I have been searching for a children's book on exactly this subject, so I was thrilled to find this one! Unfortunately, some passages were choppy, awkward, and confusing, to the point that I was worried my son would be *more* confused about boundaries after reading this book. I got the sense that sometimes the author was grasping to find a rhyme, or to find a word that starts with a particular letter (instead of just ditching the A-Z format). In the words of my 4-year-old: "It was kind of fun, kind of boring. It was both."

One awkward passage: "J is for juvenile, so respect my age. Learn my personal boundaries, so we're on the same page." Are these two sentences related to each other? Or are these two discrete concepts? If the latter, why the sudden change in format? (On every other page, the two rhyming lines are linked somehow). If the former, what is the message? How do they tie into each other? Perhaps she means that kid's deserve to have their boundaries respected just like adults do? That we should respect their boundaries *despite* their age? If even I, as an adult, am struggling to decipher the message, I'm sure kids will even more so.

Another passage: "V is for vehicle, the ones I don't know. Never get in one, and always say no." I understand the author was trying to communicate to not get into cars with strangers. But kids can be extremely concrete and many of them will not be able to connect the dots that when it says to not trust "vehicles" we don't know, it actually means "drivers" we don't know. All of these subjects are complex and nuanced, so we need to use as simple as possible language when communicating it to kids.

All that being said, I don't want to downplay the important work that this author is doing! Looking at her profile she has written many books on this and similar subjects, and I'd be interested to read more of her work. I hope she is able to grow as an author and I wish her much success!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Wear your consent like a golden crown.”

Yes! I love children’s books about activism and consent and expression. I’m in charge of selecting and purchasing books for a progressive children’s experience on Sundays and I’m so stoked to add this to their library! We also love this book as a family.

Thank you so much to Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for this ARC!

I adore books for kids that teach concepts like bodily autonomy, independent thought, and the concept of consent. This is filled to the brim with easily digestible concepts for children with gorgeous illustrations to help drive the point home. I liked the incorporation of both children and adult interpersonal relationships. The only real bone I have to pick here is the use of strangers versus family. I think it’s important to also include a little bit of acknowledgement that even family members must respect consent and boundaries; the concept was a little vague on that for the family end of things. Maybe a little note included for parents at the back for how to approach some of those topic ideas in a kid accessible way could give more room for that convo, especially since a lot of older generation family members really harp on requiring kids to interact affectionately as a show of respect. Having that at the end to facilitate dialogue can also give parents and adulte caregivers a reminder of a child’s autonomy and the like as well! Some folks really need that nudge. It also might be good to include having a talking point for when parents override a yes/no of a child for direct safety concerns, because kids are experts at finding the loophole of things haha! Giving parents a little tidbit on how to tackle any contradictions that kids may raise put in at the back to reference a kid friendly way without having to think of it on the fly would be so helpful to reinforce such a good message of the overall text, I would definitely still stock this in classrooms and doctor and therapy offices, and certainly would make a GREAT gift for anyone who has a new kiddo or for a baby shower wishing well gift. Highly recommend this.

If you’re looking for a picture book on consent for kids, this is a great start! It gives clear information in a fun format. The illustrations are beautiful and colorful. It’d be a great addition to any library.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to review this book.

The ABCs of Consent by Krstaelynne Sanders Diggs is an interesting book and I fully agree that the concept of consent has to start earlier than it does.

The illustrations are beautiful with vibrant colours and designs that gain and hold your attention which given this is primarily a picture book? Is a necessity.

I had high hopes for this book when I began, as I know often there is a dosconnect with the way people have been taught, and what children need. For example, often the older generation expect young children to hug them - say a grandparent who visits once a year; who is visiting and a child who rarely sees them. To the child; the adult is pretty much a stranger and doesn't want to do what is expected.

That child should be respected and a book such as this, will help open conversations as to why expectations and reality can differ and that an adult isn't always right.

I can see The ABCs of Consent is going to be often a tool for conversation in schools and homes - because a child's voice is often not heard or respected.

I will also say that I found myself so sad that the implication behind some of the rhymes because of the age this is designed for.

My problem with the book and why it's not getting five stars is it feels a little rushed and some of the rhymes don't flow well to me.

For example:

𝘍 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴,
𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧,
𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴,
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘧

The first two lines are great, but I couldnt quite work out how the book reference made sense in this context, and it felt that the author rushed it to move onto the next letter.

The ABCs of Consent has so much potential but I think it was a little rushed and some verses could do with being reworked. However, it is definitely a book like this is a necessity to help children find their voices and know they are able to say when in an extremely bad situation that leaves them uncomfortable.

Gorgeous illustrations
the colors are so bright and inviting
Some lines are sinister, but the message is well meant. Think it should be read more by grownups than kids

Absolutely LOVED this book - it’s a must-read for all children (and even for adults & other family members…). Consent is an important subject that EVERYONE needs to be educated in. This book had the perfect way of illustrating consent, boundaries, and respect specially tailored to kids. The art and illustration was beautiful, loved the rhymes; I kept saying YES, YES, YES to each letter!

The ABC's of Consent is a a timely book that slightly misses the mark. Parts of the book are very good but some of the letters are a stretch and don't feel forced, which is a problem that I see in a lot of topical ABC books. The illustrations are nice and this would be a good book to start a conversation, but have more on had to go more in depth.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book! Below is my honest review.

Summary of plot:
ABCs related to consent (example: 'M' for movement, if you touch without consent, I'll move away).

Pros about the book:
✔️ Teaching readers that consent is key to a good relationship!
✔️ Important message that consent can vary based on mood, situation, person, etc.
✔️ Love the color schemes
✔️ Easy rhyme that kids might remember

Cons about the book:
❌ Nothing that I can think of

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

I looked at this book with all of my grand children and is served well as a conversation starter. The youngest took the message about strangers but the older ones (both boys and girls) were surprisingly candid about how this affects them. Perhaps it was easier because we are so used to discussing books together and it was easier than approaching consent from a more personal beginning. This is a great way to approach this difficult subject.

We need more books focussing on consent from children. Where respect from adults to children and children to adults is on par, because that is STILL not always the case. I feel that I have earned the right to say this, seeing what some adults try to force my young kids to do. No matter how innocent it seems… ‘You are making me sad for not hugging me’ … ‘Don’t say no! I’m coming to give you a kiss … ‘You NEED to finish your dinner’ ’ There isn’t ill intend, however it’s trying to cross the boundaries comfort the children and it needs to stop. People need to know that a child NOT hugging or wanting to be kissed on the cheek/forehead or not finishing their dinner does not mean they don’t like that person or the food. It simply means they are not bothered about it or hungry right now and that is OKAY. We don’t always feel like hugging or kissing! We are all human beings. No matter how young.

So now my rant is over… back to the book! Each page has a different letter with a term associated with consent. Everything from boundaries to some general safety tips for children such as staying in groups, not trusting strangers or getting in their cars, and letting your parents know where you're going and who you'll be with.

The Illustrations are very pleasing, the colours are beautiful. It’s really a joy to look through them.

It would be a very good book to read once in a while to your children or make it available for them to read themselves whenever they want to. Open that conversation. Show them that it is okay to say no, by leading by example and maybe show this to the adults that try to (maybe innocently) do any of those things to the children, so that they realise it’s not you as a caregiver being ‘funny'‘ about this, but that it is REALLY NOT OKAY.

This book is excellent!!! Such a great message for kids of any age. The wording is clear and easy to understand, and the illustrations are gorgeous and eye catching.
Some of the language and words seem a bit grown up (ex. juvenile) but it’s easy enough for parents to stop and use it as a teaching moment for new words.
I highly recommend this book for any parent of young children!! It’s such a good tool to start an essential conversation that may be hard to have.

This is definitely a fun way to teach children about what it's Mean being kind and respect other people even if they are different

Talking consent is a great thing to start at an early age so having a picture book around the topic is an excellent way to start.

The book broaches some great topics for further discussion with older kids. I feel it still needs a bit of work however to get it to flow. Some of the wording doesn’t make sense or isn’t logical which is a shame.

Like I said however this is a great starting point and I’d love to see more consent themed works for children coming out!

This is a lovely, child-friendly book for introducing the important idea of consent in a non-threatening way.

Quick review for a quick read. It's been a while since I've picked up a children's book like this, and it was very cute! I definitely think it's a great thing that this is a reference book based around the issue of consent, particularly for how it's structured to be easy to remember with the rhymes and with beautifully drawn illustrations. There are some concepts I feel here might be a little too advanced depending on how young the child is. On one hand, this can be great for a parent who wants their child to ask more questions about what it is or what they may mean by the words. But on the other hand, it could be source of confusion for a child. "A is for Ask", "B is for body," "N is for No" and their descriptions - spot on, well done, for example. "J is for Juvenile" I had a little bit of hard time thinking that may be easy for a kid to click with with the concept and meaning (though I understood it!). "Z is for Zips" is a little hard to work too from what I saw, because I know a kid would probably ask "What does that mean?" Most of the rhymes work really well otherwise and I think they did a good job of syncing - overall - the illustrations to each of the phrases and concepts.

I'd give this a solid 4 stars and I would certainly recommend it to my family, friends, and people in my community to refer to. Please make more books like this!

Overall score: 4/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

#theabcsofconsent#Krystaelynne #booksgosocial #netgalley

Thank you net galley and BooksGoSocial publishing for providing me the opportunity to review this book.

First of all this book visually is stunning! The color and illustrations are beautiful. Very eye-catching for children. The content I think is great. I used to work with children for 13 years in ECE and human services. I feel this book is needed. I understand some reviewers had some concerns about some of the letters being a little misleading. But you have to remember it is in the context of explaining about body awareness and consent of individual adults, children and especially with those that are strangers. So I think if you explain to the child and what it really represents I think there shouldn't be an issue. I worked with some traumatized children. This would be a great book at like a Children's Justice Center. I think this is a good book to introduce all children (all centers) so they have an understanding of what they're comfortable with regards to their body and body awareness. One of the things I experience with traumatized kids is they didn't know they had a choice to say no when they are being abused. Some were not even aware of some of those things can even happen. And in the mind of the child they often think they're the only person in the world with that problem. With that said that doesn't mean all children experience those things. However I think all children regardless of their experiences would benefit from this book. But that is just one example. It's especially important because I've seen so often parents trying to make their kids hug other people, students, strangers. That's something parents should never ever do because it teaches the child to go against their instinct when they are not comfortable. We do that so much in society especially with little girls and young women. Having to constantly second guess yourself. So this book I think is an excellent way to introduce those conversations a.d to be aware.

An ABC book for young children. I understand the intent, but I disagree with how some letters are represented.

One example, that can be misinterpreted easily by the child you're reading to is A. "A is for ask, so respect me please. I have a voice to respond and the choice to agree." I agree all people, no matter their age should be treated with respect, but this makes it sound like if Mom or Dad tells you to pick up your toys, you don't have to agree.

An example of a letter I agree with - "V is for vehicle, the ones I don't know. Never get in one, and always say no."

It was a fairly even mix of great examples and those I was not in favor. You would need to decide for yourself and have a conversation with your child with examples of what the intent is for this to be a definite read in my opinion.

Excellent illustrations and very creative.

#TheABCsOfConsent #NetGally #Preschool

#TheABCsOfConsent#Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs #BooksGoSocial #NetGalley

This little book teaches important concepts about consent, with every letter of the alphabet standing for something important, such as "C is for Consent. I say yes or no." and "D is for Decision. It is mine to make".

It is never too early to start teaching little boys and girls about the power of "No" and what it means to be respected and respectful towards the decisions others make.

This book will teach and inform while opening up opportunities for further discussion.

The illustrations were great.

This is a review of the ARC of this book.

Lovely illustrations. Think some of the points could do with a bit more explanation but understand that in order to keep it to the point and short this most likely could not happen.