Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Harris' oft-challenged It's Perfectly Normal (1994), It's So Amazing! (1999), and It's Not the Stork! (2006) each address a different age group of children. This newest outing aims for the youngest set yet (an injury is calle. a boo-boo ), though most parents should plan to read the words aloud and offer clarification. As always, Harris' tone is cheerful and confident, introducing an interracial couple and their two children as they hit the beach, repeating one message. Every girl has a body. Every boy has a body. Every grown-up has a body. The kids are not sur. who has what. which leads to a series of short, clear explanations, with little arrows pointing out each body part, whether they are the same ( cheek. chin ) or different. Changing into swimwear provides the opportunity to point out the primary physical differences. Girls have an opening to the vagina, and an opening where pee comes out. Unobtrusive X-rays show interior views, while pet dogs are there for further anatomical comparison. Westcott's bright digital illustrations keep the affair as breezy and nonshocking as possible just as it should be. Expect the usual outcry, as well as the usual demand.--Kraus, Danie. Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Harris, the guardian angel of parents facing their school-age child's questions about sex, tackles the preschool set in this first book in the Let's Talk About You and Me series. Readers follow Gus and his older sister, Nellie, on a family trip to the beach; the relaxed environment enables Westcott to riff on the central theme that "Everybody everywhere has a body!" and to show Gus and Nellie's anatomy (including key internal organs) as they change into swimsuits. Harris understands just how much her audience wants and needs to know about sex: adult bodies are out, family dogs are in ("Hey, boy puppies have a penis too," notes Gus). The text is somewhat repetitious, and the dialogue forced and chirpy as Harris delineates everything, body parts and otherwise, that makes boys and girls similar and different ("Boys and girls like to catch frogs, swing high up in the air, ride scooters, and make a lot of noise"). Nonetheless, it's a sunny, useful introduction to anatomy that kicks some gender stereotypes to the curb in the process. Ages 2-6. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-This is a straightforward presentation, as told through simple exposition and the dialogue of a young girl and boy who are going to the beach for the day. As the youngsters chat with one another about their similarities and differences, readers are greeted with visually appealing cartoonlike drawings that depict an array of people in various family groupings. As the two children change in their separate cabanas, arrows point to and name the parts of their bodies that distinguish them as male or female. A dog (of the same sex as the child) has crept into each child's cabana so its parts are labeled, too. Correct terminology is used, e.g., vagina, scrotum, penis, ovary, uterus, but Harris does not delve into how these body parts function, and she doesn't address the reproductive process. The book serves as a great way to introduce male and female body parts for anyone not used to discussing or naming them. For a more comprehensive look at body parts, reproduction, and birth, check out Harris's It's Not the Stork! (Candlewick, 2006).-Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Sexpert for the under-twelve set Harris (It's Perfectly Normal, rev. 3/95; It's So Amazing!, rev. 1/00; and others) here explains to young children how boys and girls are a lot alike but also anatomically different. A biracial brother and sister start the conversation while buckled into car seats on the way to the beach. "Girls and boys are different -- right, Nellie?" the little brother begins, which prompts his sister to wonder, "Or -- are we mostly the same?" Out the car window, Westcott's friendly ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict a playground where boys and girls both "like to catch frogs, swing high up in the air, ride scooters, and make a lot of noise." Harris gradually moves from personality traits to physical characteristics, and, at the beach, Westcott labels shared parts -- eye, ear, nose, mouth, etc. -- on the kids and two dogs. The book very naturally introduces differences as the siblings, separately, change into their swimsuits. Readers are shown the various male and female "openings" (e.g., the "opening where pee comes out") for both humans and canines and given the anatomical terms for exterior and interior sex organs. (Since most dogs in this country are neutered, parents might have some explaining to do.) The overall tone is lighthearted but never too silly. There's no description of how babies are made, though there's mention of how girls can grow up to be mommies and boys can grow up to be daddies. But, happily, "Growing from a baby to a kid to a grown-up takes a long, long, long time," because now it's time to play! christine m. heppermann (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A family outing to the beach provides the opportunity for a discussion of the similarities and differences between boys and girls.In a conversation between a pair of mixed-race preschoolers securely strapped in their car seats, Nellie's play on the words "everybody" and "every body" leads Gus to wondering about body parts. Their beach visit provides an opportunity to see a variety of people and puppies, to itemize all the parts that boys and girls and dogs have in common (head, cheek, belly button, tummy, toes, etc.) and learn about those that are different. Harris (It's Not the Stork!,2006, etc.) matter-of-factly combines common childhood language"opening where poop comes out"and anatomically correct terms such as vagina, penis and scrotum. The children's parents explain interior organs (appropriately placed boxes reveal what's inside) while applying sunscreen. Some information is conveyed in text, some in speech balloons or labels. Westcott's digital cartoonlike illustrations show different compositions of families representing a wide range of ages, races and nationalities. They include a very pregnant mother in a bathing suit, as well as, appropriately shaded by beach umbrellas, a woman discreetly nursing a baby and a man giving a bottle to his.This much-needed title stands out for its comfortably familiar presentation of material adults sometime find difficult to share with young children.(Informational picture book. 2-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
