Sandy Tindale

The cover presents with cartoon style, innocuous print and emoji characters, easily fooling a younger child or parent into thinking this is an appropriate read should information on basic sex education be required. This is not for the faint of heart with descriptions and pictures of how to “finger” someone, “scissor” with a partner and the list goes on. Once upon a time, before the world went mad, exploring sex, was fumbled through, bumping and knocking heads, hot sweaty arms and legs going everywhere, embarrassing noises and trying out things then deciding if we enjoyed it or not. Does presenting this much graphic detail to such young tweens help educate them or in fact desensitise them? Are they more likely to feel a level of pressure or obligation (because it’s been presented to them in a book) that they should try these things even if they are not comfortable? These questions are at the forefront of online pornography and the detrimental skewed effect now acknowledged, that it is having on our youth. Do we then need to have this book available in the kids section in libraries to desensitise our young tweens even earlier than ever before? Absolutely teens need access to appropriate content at an appropriate age but this book is NOT for 10yr olds!! The book should be moved from the kids section and a recommendation on the cover that it is read with parental guidance and that it contains sexually explicit language and images. There should be more transparency regarding the contents of this book for parents to easily see on the cover.