just too much information for my pre-teen, and the illustrations are too detailed. I think it would be overwhelming for her at this age. This book covers just about everything in regards to sexuality. She is not ready for that. I will be returning this book, and look into something a bit more subtle.

Very well thought out and written! When buying one of these books it's important to find one at the right level, neither too vague nor too informative or scary. This is right on for kids about 7-10, depending on maturity level. My 10 year old was like the bee in the book and identified with his feeling that this is a yucky subject and my 8 year old found it facinating and amazing like the bird character. Adding these characters for comic relief was ingenius! It also lets kids know that it's okay to feel many different feelings about this subject. This book touches on some important topics like HIV, birth control, adoption, good touching/bad touching, and explains fully the development of babies. It introduces concepts with a tactful tone (You may or may not have heard about..). I think this book is a great starting point, and not scary. I'll buy the next book in a year or so.

I never imagined I would have to start looking for this type of book for my 7 year daughter. The fact is she is getting information from kids at school so we felt it was time for us to step in and be the ones to give her CORRECT information. I like this book even though I will censor some of the information until a later date. I would NOT recommend you give this book to your child and walk away and I am surprised parents mentioned wanting a book for that purpose. I want my child to be comfortable so she will ask me questions and talk with me not hide in her room with a book or ask her friends. I am shocked at the things other kids her age are watching and video games they are playing so I think it is better we, as her parents, step in and start telling her our views on this information. I spend a lot of time at the school and those reviewers that think they need to wait should understand not all parents are censoring their kids TV and such so they need to decide where they want this informtion to come from them or peers.

Wonderful book - you can skip around and cover just the sections you want to discuss and when appropriate. silly too - so not so super serious and takes the mystery out of any wrong info they may have