This follow up to the Every Body Book is a fantastic guide to consent. It is written in an easily understandable way that should resonate with kids age 8-12. My kiddo (10) listened intently and made connections on his own to his own behavior and things he should do differently in the future. I learned a lot too.

The text has important words highlighted in bold font and has appealing illustrations of kids in various situations that come up in the text.

The characters in the illustrations are very diverse. There are a variety of skin tones represented, as well as several forms of disability, and the sections dealing with relationships and kissing show a variety of sexualities.

The text also goes into the importance of consent for people with disabilities (not pushing someone's wheelchair without being asked, for example) including those with autism and other types of neurodivergence, as well as those with intellectual disabilities.

The text drives home the point about getting enthusiastic consent and the importance of verbal consent (yes means yes; anything else means no). It also highlights the importance of setting boundaries for healthy relationships.

I highly, highly recommend this book to every kid in the 8-12 range and beyond. It's so important. I will be purchasing my own copy so we can refer back to it.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for providing an early copy for review.

The book is well-written and well-thought-out. It is a good start for kids to start learning about consent, and how to listen to their bodies when something makes them uncomfortable or they are not sure what they might be feeling. The book is amazingly inclusive and teaches the important lesson that each person has a right to what happens to their body, both physical and emotional. The vocabulary could potentially be a bit much for the intended audience, but the glossary explains them well. I appreciate the note to grown-ups and that the book doesn't shy away from the more difficult topics, without going into detail. The book is also important because it teaches that consent is more than just sexual, but an important part of everyday life, and building relationships. The art is good and would work well to help children understand the concepts more, and learn from specific examples.

I wanted to read this to my 4 and 6 year old. They are getting to an age where other kids in their class are discussing private parts. I was misled a little from the cover - it shows a young boy, so I assumed this would be appropriate for smaller children. Unfortunately it wasn’t - it was too complex for them, but it would be great for older children.

It gave an in depth account of what consent is and many examples. I think everybody could relate to this book and learn something from it. Even though I could not read it to my children, it’s given me ideas for conversations with them. It has great illustrations throughout too.

Important book for children and parents. Stresses that body language is as important and words. A child should be empowered to question things that make him uncomfortable. So many examples and types of consent are covered. It's a lot to take in Discussing a chapter at a time will allow the child to absorb the material and ask necessary questions.
#TheEveryBodyBookofConsent #JessicaKingsleyPublishers #NetGalley

I think this should be required reading for all humans. It does such a great job describing consent and so many other things that come with it. The illustrations are helpful to further explain, especially for younger kids. The resources and glossary at the end are also phenomenal. Really truly a beautiful and well-researched book!

I love that kids these days are getting to learn about all this early. I don't care what anyone says there's never a thing as too young to know better - unless they're babies haha!

But in all honesty, even though this is marketed at children, I found it quite insightful as an adult and ngl I felt validated too. Guess it spoke to my inner child.

Definitely recommend parents to have the consent talk with their kids and utilize this book as a resource!

The Every Body Book of Consent is a wonderful resource to support learning and teaching about consent in an accessible and comprehensive way.

It’s perfectly geared towards pre-teens, and I think it’s also a great resource for grown ups looking to have important conversations with kids. The language was plain and straightforward, with a pragmatic, validating and normalising approach to consent.

The nuance of consent was captured well, and covered a wide range of situations, empowering people to speak out, and providing practical examples for how to do so. The book covers matters of diversity, privilege, and is highly inclusive, highlighting the relevance of consent to people of all backgrounds, and the rights and responsibilities that are associated with it.

Thank you Hachette UK and NetGalley for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

This is a very well-done. It’s meant for elementary and middle grade about not just consent but bodily autonomy, and how things are changing. It does a great job of sharing examples and using illustrations to get its point across. It makes the difference between “consent” or “enthusiastic consent”, and the “maybe” type of consent. It also has lessons about when to talk to somebody like an adult or a parent, and when things might be more than you expected them to be. It does touch on porn and how porn is not necessarily a great example to follow. It packs a lot into a few pages. This book is wordy and a little repetitive when read all at once. But chapter by chapter it’s good not just for kids who are interested but could be used in school curriculum and with kids whether alone or gathered in groups.

This is a fantastic resource for young people and their caregivers. The introduction says pre-teens and teens but I think it's better for kids & pre-teens because of the style of illustrations and examples. I think this book could benefit from some questions to discuss to get young people talking but of course whoever reads it with them can come up with that on their own.

I just read this wonderful resource. It says it's for parents and kids but anyone can find something they relate to. It is a great resource on the terms surrounding consent. I love the format as well and the examples. I would suggest this book for anyone and everyone.

Releases Aug 21 2024.

I found this book to be really informative and easy enough for children and pre-teens to understand.One of the standout features of this book is its clear and straightforward language. This makes it an excellent educational tool for parents and educators who wish to introduce the topic of consent to their children in an age-appropriate way.

Moreover, the book is impressively inclusive and diverse. The characters in the book come from a variety of backgrounds, representing different races, genders, and abilities. This diversity not only makes the story more relatable to a wide audience but also reinforces the idea that consent is a universal concept, relevant to everyone regardless of their background.

In addition to covering the basics of consent, it also addresses related topics such as personal boundaries, respect, and communication. It provides practical examples and scenarios that children might encounter in their daily lives, making the lessons more tangible and applicable.

Overall, I found the book to be a resource that I would recommend to my friends who have children.

Comprehensive but still light | I'm impressed by the way the author managed to cover so much ground in such a slim volume, showing the full spectrum of ways that consent touches our lives. Overall, I would recommend this for pre-teens, as there is a general "kiddo" vibe to the language that I think many teens would scorn. That said, I think that a teenager who had read this with their adult caregivers when they were younger, and knew that it was still on the shelf for them to go back to as needed, would continue to find value even at older stages. The first chapter ends with suggestions for practice, in a format that indicates that every chapter will end similarly. They don't, that's the only time in the book, which was weird and felt like an editing mistake. Illustrations show bodies of varying sizes, ethnicities, abilities, and gender pairings, in a way that feels realistic, not ticking a box. This can't be the sole consent discussion a child has, as it doesn't dig in deeply anywhere. I think this is a very good introduction to a complex subject, and families will be well served to share it with their pre-teens and then shelve it where the kid can access it later if they feel uncertain about something and want a refresher.

While I wasn’t able to make it through the whole book before it expired, what I did read was helpful in thinking about conversations to be had with my own children.

An absolute must for every child and caregiver!
There is intention in every word, carefully placed so that everyone can understand the importance on consent and consideration towards others.

Loved this book about consent. Even though I think it was written for children, anyone can learn from this book. It’s a very inclusive and diverse read thats an important book that I think everyone should read.

this book seems geared towards kids (phrasing, illustrations) but i think people of any age could learn things from it. it seeks to educate readers about how to practice & value consent in a society that largely does not value consent.

the book discusses verbal vs nonverbal consent, sexual consent, consent with private information (as opposed to with bodily autonomy, and consent with unequal power dynamics. it defines many key words (such as consent, agency, grooming) within the text and also includes a glossary of terms
at the back of the book.

lastly, there is diverse representation of scenarios and people in the book, and it discusses topics such as non-medical and nonconsensual surgeries on intersex babies and unequal power dynamics in relationships due to racism/classism/queerphobia/ableism/etc.

i would recommend this book to anyone of any age looking for an accessible, in-depth, quick read about consent.

thank you to netgalley and hachette uk for allowing me to read an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you SO much for this ARC opportunity. This book is an incredibly inclusive and diverse book regarding consent and bodily autonomy. I will be reading with this with my children for sure

This is a really beautiful book on consent and the way it impacts so many areas of our lives. I'm deeply grateful that it exists in the world for kids (and everyone) to read.

There is definitely a lot of information contained within these pages, and I think pausing after each section would be crucial in processing it all. If a parent and their kid were going through it together, pausing to take things in could hopefully also lead to supportive discussions.

I was surprised but so glad to see how many concepts were covered (recognizing grooming, being an upstander, nonverbal cues, among others) and the diversity of races, sexualities, genders, abilities, and bodies that were included (those who are intersex, autistic, in a wheelchair, among others).

It is so clearly a book written with intention and care for all who might come across it.

This is book is very easy to understand and accessible for children, but also for people of all ages.

I loved the idea that consent is not restricted to sex, but is in our every day small decisions and interactions, too. Also, big applause for saying that sometimes people may feel obligated to say yes, but that isn't real consent. This book is so necessary.

I think it could potentially be great to include some extra pages with questions for the readers (especially young people) to write down boundaries and other practical exercises to help them reflect on their bodies and preferences.

Thoughts:
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is such a great book for teaching bodily autonomy to kids. It would have been great to have this as a kid, being a girl in one of the generations raised to put others needs first. It was great to see how to handle disappointment and rejection and different forms of no or nonconsent. The section explaining the difference between private information, surprises and secrets and when secrets should be told to a trusted adult to help protect against grooming, and also explaining in a child friendly way what exactly grooming is for them to be more aware themselves. I personally loved the bit about disabled people and consent regarding their medical aids since as a disabled person myself this is something I’ve seen adults struggle with. The illustrations are also great and diverse which can help different kids feel identified with and pay more attention to.

Favourite Quote:
"Even if we’re not in a culture that values consent and body autonomy, we can create that culture by saying loudly and clearly what our bodies want and need."