By the end of the book, you'll know: 1)your body belongs to you; 2) it's okay if you don't want to be touched; 3)what to do if you don't want to be touched; 4) your "private parts" are the parts of your body that are covered by a bathing suit, and 5) you shouldn't keep a "touching" secret.

However, this message is conveyed in a very safe, non-threatening manner, and the book begins and ends by acknowledging that most of the time we do like getting hugs and kisses. (Not all touches are bad).

I highly recommend this book!


Excellent book that can be read to a preschool class   May 22, 2002
 67 out of 69 found this review helpful

After an incident of inappropriate touching in my class, I looked depserately for books about our bodies/our rights that would be appropriate to read to a group of 3-5 year olds. While there are many good books out there, too many are only appropriate from parent to child, or instigate TOO many questions. I didn't want to introduce too much information to those children who are still young and innocent, but I wanted a forum to open discussion in our classroom. This book simply describes that your body is your own, and there are touches you like and touches you might not like (like tickling)


Respecting Everybody's Body   March 23, 2005
 44 out of 45 found this review helpful

How I wish this delightful book existed when I was child. Until fairly recent years, most children were warned about the cliche stranger, but very seldom was the issue of predators children knew ever addressed. When I was a child, I honestly thought a double standard existed - improper touching was only frowned upon by one's caretakers if done by strangers. During those years, I wondered why nobody ever said if children had any recourse if they were confronted with "bad touches" by people they knew.

This is a wonderfully empowering book. It also dispels the myth of the candy-bearing stranger, lurking on playgrounds and parks if indeed he ever even existed. Statistics have shown that "bad touches" are very rarely done by strangers! The text is gentle and simple without being overly so; it is something I would happily present to every child from 2 on up as well. It is timeless; the message of assertiveness and respect for boundaries and the human body at large can never be over emphasized.

I also like the way the book encourages children not to keep secrets if they are approached and touched inappropriately or made to touch someone else against their will. Private parts are rightfully defined as the parts of the body one's underwear and bathing suits cover. My favorite point the book stressed was what to do if the touch is neither wanted nor welcome and that it is perfectly all right not to want to be touched in certain ways. The most important service this book does is distinguishes "good" and "bad" touches and that for the most part, hugs and kisses are perfectly fine and acceptable.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It will certainly help empower children of all ages and will also help to put an end to keeping harmful secrets. I also highly recommend in addition to this book Sandy Kleven's "The Right Touch: A Read Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse," Linda Walvoord Girard's "My Body is Private" and Peter Alsop's collection "Songs on Sex & Sexuality," most particularly the song "My Body," which addresses this topic in a sensitive and forthright manner.


Lovely book   December 29, 2001
 43 out of 44 found this review helpful

A book for very young children on how to avoid sexual abuse. Nicely written, very sweet, well-done illustrations. As a therapist who works with children who have been abused, I strongly recommend this book for children 7 and under.


DISAPPOINTED!   January 15, 2007
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

I was disappointed in this book. This book states that it is for ages 4 thru 8. I bought this for my 7 year old. This book is more for ages 2 thru 4. I have a 4 year old so I read it to him and it is now his book. This book is way too vague for an older child about who and where you should and should not be touched. Surprisingly it talks more about how it is ok to tell mom or dad or someone you love when you don't feel like giving them an innocent hug or innocent kiss. The following is from 2 pages in the book.
'Sometimes you don't like to be touched. Sometimes you don't want a hug or kiss, even from someone you love. Then you can say, "No, not right now, please!" Or you can show you don't want to be touched by not hugging or kissing back, or by pulling away.'
That was 2 pages from the book. That is mainly what it discusses. I wanted more about the wrong kind of touching. It only briefly scanned over that in the book. This book is not worth the money, but the book was cheap enough that I took it as a loss rather than paying for shipping to send it back. Like I said before though, I would recommend this book for much younger kids that can't understand much more than simple explanations, but because of the age range it gave and the son I originally bought it for I would have to give this book 2 stars. For my younger child if this book had said ages 2 thru 4 I would have given it 3 stars, but that is all. Still too vague for me.