Raised by a children's librarian and a sex therapist, CORY SILVERBERG split the difference and grew up to be a sexuality educator and writer. With an academic background in education and counseling psychology, he has developed and facilitated workshops for hundreds of agencies across North America, working on a range of topics including sexuality and disability, sexual pleasure, and sexual communication. He is the coauthor of The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability, and since 2005 he has worked as the Sexuality Guide for About.com. In 2012, Silverberg developed a book project-What Makes a Baby?-that became the best-funded children's book on Kickstarter. He subsequently signed a three-book deal with Seven Stories Press to produce a series of inclusive children's books about gender and sexuality. Silverberg lives in New York City. FIONA SMYTHis a Toronto-based painter, illustrator, and cartoonist. Her first graphic novel,The Never Weres, was published by Annick Press in 2011. Fiona's comicCheezwas published inExclaim!magazine for almost ten years, and her comicFazoozwas inVicefor eight years. Fiona teaches illustration and comics at OCAD U in Toronto.
"an invaluable toolbox for meeting my children's questions about
bodies, language, and sensation. . . . I can't imagine parenting
without this duo's pathbreaking work. I feel so fortunate that I
don't have to." -Sara B. Franklin, LitHub
"Sex Is a Funny Word is nothing short of revolutionary. Cory
Silverberg and Fiona Smyth's newest book is brilliant in its
approach to giving caregivers and educators the tools they need to
talk to kids about their bodies.... Though representation of many
bodies shouldn't be revolutionary, most of our media - children's
books included - showcases white, thin bodies in ways that are
often ableist, sexist, homophobic, and trans-exclusive. In this way
(and many others), Silverberg and Smyth's contribution to the
dialogue is revolutionary: finally young people have a way
to see all bodies (including their own body) represented. Yes."
-Kristin Russo, Buzzfeed
"Exciting, enlightening, and innovative, this book addresses
timeless questions about sex for a new generation of kids who are
increasingly aware of the broad spectrum of gender and sexual
identities." -Clara Hendricks, School Library Journal,
starred review
"Done with great sensitivity, precision and poise ... having access
to a book like this could change the life of a lot of kids."
-Feministing
"Silverberg is posing big questions at a crucial time ...[Books
like his] represent shifting ideas and the inevitable parent-kid
conversations around them." -Maclean's
"Emphasizing the importance of trust, respect, justice, and joy -
as well as open communication - it's a thoughtful and affirming
exploration of relationships, gender identity, and growing sexual
awareness." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
"With skin tones in unlikely shades (blue! purple! green!) and
wildly diverse crowd scenes, chances are good that any reader can
identify with someone in these pages. Refreshingly, these crowds
are diverse in a way that does not appear assembled by checklist.
Lively design, bright, clashing colors, cartoon-style
illustrations, comic strips, and plenty of humor support the
informal, inclusive approach ... This carefully thought-out
explanation may surprise but should be widely appreciated."
-Kirkus Reviews
"You could send your kid to college and graduate school, and years
of therapy, to learn how to lovingly come to terms with their
gender and sexuality. Or you could simply read this book with
them-it's that thorough, and that good." -Kate Bornstein,
author of My New Gender Workbook
"Sex Is a Funny Word is a book that brilliantly reminds us of our
shared humanity. Whether you are LGBTQIA or any other letter in the
alphabet (including 'U' for undecided), this book contains
everything you ever wanted the kids in your life to know about
sex." -James Lecesne, co-founder, The Trevor
Project
"I read Sex Is a Funny Word with my 10 year old daughter who
immediately got it! She saw herself, family, and friends in the
characters. It's an amazing resource and makes what could be a
difficult conversation, quite easy. I wish I had this book as a
child." -Aiesha Turman, Founder and Executive Director,
The Black Girl Project
"The book is for the same 7- to 10-year-old demographic as
the 'younger girls' targeted by Care & Keeping, but is leaps and
bounds ahead in terms of how progressive it is. As I recently
thumbed through Sex Is a Funny Word's brightly colored drawings, I
couldn't help thinking about how much I needed a book like this
growing up. . . . In age-appropriate language, it humorously
tackles topics from gender to masturbation to crushes, even
including sections on how the concepts of justice and trust
intersect with sex and bodies. It's also forthcoming about the fact
that preteens are understandably curious about bodies that look
different from their own." -Rachelle Hampton, Slate
"Yes, it's written for 7-to-10-year-olds. But I'd like to see it on
the required reading list for high school freshmen, college
resident advisors, military personnel, early-childhood educators,
coaches, clergy, police officers, pediatricians and parents. Did I
miss anyone? ... the story begins not with body parts but with
values: Respect. Trust. Joy. Justice. 'Justice is like fairness,
only bigger,' Silverberg explains. 'Justice means that every person
and every body matters.' Could we have that etched over every
middle-school entry door, please? And while the chisel's still
warm, put it on the nation's courtrooms, too." -Anndee Hochman,
Broad Street Review
"Sex Is a Funny Word opens a portal to a world where gender
is exactly what we say it is rather than simply the sum of our
'middle parts.' Silverberg provides the template for all of us to
see the simplicity with which we can step out of today's binary
gender paradigm." -Aidan Key, founder of the Gender
Odyssey Conference
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