''It's So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families'' is a 1999 children's book about pregnancy and childbirth. It is written by

Robie Harris Robie H. Harris is an American author, specializing in books for children. She was born in Buffalo, New York. Harris wrote several children's books about childbirth and human sexuality, including '' It's Perfectly Normal'' and '' It's so Amazin ...

and illustrated by Michael Emberley.

Content

The book is intended for

tween Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...

s, a slightly older demographic than Harris' previous books on sex education, ''It's Not the Stork'' and ''

It's Perfectly Normal ''It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health'' is a children's book written by Robie Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley. The purpose of the book is to inform preadolescent children about puberty by exploring ...

''. It deals with topics related to

sexual reproduction Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote tha ...

human sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

, relationships,

sexually transmitted infection Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

, and

safe sex Safe sex is sexual activity using methods or contraceptive devices (such as condoms) to reduce the risk of transmitting or acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), especially HIV. "Safe sex" is also sometimes referred to as safer se ...

practices. Educational cartoon illustrations provide visuals of processes such as

fetal development Prenatal development () includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal devel ...

. The information is presented alongside the commentary of two characters, a curious bird and a bee who finds the topic embarrassing, acting as emotional stand ins for the readers.

Publication history

An updated edition of the book which included information about

internet safety Internet safety or online safety or cyber safety and E-Safety is trying to be safe on the internet and is the act of maximizing a user's awareness of personal safety and security risks to private information and property associated with using the i ...

was published in 2014, alongside an expanded edition of ''It's Perfectly Normal''.

Reception

The book received praise for its informative content, age appropriate humor and approachable writing style. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' praised the book's "informal yet informed perspective" and usefulness as an educational resource. K. J. Dell'Antonia of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' praised its illustrations, particularly a "glorious, life-sized image of the fetus in the womb." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' wrote that it "expertly walk the line between frankness and bluntness, keeping the actual sex act under the covers, and nimbly explaining how abuse differs from normal human contact and affection."

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

awarded the book four out of five stars. Both Kailen Stover of ''

Scary Mommy Scary Mommy is a website that produces content targeting mothers, which generally focuses on parenting, motherhood, current events and pop culture. The site is owned by Bustle Digital Group and is based in New York City. History Scary Mommy ...

'' and Carrie R. Wheadon of Common Sense Media recommended the book as a way for parents to open up a dialogue about sex and their personal values. It received an award for Notable Children's Books from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

(ALA) in 2000. The book has subsequently been included in several publications' lists of the best books for teaching sex education, including ''New York Times'', ''Bustle'', ''Scary Mommy'', ''She Knows'', and ''

Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-comprise ...

''. The book was frequently challenged by groups who objected to the inclusion of information about sexuality in children's books, including

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and

masturbation Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combinatio ...

. However, it was subject to less controversy than ''

''. It appeared as #37 in the ALA's list of Most Banned Books during the 2000–2009 decade. In 2014, a petition for the

National Library Board The National Library Board (NLB) is a statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Communications and Information of the government of Singapore. The board manages the public libraries throughout the country. The national librari ...

(NLB) to reinstate the book and others which had been removed received 3,800 signatures. After ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was established ...

'' reported that these books were removed because of customer feedback, the NLB stated that they had actually been removed because of an internal review. It appeared on

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

's 2014 list of the most controversial sex ed books of all time.

References

{{Authority control 1999 children's books Children's books about sex education American children's books Children's non-fiction books Children's books about interpersonal relationships