What's the Big Secret?: Talking about Sex with Girls and Boys

This is a great book--the best I could find after reviewing quite a few that muddled issues with too much detail and/or social commentary.As a dad, I read it to both my daughters and it was appropriate, frank, and solid information that sparked appropriate and anticipated questions from them--one being a request to explain what mommy meant by me no longer able to have kids, so I was able to use the male anatomy cartoon to explain I had the doctor cut both my vas deferens in the office to prevent future children in our family. They both reacted differently, but learned and even though it was probably at a level lower than their current ages (8 & 9), it was perfect.I liked that it was free from a bunch of superfluous talk and social commentary about different kinds of families, people using IVF and other means to have babies, etc. That stuff needs to be its own book topic and not combined, or it becomes confusing and overwhelming at this age level--this book sticks to the basics and allows the parent to answer questions and get into those other topics when timing is right without muddling the issue of bodies, sex, and where babies come from. I think most families will find this appropriate for 5-9 year olds about genitals, sex, and how babies develop without getting into the weeds of puberty that you need to for older kids (periods, body changes, etc.), which can be done with other books. This would be great for 5 year olds and I had intended to get a book like this when my girls were that age, but time moved too fast!

My husband and I looked through several books and read reviews in order to find the best book for our family about intercourse. Our kids are 6 and 8 and we felt that since we've been hearing about kids their age talking about these things in the bus after school, we wanted our kids to hear about it from us first. We def felt it was too early but I would hate for them to have their first conversation about sex with an uninformed kid. We got this book and read through it first. It was to the point, kid friendly and brief and we liked that it didn't involve too much detail or information that would confuse them. We sat down with them and they were very excited about our family meeting. They asked questions, had a discussion and felt very comfortable. We made sure to not make it weird and spent a lot of time talking about how this was no big deal, just a natural part of life. I was a bit nervous to get to the part that actually describes intercourse but they handled it really well. Of course my daughter looked at us a bit shocked and asked if we had done that 😆. Overall it was much easier than we had anticipated and they seemed very comfortable about it. We had been talking to them about their bodies etc for years lrior to this without getting into the details so it wasn't a huge shock to them to hear a bit more in depth info. The book flowed really well, kept them engaged, it was very very helpful and we recommend it. We briefly talked about different types of families at the beginning but didn't go into detail about intercourse. They already know not all families are the same 😊 and they can all be beautiful. I am so relieved to have had this conversation and that my kids feel comfortable talking it out. Glad for the resources to help!

This is a great book to read for young kids. It is very educational and has lots of fun pictures. My 7 and 9 year old both enjoyed it and we were able to talk about this sensitive topic in a very fun way.

I have been looking for a long time to find the perfect book that aligns with what we want to communicate with our kids. This one comes about as close to it as you can for us. I would describe it as a middle of the road point of view, not leaning too far in a liberal or a conservative direction. The topic that would likely be controversial, for some is masturbation, and it is covered in this book. Everything else seems pretty straight to the point and appropriate for an elementary age child when their parents are ready to have a conversation with them about the birds and the bees and puberty. This is the book that I allow my son to keep in his room so he can reference it when he wants. He is nine years old.

We are a more conservative household and I felt this book explained the gist of things without doing too much detail. Very easy to read for my kiddo and covered the basics after she was exposed to these ideas at school. I wanted to get ahead of that and this worked perfectly. Kept traditional gender roles and didn’t get into any new age confusing things.

Book came ripped on a few pages

Fantastic book for talking to both boys and girls about puberty and sex. It is a combination of hand-drawn pictures and text that are both perfect for introducing children to this topic. It provides information about anatomy, intercourse and pregnancy (conception and development) with enough detail that the kids understand, but without too much that it becomes overwhelming for them. We have read it with both our daughter and son at age 10yrs (and will read it with our youngest when he is old enough). It was equally appropriate for both kids and something that they could easily go back to after we read it with them the first time. I have recommended this book to all of my friends and would give it my strongest recommendation to anyone with young children. For girls, I would also recommend the "Body book" by American girl as a good complement to this book. I am still working on finding the right complement for boys. Best wishes!!

Love this book for kids who really have an interest in all those unmentionables! I use it a lot in my therapy with kids (4, 5, 6 year old) and their parents too. The illustrations are well done and charming, text is helpful and informative and lighthearted. What I love most about this book is my young client's reactions as they sit wide eyed and totally silent for a just a moment when I mention I have this book. One time I had to leave it at the far corner of the paly room just so a kid could summon the courage to have a look whilst I was at the other corner! It really is a helpful way to take the naughty out of normal. Whew! Thank goodness it isn't something nasty and bad...