Hugs and Kisses:978-1440468261

[Mary]

Hugs and Kisses
Author: Mary Muhammad
ISBN: 978-1440468261

“Hugs and Kisses” by Mary Muhammad includes some beautiful illustrations by MJ Daley-Prado, and deals very gently with the less beautiful events in a young girl’s life. It provides a fitting and wise introduction to the subject of child sex abuse, and to the fact that the perpetrators are all too often not strangers.

The book is written in two sections, and as I finished it I found I really wished there were a third. I liked the way the first section was structured round the question of why one child gave so many hugs and kisses while another didn’t, though I occasionally mixed up the children. A particularly excellent illustration accompanies the child asking her aunt, “What are my private parts?” The second section then deals very simply and realistically with a situation in which abuse can arise.

Simple questions and answers at the end of each section help parents to talk with their children about what they’ve learned, and how they feel about what they’ve learned. I was pleased to see a reminder here that a child does not need to stop showing affection. But I was concerned that the question of how a child might feel about someone they know going to jail was not really addressed.

That said, this would make a good starting point for families to discuss issues that are all too often left to chance, and to provide their children with a safe understanding of what is and is not appropriate when hugging and kissing. Hugs and Kisses was a short, simple, child-friendly, and wise little book that I would certainly recommend in the right circumstances.


Reviewer: Sheila Deeth
Reviewed by: Poetic Monthly