The Right Touch: A Read-Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse
Kleven and Bergsma
1997
Submitter: When I was perusing our juvenile section for a book for storytime, I stumbled upon this; another children’s book about “bad touching.” I think the title makes it worse! After I submit it here, I’m going to put it on the chopping block for weeding (as an academic library, we should have books like this for social work students, but not one this old). What’s extra weird is the book was written in 1997 but the illustrations are from 1985. I’m not sure what sort of message this will give kids–it may be helpful for a social worker to give to a child who has been abused, but the illustrations are creepy enough to scare any child.
Holly: I don’t know, I think the pictures are kind of cute. Hey, Mary – they’re like PRESCIOUS MOMENTS FIGURINES! That’s exactly what they look like! Mary LOVES Prescious Moments. Anyway, there’s just no un-creepy way to present this material. That last picture with the guy and the little girl is particularly disturbing, though. Look at the kittens! They are horrified! At least they spun the title positive…
Awful Library Books 