It's Ok to Say No

In an extensively illustrated guide designed to teach children important self-protection skills, youngsters learn that it is correct to say no to an adult who makes them feel uncomfortable

ea. vol: illus. by Frederick Bennett Green. unpaged. (It's OK to Say No Bks.). Grosset. Apr. 1986. PSm $4.95. PreSchool-Grade 1 Straightforward language that preschoolers will understand emphasizes phrases that the Children's Justice Foundation, which endorses this series, thinks that every child needs. Repeated safety lessons and rules will help children recognize and respond to threatening situations, such as "Don't keep secrets with grownups unless the secret is really a happy surprise," and "Never take anything from a stranger, even something that is yours." Illustrations depict children of many races and a child in a wheelchair. Faces tend to look the same, with no child looking very scared and no adult looking very threatening. This makes it difficult to tell in some pictures whether the adult is the threatening or the trusted one. The best books aimed at warning children against adult molesters are those like Linda Girard's My Body Is Private (Whitman, 1984) that emphasize self-respect, using your inner resources, and feeling good about yourself. This series has sensible lessons, but does little to help children judge how to tell who is a trusted adult or how to know when their own judgment is good. It is not complex enough to use with children of school age, but it might be a useful supplement for parents looking for another way to teach children these important survival techniques.Anne Osborn, Riverside City and County Public Library, Calif.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Responding to recent publicity about child abuse, several publishers have brought out books for children on the subject. This is a delicate task because it requires alerting children to some rather horrible facts of life without leaving them terrified of people. In What Should You do When . . . ?, children are advised to go to their teacher if a stranger tries to take them home from school. In Sometimes It's Okay to Tell Secrets, children learn what to do if "your teacher does something that makes you feel weird or yucky." In It's Okay to Say No, children are urged to run home if a stranger tries to talk to them. (Good advice if you're near home, but what if you're not?) Children, who tend to be very literal-minded, may have a hard time applying some of these rules to actual life. And the contradictions in these books underscore the fact that children need to be taught, on an individual level, procedures that will ensure safety in particular situations. (For slightly older children, Oralee Wachter's No More Secrets for Me is one of the best choices.)
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.