Boys, Girls & Body Science: A First Book about Facts of Life

This is my favorite book on the subject for ages 10 and up. This book gave just the right amount of details, so that the kids would know exactly what intercourse entails. However, it did not go into other issues, e.g. alternative lifestyles. Our family is Catholic, and I didn't wanted a book that would introduce ideas contrary to our beliefs for my children at the elementary school level.

My almost 8 year old daughter has been asking a lot of questions lately about how babies are really made, etc. I paniced and ordered three books based on their reviews here. Boys, Girls, and Body Science was by far the best of the lot! The story line of a nurse talking to a class of young children works so well, as does the suggestion to approach the subject like a scientist (for example, scientists don't say "yuck!" they say "interesting!"). I thought the book gave all the pertinent information without getting into topics a young gradeschooler might not be ready for. A conversation I'd been dreading actually turned out to be fun. If you want a book that covers the basics of reproduction in a matter-of-fact way, this is it. I plan on using this book for my other kids when they are older.

I recently read "Boys, Girls & Body Science" to each of my twin 9 year old daughters. They both appreciated the straight-forward approach of the book and they were very interested in the explanations provided. The book was at the perfect level for their age. It helped me talk to them about "The Facts of Life." I was able to use the book as a way to talk to them about the issues they are concerned about. I highly recommend this book to anyone unsure about how to start talking to their children.

This is really an extraordinarily well balanced presentation of the facts of life for an 8 or 9 year old. The characters in the book reacted exactly like my 8 year old when hearing the somewhat embarrassing (for him) facts of life. My son laughed pretty hard as the character in the book said "Yuck!" when hearing how babies are made. This book had tactful but direct illustrations and overall the book is a wonderful aide to any parent who wants to make sure their children understand the basic facts of life.

I took a chance buying this book when no-one had written any reviews about it, but the publisher write-up looked so good I had to give it a try - and I am quite glad I did. In the book, Meg, a nurse, is invited to a classroom to explain about what she calls 'body science' (reproduction). In a most gentle, sensitive, and delicate manner, she teaches the children to think about 'embarrassing' things in the way that a scientist would, then she goes on to teach about those 'embarrassing' subjects. This book is written on a very basic level, big illustrations and only a few paragraphs of text on each page, obviously written for a younger audience. The book perceptively takes into account what the children's responses and reactions may be, which makes the reader feel like they are understood, and makes them feel at ease. My 8 year old daughter understood everything and was not 'grossed out' at all, to her it was all very matter-of-fact, but my 10 year old son groaned a big 'yuck' at the one unavoidably direct sentence in the whole book (there is no way around explaining the nitty-gritty of how babies are made...) My 10 year old son's reaction should not deter you from buying this book, I don't think anyone could present this material any better. My 13 year old son liked the book and learned from it but said it was written for younger kids. I am very pleased with this book and will be using it for my two youngest children when they are old enough to be ready for it. I highly recommend this book.