It's Not the Stork!: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends (The Family Library)

From School Library Journal Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 3–Harris opens by introducing two cartoon characters–a green-feathered bird clad in a purple shirt and blue high-top sneakers and his spike-haired friend, a bee. They wonder, So where DO babies come from? Their conversational commentary, given in word balloons, is a lighthearted supplement to a more focused narrative. Told in the second person, the text is straightforward, informative, and personable. Facts are presented step-by-step, starting from the similarities and differences between boys and girls bodies, moving to a babys conception, growth in the womb, and birth, ending with an exploration of different configurations of families as well as a section on okay versus not okay touches. The book is logically organized into 23 double-page sections. Friendly and relaxed cartoons, either interspersed with the text or appearing in comic-strip form, are integral to the titles success in imparting the material. The labeled drawings show both the outside and the inside parts of the body. As the bee and bird say to one another, Knowing the names of ALL the parts of your body is–PERFECTLY NORMAL! Overall, this book will be accessible to its intended audience, comforting in its clarity and directness, and useful to a wide range of readers. –Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist *Starred Review* K-Gr. 3. Harris and Emberley's It's Perfectly Normal (1994) and It's So Amazing (1999), sex-ed books for pubescent and prepubescent readers, respectively, are among today's most frequently challenged titles. Their newest targets kids closer to potty training than puberty, but like its predecessors, it will undoubtedly raise as many hackles as it attracts words of praise. Some controversial elements in the previous books have been toned down or left out here; there are no images of unclothed adults or references to masturbation, abortion, and birth control. But what remains will still widen many eyes: pictures of nude children with body parts exhaustively labeled; text about the "kind of loving [that] happens when . . . the man's penis goes inside the woman's vagina" that candidly expresses what the accompanying under-the-blankets visual leaves to the imagination. Emberley's affectionate, mood-lightening cartoons keep things approachable, while Harris' respectful writing targets children's natural curiosity without cloaking matters in obfuscating language. Based on its length and detail, the book's advertised intent to reach children as young as four seems optimistic. All the same, this will smoothly adapt to the needs of individual families, who will want to choose among the three options based less on assigned age ranges than on personal comfort levels with the topics addressed. For another forthright but less-comprehensive book, suggest Dori Hillestad Butler's My Mom's Having a Baby! (2005). Jennifer Mattson Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Straightforward, informative, and personable…This book will be accessible to its intended audience, comforting in its clarity and directness, and useful to a wide range of readers.—School Library Journal (starred review)Harris’ respectful writing targets children’s natural curiosity without cloaking matters in obfuscating language.—Booklist (starred review)In their previous landmark volumes . . . Harris and Emberley established themselves as the purveyors of reader-friendly, straightforward information on human sexuality for readers as young as seven. Here they successfully tackle the big questions . . . for even younger kids.—The Horn Book (starred review)An excellent introduction to babies’ origins for youngest curious minds.—Publishers Weekly (featured in Children’s Notes: True Companions)Emberley's cartoon cast, a celebration of demographic diversity, do double duty as helpful diagrams of body parts and fetal development, and as examples of loving families in action.—Bulletin of the Center for Children's BooksA happy addition to the Harris-Emberley family.—Kirkus ReviewsMany parents will like this book’s direct approach.—Wall Street JournalThis informative book covers everything from why boys and girls have different body parts to how a baby is born.—ParentsThe book is written in clear, straightforward language and accompanied by cartoon illustrations.—Columbus Dispatch (included in a list of the top children’s books of the year)Adults will gratefully draw on the book's frank language and friendly tone when talking things over with their kids in the car or at the zoo… This must-have family resource addresses all kinds of such funny misconceptions, supplying instead the real facts of life.—San Francisco ChronicleTackles the sensitive subject of human reproduction with delicacy and honesty.—Baltimore’s ChildWe recommend these books for parents, teachers, librarians, health professionals and clergy as trusted and accessible resources to get answers and information about how to talk to youth about sexuality.—The Parent BuzzThere's a direct correlation between fear of naming body parts and kids' interest in finding out about them…The lucky ones discover the Robie Harris/Michael Emberley books…—Newbery winner Susan Patron, quoted in PW Children's BookshelfWell-laced with humorous illustrations and diagrams that convey information as well as maintain the cheerful, even exuberant, ‘it’s perfectly natural’ tone of this book.—Toronto Globe & MailPure sterling. . . . No family with young children (or naïve young adults?) should miss this one.—Sacramento BeeA perfect starting point for sex education.—Fort Worth Star-TelegramSimple language and colorful illustrations present straightforward and easily understood topics that are sometimes controversial.—Library Media ConnectionFor matter-of-fact coverage of everything from a child’s first questions about where babies come from to a teenager looking to read about transgender issues, you can’t go wrong with “It’s Perfectly Normal,” from the author Robie H. Harris and the illustrator Michael Emberley (celebrating its 20th anniversary this year) or with “It’s So Amazing” and their book for even younger children, “It’s Not the Stork.” Leave them lying around the house (after reading them yourself) and you’re bound to start some good conversations with children under 10, and give yourself the opportunity to approach older children.—Motherlode (NYT blog) Robie H. Harris began her career as a teacher at the Bank Street College of Education’s School for Children. She started writing books for children in the 1970s and has numerous titles to her credit. She is also the well-known author of Happy Birth Day!, Hi New Baby!, and three picture books in the Growing Up series, all illustrated by Michael Emberley, as well as Goodbye Mousie, illustrated by Jan Ormerod, and Don't Forget to Come Back!, illustrated by Harry Bliss. Michael Emberley is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design. He is the illustrator of many books for children, including several collaborations with Robie H. Harris: It's So Amazing , It's Perfectly Normal, Happy Birth Day!, Hi New Baby!, and three picture books in the Growing Up series, books that tell stories and facts about the first five years of life. Read more