The Bare Naked Book

Picture this: I've just recently had my first baby. In between feeding, I continually read about what is best for my baby. Body positivity! they say. Teach them the right names for their body parts! they say. I go searching and every single book I can find that actually shows an appropriate picture of a naked body to learn from is either a medical book, or a book about how to tell someone to stop touching you. Both of those types of books are great, and they meet specific needs. But I'm looking for a baby's first body book; I don't need to give a lecture on good touch/bad touch, or tell a two year old about the functionality of a fallopian tube. Enter the Bare Naked Book. This book is the same as any first body book, but it also has vaginas (vulvas, but it'll do) and penises and breasts and nipples. Why? Because we have them. End of story. And these body parts which might make an adult squeamish to say out loud are neatly sandwiched between other "normal" body parts - they start with your hair on your head, and end with your toes, stopping at all the other parts in between. I can't explain how nervous I was the first time I said to my child, "and... uh... this is your... vulvaturnthepage KNEES. I LOVE KNEES." But after countless reads, I got comfortable. And then talking about body parts became comfortable. This book brought so many great questions to the table. "Where is my penis?" "Well, Sweetie, you don't have one. You have a vulva." "Like Daddy?" "No no, he has a penis. Mommy has a vulva." "Oh!" *end scene* As if this casual and comforting way of approaching body parts wasn't enough, the scenes in the book are magnificent: A messy bathroom. A day at the park. Playing on the beach. All of the moms and dads look LIKE PEOPLE: Funny looking hair, schlubby bodies, with happy loving faces. I am not kidding when I say that this book easily got my family on the right foot in terms of body positivity and candor. I have a feeling it can do the same for you. ETA: The version I am reviewing is the original, purple book. I love the idea of the diversification of the characters but (as said in other comments) if it is missing a basic discussion of body parts, I prefer the original.

I’m a non-binary parent and my husband is trans. We loved seeing bodies like ours and friends of ours reflected in this book. Our four year old was engaged and enjoys looking at the pictures and listening as I read this to him. I definitely would recommend this book as a tool to help young kiddos with learning about all the different bodies!

We love this book! It’s accessible and fun! My son picks it out consistently. Affirming and representative of ALL bodies and people. Great purchase!!!

My son kept asking me questions about naked bodies. I couldn’t find images online that felt appropriate for his age range. Got this book at the library, and it’s perfect. He insisted on having his own copy. Great message about body inclusivity as well.

Cute book but it's not really a story and instead teaching body parts.

My kids are ages 2-4, 1 girl & 3 boys. This book was perfect. An exact representation of the different people we may meet, our private parts and the names that go with them. Would definitely recommend.

This book is wonderful. It’s inclusive and shows people in all colors, shapes, and sizes. It also shows people who have had top surgery, people with piercings, and people with vitiligo and stretch marks. Highly recommend!

This updated version is a hot mess. Part of what made the first book revolutionary is that it named genitalia. THAT is one if the most significant ways to protect a child against sexual molestation. I was interested in the marketing that this book is inclusive of intersex folks, but it does that by saying basically, ‘whatever you call whatever you’ve got, good on you!’ This, after the cover of the book has a kid staring in their pants, even though the book covers toes, shoulders, ears, & elbows, etc? It’s not a cupcake or cookie. It matters, and I’m extremely disappointed that THE THING that made the first version so meaningful was just dumped sideways. Illustrations in the original book showed folks in relationship with one another, in recognizable settings. This book is basically a line up of the most diverse cast of characters they could fit on the page, staring out at the reader. They’re disconnected from each other, and their nonexistent environment. Also, most of the characters portrayed are adults, whereas kids were featured on every page in the original. All of these are secondary disappointments to the complete fail on the sexual anatomy bit. Would not recommend.

Bought this for our 26 month old and he loves it. It's a great book that does label some anatomical parts that other books skip over or juvenilize. I also appreciate how there is some (minor) diversity presented in this book and that the bodies represented are realistic representations of different ages, sizes,and shapes. Our 26 month old loves thinking about the story behind the book (e.g. what happened to the hurt knee? why is the baby crying?) and loves reading the book on his own since it's simple labels. Would definitely recommend this book!

I highly recommend this, I bought this book for my 2+ year old son and I love how matter of fact the book goes on for illustrating/describing body parts. He took to it instantly and he's had fun knowing more of his body parts. Children shouldn't be shamed or feel ashamed for knowing the names of their body parts.

If you want to teach children about different names of private parts not recommended. It contains no names, only the word 'genitals'.

A nice little kids book (well updated) about diversity of the body and how we come in all shapes and sizes. The illustrations are beautiful and show lots of diversity in color, disability, shape etc.

I have bought this book many times over the years as an ECE. This book helps educators and parents who struggle with teaching their children the names of the parts of their own bodies. Fun. Easy. Matter-of-fact. Empower and protect your children.