The Bare Naked Book
- Publisher
- Annick Press
- Initial publish date
- Mar 2021
- Subjects
- Body, General, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
- Categories
- Author lives in Ontario
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781773214740
- Publish Date
- Mar 2021
- List Price
- $11.99
Library Ordering Options
Description
Bodies, bodies! Big and small, short and tall, young and old—Every BODY is different!
The Bare Naked Book has been a beloved fixture in libraries, classrooms, and at-home story times since its original publication in 1986. Now, this revised edition is ready to meet a new generation of readers.
The text has been updated to reflect current understandings of gender and inclusion, which are also
showcased in the brand-new, vibrant illustrations by Melissa Cho.
Featuring a note from the author explaining the history of the book and the importance of this updated edition, readers will delight in this celebration of all kinds of bodies.
About the authors
Kathy Stinson is a familiar name in children’s literature. She wrote the award-winning Red is Best and Big or Little?—two of the first picture books for preschoolers in Canada. Both were a huge success and have since achieved international acclaim. Red is Best 25th Anniversary Edition was released in 2006 a newly illustrated Big or Little? was published in 2009. Kathy’s latest book, The Man with the Violin (2013), was greeted with rave reviews, including starred reviews in Kirkus and uill & uire. Illustrated by Duan Petricic, this beautifully evocative picture book tells the true story of world-renowned violinist, Joshua Bell, who conducted an experiment by anonymously playing his priceless violin in the Washington D.C. subway station. Kathy grew up in Toronto. “My love affair with books began as a child,” she says. “I remember regular visits to the library, getting stacks of books to read.” She still has a notebook of stories that she wrote when she was in grade four. She believes that reading a lot is the key to becoming a good writer. In the early 1970s Kathy attended university while teaching elementary school. In 1981, she took a course called “How to write and get published.” The titles she has published in the years since range from picture books to young adult novels, from historical fiction chapter books to short stories in the horror genre. 2008 sees the publication of her first brand-new picture book in sixteen years! Kathy enjoys visiting schools across Canada, and especially talking with fellow writers. In 1987 she traveled to England as part of an exchange of Canadian and British children’s authors. She has helped students across Canada pursue their own creative projects through the Writers in Electronic Residence program, and in many communities has conducted writing workshops for children and for adults. When she’s not busy writing or reading, Kathy is a self-proclaimed jigsaw puzzle addict. Her children now grown, she lives with her partner, editor Peter Carver, in a hamlet not far from Guelph, Ontario.
Melissa Cho is a designer and animator working in children’s media. She lives in Southern Ontario.
Excerpt: The Bare Naked Book (by (author) Kathy Stinson; illustrated by Melissa Cho)
Author's Note
The original publication of The Bare Naked Book in 1986 caused quite a stir. It was considered pretty daring at the time to show naked bodies and talk about them frankly in a children’s book! But we knew it was important for children to see different bodies being celebrated and to learn about their own. The book was fun, matter-of-fact, and often appeared on lists of recommended titles related to themes of body image and personal safety.
Over the years conversations around diversity and identity evolved significantly. We began to realize that too many children would not find themselves and important people in their lives within the book’s pages. Annick Press and I agreed it was time to update the book.
Showing a fuller range of human beings and their bodies required new illustrations, and happy was the day artist Melissa Cho came on board. We also made significant changes to the text. For example, rather than specifying “penis” and “vagina,” as we did originally, and assigning them rigidly to males and females, this time we have used simply “genitals,” leaving adult readers free to talk with children about variations in gender identity and genitalia, and the words they might prefer to use to refer to them. Having a shared understanding of the terms a child uses for their genitals helps in recognizing and intervening in cases of sexual abuse while also letting each child choose how they self-identify.
Whether you’re a parent, caregiver, educator, or counselor, we hope that you and the children in your lives will delight in finding yourselves in this new and improved bare naked celebration of bodies!
Editorial Reviews
“A beautiful and important addition to any collection of body books.”
Kirkus Reviews, *starred review, 12/29/20
“Current, engaging and offers a safe space for parents, caregivers, and educators to talk about human beings and their bodies. Highly Recommended.”
CM Reviews, 02/12/21