This book is a quick read for the reviewer as it is only 28 pages including the covers but it contains an important message for little children, put plainly and powerfully. How does one help little children to stand up for themselves against sexual abusers? This book has a good go at answering this difficult question.
The key message is that “What’s under my pants belongs only to me!” It deals with the point that there may be times when doctors and other professionals may need to examine a child who is unwell, but in general children are urged to scream and shout or to tell someone they trust if they are interfered with in any way.
There is a one-page introduction for parents, which encourages them to treat reading the book as a game, with the children joining in, and on every page there is a reminder that parents should let children give the answers to key questions, so that they think, absorb the points being made and reinforce their learning by responding.
The format is like a nursery book, with bright colours and pictures which shout their message at the reader. It is written primarily for parents, but could be used by childminders and possibly in nurseries too, though it will be best suited to individual children being read to in a domestic setting. It will be of interest to potential abusers too; if they find a copy in a family home, they will know it is dangerous to abuse the children there.
Power, Kate & Rod My Underpants Rule (2014)
Kids Rule Publishing Limited
ISBN 978-0-9929530-0-3