I Choose to Say No: A Rhyming Picture Book About Personal Body Safety, Consent, Safe and Unsafe Touch, Private Parts, and Respectful Relationships (Teacher and Therapist Toolbox: I Choose 11)

I was thrilled when I read the title of this book...a much awaited search is over....I was on the look out for stories to narrate to my kids and explain to them consent, body parts, body boundaries,good touch, bad touch and the emotions they feel and whom to turn too when they are not safe and secure...who are their circle of trust. My kids aged 7 loved the book.

There's only one page dedicated to stranger danger, but I really felt like it was one too many. The book emphasizes a circle of trust for children to turn to. Most perpetrators are acquaintances, then family, then strangers (barely a blip). What if the kid I bought this for is made uncomfortable by an adult at school? Will they still feel comfortable standing up for themselves? I'm sure most people who would purchase this book would like it. I'm just not comfortable with it.

This book is designed to help parents through a very difficult topic. It provides them with starter sentences to help guide the discussion with their children. I'm thankful this topic has now come out of the darkness.My only disappointment is in the graphics. The avatar is one little girl. This discussion is just as vital for young boys and children of all backgrounds. Maybe a new edition will be made with that in mind. A suggestion for the creator would be a second bubble area. There is a place to develop the circle of trust. Maybe there could be an area for children to add people they don't trust. If they can't talk about it, they may be able to write it. Parents could then flip through on occasion. Forewarned is forearmed.

I loved the message but I got it for my 5yr old and three pages were a little advanced for him… he didn’t really understand the word sexual abuse.. he understood the message and I kinda had explain and re word things or skip it cause somethings I didn’t think went across good and might confuse him but it was over all a good book.. the safe circle is a good idea but not all adults are safe.. at the end it gave an activity for the kids to make their own safe circle with people they thought were safe.. always remember that the people to abuse kids are people you know, family, friends and even teens/kids.

The other books I bought and returned over this one, was too hard, possibly confusing, maybe for older kids, raised too many questions. But this book is clear concise and straight to the point

I love this book, it'll help me teach kids about stranger danger and that they can speak to me and their circle of close people.