It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health (The Family Library)

Not appropriately rated. I was looking for a book for my 10 year old and ordered this. I was floored when I read through it. Detailed descriptions of sex, masturbation, anal sex and more. I find no reason why a 10 year old needs to learn about anal sex. Will be returning this and buying something more appropriate for 10 years olds.

Too graphic, in my opinion for the age listed. I am glad we read it before we have it to our son. We returned it.

I am not sure why some reviewers complained that this book was too graphic and discussed anal sex, etc. I read the book before giving it to my 10 year old daughter and did not find anything I found offensive. Everything is presented in a straight forward manor with kid friendly illustrations. No, they do not have drawings of people actually having sex, so no worries there. Yes it talks about gay sex, etc. and if your religious beliefs teach that this is a sin, you may want to pass on this book. Otherwise, this is a good way to open the lines of communication with your kids about a subject that is awkward to bring up. I wish my mom would have gaven me this book when I was a kid.

Look, you're comfortable with the material or you aren't. I just want my sons to have a competent resource without judgement. We have a shelf with some health books on it, have pointed out the shelf and the contents, and walk away. They have accessed it, and we've mentioned it when issues or questions arise (plus, we talk to our kids). Graphic, but so are our bodies. It treats everything with respect and an open, healthy mind.

One note. Much of the discussion here and elsewhere is about sex ed, but study after study also shows that kids who know their bodies and use mature names for things are less likely to be the victim of predators. For that reason alone, we gave our kids It's Not the Stork when they were younger, by the same people but for younger kids. Families who are unsure of this title might want to start with that.

This is absolutely what I was looking for. My ten year old son has started asking questions about sex and relationships, and this does a great job.

We're a homeschooling, atheist family, so we don't have the same hangups and criticisms that more conservative buyers have about this book. The pictures are all cartoons, and homosexuality/bisexuality/etc are presented as normal and okay. The pictures of different body shapes and sizes include different ages, races, and abilities/disabilities. Masturbation is presented in a positive light. The final chapters include staying safe online/sexting, and sexual abuse. I think this is a fantastic book to have on the family shelf at home!

I'm not going to lie - this book shows a lot more than I thought it would, but I think it's great that it does. The characters and illustrations are all cartoon people, so that's a huge plus (whew!), but those cartoon people sure do get into some crazy positions. No lie! What it really boils down to, though, is that this is a great book for kids to not feel ashamed or embarrassed of their curiosity. If there's a question, it's almost guaranteed to be answered in these pages. Cartoon people are shown at different ages, in different sizes, in different colors, and in different stages of development, and like the title says, it's all perfectly normal.

There is a "look inside" feature before ordering, so please do that. Take advantage of the snippets that Amazon offers before you buy it. I love it, and it's as open as I would have liked for what suits my family and my parenting style, but there are some parents that may think it's "too much." I purchased this book for my 11-year-old son AFTER we'd had our discussion about reproduction and how babies are made. He had also had the male reproductive talk in fifth grade. I felt this book to be a terrific supplement to those discussions, and a way to provide additional information on the "tough questions" dealing with sexuality, gender, the female reproductive system, masturbation, feelings, etc. The chapters are short and choppy, so it's not at all like reading a textbook. Thank goodness for that.

I think the greatest thing about the writing is that everything comes off "guilt-free." Kids shouldn't be made to feel ashamed for asking questions, and they DO have questions. Do you want them getting their answers from their friends or from you? It's a great guidebook to lead the conversation, and it's also flat and discreet enough to fit in their sock drawer should they have questions on their own. From just a "book" perspective, subject matter aside, the page stock is seriously heavy-duty. This is a really well-built book, and the paperback cover is strong enough to protect the pages. The illustrations are very detailed without being scary - both the writing and illustrations are top-notch.

I would recommend this book to anyone with children ages 9-14. On the younger end, I wouldn't allow them to browse it themselves, but I think it's a great starting point for parent/child discussions, and when they are at the age to browse the illustrations, a lot of the subject matter will already be familiar through discussion. Yes, sexual education can be embarrassing, and controversy regarding "how much is too much?" is bound to come up, but they're going to learn about it one way or the other, and I think this is a great reference guide to give them accurate, truthful, and unbiased information.

Truly an excellent book for children entering or going though puberty. The information is presented in a way that is straight forward, non judgmental, and fact centered. If you're someone who wants to protect your child from learning about "the wrong kinds of sex," or someone who believes that some types of sex, even between consenting adults, is immoral, this is not the book for you. If, however, you've been looking for an age appropriate, well written, and wonderfully illustrated book about body changes and sexuality, that is unmarred by religious and political ideology, or stone aged notions of morality, this may be just the book you're looking for.

Must have book. Please if u are able to give this to a young family. U want to be careful with it and not just let the kids read it or look at it. I personally keep it handy and when ever my 8 year old asks a funny ? Or is curious of sex or girls I use it and the book helps me start conversation and try to explain. I don't think you need to read the entire book at once. Please remember sex talk is an ongoing thing. This book will help tremendously.

I bought this book to read with my 9 year old daughter. The book is very well written but chapters are about very "grown up" topics. If you are willing to read with your child, I think it allows for great dialogue. I read thru the book first and picked certain chapters that we can read now and others that will be better in another few years. Aside from that, I am very happy with my purchase.

Buckle up because you’re in for a wild ride. At this point you as a parent have experienced the beautiful tears of heat break as you explained through the years first the Easter bunny is clearly a man in a bad costume and later, Santa isn’t exactly the friend you thought he was. Imagine your kids shot to find out it isn’t really belly buttons where kids come from.

I sat him down one day after making a two page list briefly covering every point in the book. The look on my kids face was priceless. The questions asked - intuitive and mature because they hear it all in the playground.

4-5 starts for not putting the age recommendation 8 years old. My kids friend at school told him a massage is a “happy ending.” My kid of course thought my weekly outings were way happier than a simple massage. The result was the most awkward birds and bees talk and a lot of backtracking playground rumors

The fact is they already heard something. They have already drawn assumptions in their head. I recommend having the talk at 8 then following up with the book at 9-10.