A Kid's First Book about Sex

P.J. Hammel is a professor of Education at the University of
Saskatchewan.

“This book is about sex...it’s mostly for girls and boys whose bodies haven’t started to change into grown-ups’ bodies.” The publisher’s blurb adds that this book was written for children under the age of eleven; Frey’s Reading Scale (Extended), on the other hand, suggests a reading level equivalent to tenth grade — partly due, perhaps, to multi-syllable words like masturbation, homosexual, and bisexual.

“The most important part of sex besides making babies is how you feel about yourself and your body.” Sex is never more clearly defined; and sexual intercourse is also, later in the book, defined as “making babies” and “to start a baby growing.”

“Why...grown-ups...might want you to read it?” Of the five reasons suggested, two are as follows, “Maybe they’re worried that if they tell you too much, you’ll start practicing [sic] before you’re old enough” and “Maybe they want you to learn about sex, even though you’re not interested in it.” Surely, these are contradictions of some rather basic principles of learning as well as being deficient in logic. And, herein lies the greatest weakness of this little book: it attempts to cover too much in 48 small pages, at least half of which are taken up with illustrations. The author is, therefore, forced into making assumptions and rather gigantic leaps of logic which, except for the advice “ask mom or dad or someone else,” are certainly going to confuse the young reader.

Chapter headings attest to the wide coverage: Your Body, Nudity (Being Naked), Touching, What is Sexy, Sex Parts, Feeling Sexy, Masturbation (Touching Yourself To Feel Good), Privacy (Being Alone), Sexual Intercourse, Partners, Being Together, Learning More About Sex. The illustrations, line drawings, are explicit if not always clearly labelled.

Parents, teachers, and librarians should examine this work for reading and comprehension difficulties before recommending it to young readers.