This book teaches a child, ages four to eight years-old, about personal safety and body ownership. Children learn how to identify who safe adults are in a child’s life. This book shows in positive and practical ways how parents, and educators, can talk to children about personal safety. Children learn about bad touch and good touch, and how their body belongs to them. Parents and educators can help children learn who the safe people are in their lives, and that they can always tell one of them about anything that may happen, and they aren’t comfortable about. Using little bug fairies and fairy houses, ensures that children aren’t scared when this story is read to them, or they read it on their own. Minimal illustrations used so that younger children don’t become distracted by extraneous elements.
Reviews
“Suzy Has A Secret” is a must read book for those with small children or for those that have little ones in their life. Children don't always know when or who to tell. We teach them to respect their elders and be quiet when asked; to behave and not to tattle. This needs to change! “Suzy Has A Secret” explains to children that we must always tell our parents or others when something doesn't feel right. I recommend this book highly. Susan Vance, Author
“Suzy Has a Secret” is a great resource in instructing children about good touch/bad touch. I think it is smartly written and developed, and easy for children to read. This is a difficult subject to tackle, and the authors have done a brilliant job. I would highly recommend this book. Kristina Ball, Author
As children, we’ve been taught to listen to our parents and to do everything they tell say us. We know how much they love us and they won’t do anything to hurt us. One of these things concerns tattling on someone else who did something they shouldn’t have done, because doing it wouldn’t be a nice thing to do.
But what happens when a relative, like Uncle Bob, starts doing something he shouldn’t and tell us to keep it a secret even from our parents. This is what Suzy has to deal with in this brief story when he starts touching her in places she somehow feels is wrong; she becomes scared and doesn’t want to get in trouble for tattling on her uncle to her parents.
This creates a conflict in her young mind since her parents had also taught her that if something is bothering her she should come to them. When she tells her friend Lucy what’s happening, Lucy’s older brother tells Suzy to tell her parents and that she wouldn’t get into trouble. Suzy follows his advice, tells her parents who respond by sitting down and talking to her about what Uncle Bob did to her.
Inappropriate touching is a sensitive, everyday occurring issue which parents need to discuss with their young child, and this book serves as marvelous beginning from which this discuss can begin. The book then gives parents ideas as to how to go about doing this. For trying to help parents, especially first-time young parents, in dealing with this important, sensitive issue, there’s no way I can’t give Ms. Jackson 5 STARS for her endeavor here. Mrs. D., Author
Awards
2016 Reader's Favorite Five Stars
2017 Silver Second Place Medal Literary Titan
