[.ca] What's the Big Secret?: Talking about Sex with Girls and ... (ISBN 0613286952)

GREAT for my young step-daughter:
I bought this book for my 6 year old step-daughter. She's started asking questions about what a boy looks like and why I won't be having a baby with her daddy (she thinks it just happens because you get married). The pictures in this book are just right for a 6 year old, and there isn't too much information. It certainly settled her "need to know" crisis, and The "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" incident on the playground that I had a nightmare about.

Very good:
I read this with my 8 year old daughter. She loved the book, and understood the information without being embarrassed. I really liked how it explained the differences between good, loving touches; and bad, uncomfortable touches. I would say this book is best for children over the age of 6. It may be too advanced for the younger ones.

Not for attachment parents!:
While this book is colorful and covers many common questions, it is not for attachment parents - or any parent who wants to teach her child a more natural parenting approach. It does have one breastfeeding picture, but it also includes pictures of baby bottles and a baby bottle-feeding, newborns in a hospital nursery, a hospital birth with the mom lying on her back (which is very difficult and can lead to unnecessary Caesareans), and a newborn crying (which is not really natural, and rarely happens in a waterbirth), and a bit of rudeness (a child calling another child "silly"). The book also states that puberty can start at "ten or twelve or fourteen" but many children are starting earlier these days (possibly from the growth hormones in cow's milk, a good reason to switch to organic milk), and they may feel worried if they read that statement. Two better books are Welcome With Love by Jenni Overend and A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson.

Great book but not really for kids under 7....:
Last summer I read this book to my then just turned 7 & just turned 4 yr old and the youngest was completely clueless as to what I trying to get across. The oldest understood somewhat, wasn't all that interested, but still managed to let a few giggles out. She took the book and read it herself. When I later asked her if she had any questions for me, she had none but commented that it was "embarrassing". The book was put away to age a little longer.... Earlier this week I re-read the book to both of them, now almost 5 and almost 8. The 5 yr old is still clueless and bored with all of it. The 8 yr old seemed a bit more interested and less embarrassed. She took the book and again read it to herself and asked a few "why" questions but nothing I couldn't handle. In my opinion, this book is great for 7 - 10 yr olds (1st - 3rd grade), not the pre-school - grade 3 that it is catagorized. Enough for 7 - 10 yr olds to comprehend and enough for this age to know. Not overwhelming in technical terms or detail nor is it written in baby terms. I agree with a previous reviewer. When the teen years arrive, more information, terms & detail will need to be divulged but for this pre-teen age. For pre-teens, this book is perfect.

Very helpful book for younger kids already asking questions:
I bought this book for my eight year old son who was already posing questions like, "What is sex ?". I found the book informative enough to answer his innocent questions, yet delicate enough to address when talking about sex is appropriate and who to talk to if you have more questions than the book answers. We gave our son a week to look over the book and read it several times. At the end of the week, both his father and I sat down with him to answer any questions he might still have. To our delight, the only question remaining in his mind was how to pronounce the word...