Top 10 sex education books that kids will actually enjoy

pile of sex ed books for a teachable moment

There’s a lot of sex education books in the world. With even more being published each week! (Trust me, I know as I’ve reviewed 750+ of them!)

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by choice. And knowing which book to read to your child, can be a difficult decision to make!

So I’ve compiled a list of the books that parents tell me they love, as well as the books that I love (both personally and professionally). So I guess you could say that these are the books that I always seem to be recommending to parents. These are the books that are comprehensive, and talk about lots of different sex ed topics (instead of just one topic).

Books are a valuable resource that many parents use for sex education. They help you to provide your child with child-friendly information about love, sex, relationships and growing up. Which means you can then focus more on the conversation with your child, instead of trying to remember what you were supposed to be saying!

If you are specifically after books on puberty, click here to have a look at my 10 favourite puberty books.

And if you’re unsure about the best way to read these types of books with kids, in this article you’ll discover the secret of reading sex education books for kids.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure here.

THIS LIST WAS UPDATED IN AUGUST 2023

Everyone’s Got a Bottom

Perfect for 3 to 5 year old children

cover of Everyone's Got a Bottom by Tess Rowley

Everyone’s Got a Bottom by tess Rowley is a popular Australian book covers quite a lot of the topics that lay the foundations for sex education and preventing sexual abuse in the early years. It is a great first book as it covers a lot of different topics in one book.

It’s a good book to get started with!

You can find a video review here and buy a copy of  Everyone’s Got a Bottom from the Publisher.

Pregnancy, families, diversity & bodies

Perfect for 3 to 8 year old children

covers of robie h harris books

This series of popular books by Robie H. Harris are fantastic for younger children, as they all focus on a different topic – body parts, families, diversity and pregnancy. I am always recommending these books to parents as they cover some of the key topics for sex education. Plus they provide the foundations for future talks about sexual intercourse.

Now, these books aren’t gender inclusive ie they talk about girl bodies and boy bodies. So you may have to change the language to ‘most girls have a vulva’ or ‘some bodies have a vulva’ instead of ‘all girls have a vulva’.

This series of books was hugely popular in our house, with my son still wanting me to read them with him up until he turned 10!  I don’t know if it is the detailed illustrations, the story they tell, or the little speech bubbles from Nellie and Gus, but they were very popular in our house! So popular that I was tempted to hide them as I was sick of reading them!

You can watch a video review and buy a copy of Who Has What? All about girls’ bodies and boys’ bodies at Amazon.

You can watch a video review and buy a copy of Who’s In My Family? All about our families at Amazon.

You can watch a video review and buy a copy of Who We Are! All about being the same and being different from Amazon.

You can watch a video review and buy a copy of What’s in There? All about before you were born at Amazon.

First Conversations

Perfect for 2 to 8 year old children

covers of the different books by megan madison

This is a lovely series of books by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli that provides adults with the opportunity to begin important conversations with young children in an informed, safe, and supported way. Topics like consent, love, diversity, families, bodies, gender and more. And because they are designed for younger children, they are sold as robust board books!

Now, ‘technically’… these aren’t sex education books. And at the time of updating this post, they don’t have a book about where babies come from or how they are made. But I am including them as they are about topics that come under the umbrella of sex education. And they are books that will help your child to grow up into an adult to be proud of!

These board books are the ones that I am constantly recommending to parents. I believe that every family should be reading these books to their children. And not just one book, but the whole set.

Now, I’m not going to link to every single book, as there are more books on their way and I know I will forget to add them to this page. So instead, you can find my video reviews and links to buy of all the Megan Madison books here. I can’t wait to see what else these authors will be writing about.

The ‘Big’ Robie H. Harris books

Perfect for 4 to 14 year old children

Cover f the Robie H harris sex education books

Robie H. Harris writes fantastic books, and these 3 books, are what I would call an encyclopedia of what kids need to know at the different stages of sexual development.

These are the sort of books that your kids will take and disappear off to the bedroom to read alone. Parents also seem to love them as well!

You can read them together with your child, and I would recommend breaking them down into chapters. There is a lot of information in these books and they are updated regularly.

Now, these books aren’t gender inclusive ie they talk about girl bodies and boy bodies. So you may have to change the language to ‘most girls have a vulva’ or ‘some bodies have a vulva’ instead of ‘all girls have a vulva’. But they are inclusive in regards to sexual attraction/orientation.

You can find a video review and buy a copy of It’s Not The Stork: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Families And Friends by Robie H. Harris from Amazon.

You can find a video review and buy a copy of It’s so Amazing: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families by Robie H. Harris  from Amazon.

You can find a video review and buy a copy of It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris from Amazon.

Let’s Talk About the Birds and the Bees

Perfect for 5 to 10 year old children

cover of Let's Talk About the Birds and the Bees by Molly Potter

Let’s Talk About the Birds and the Bees by Molly Potter is another favourite book of mine. I love it because it’s the only sex education book that you really need for preschoolers and early primary school-aged kids.  It is simple but it literally covers everything you need to talk about with your child.

It includes gender differences, the private body parts, what private means, what touching is okay, puberty, how babies are made, sexual intercourse love and much more.

Sex is explained in this book, but the illustration is of a man and woman lying next to each other in a bed. It also explains that babies can also be made in other ways.

This book isn’t inclusive in regards to gender i.e. it explains that boys have a penis and girls have a vulva. So you will need to adapt the language to be inclusive.

You can watch a video review and buy a copy of Let’s Talk About the Birds and the Bees by Molly Potter from Amazon.

Making A Baby: An Inclusive Guide to How Every Family Begins

Perfect for 5 to 10 year old children

cover of Making A Baby_ An Inclusive Guide to How Every Family Begins by Rachel Greener

Making A Baby: An Inclusive Guide to How Every Family Begins by Rachel Greener is my favourite book for explaining how babies are made (including sex) in an inclusive way!

It is actually one of the few books for younger children that is inclusive of different family times, genders and the different ways a baby can be made. This is the only book that I know of, for younger children, that actually provides more detailed information about the other ways a baby is made. It also also talks about pregnancy, when a baby/fetus dies, and birthing. The book has a lovely description of sexual intercourse, as well.

I really like this book, and it is one that I am always recommending to parents!

You can watch a video review and buy a copy of Making a Baby from Amazon.

Inclusive Sex Ed Books

Perfect for 5 to 14 year old children

covers of the 3 cory silverberg books

These books by Cory Silverberg are very popular with parents who are looking for books that are inclusive. Also the focus is on sexuality (not sex). So the books include all the things kids need to know to oneday have happy, healthy and respectful relationships.

What Makes a Baby, is self-explanatory. It explains how babies are made in an inclusive way i.e. it talks about a person with a uterus instead of a man/woman or male/female. Sex is not mentioned in this book and this book is for younger kids i.e. 3 to 7 year olds.

You can watch a video review or buy a copy of What Makes a Baby by Cory Silverberg, from Amazon.

Sex is a Funny Word is the next book in the series, targeting 8 to 12 year olds. Now, despite having sex in the title, this book IS NOT about sex. It talks about all the other things that go with sex (healthy relationships, consent, feelings, bodies). It’s a big book and covers a lot of topics. And remember, it is diverse and inclusive!

You can watch a video review or buy a copy of Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg, from Amazon.

You Know, Sex? Bodies, Gender, Puberty and Other Things is the last book in the series, targeting 10 to 14 year olds. This book is actually about sex, as well as puberty, gender and a lot more important topics! This book is grounded in social justice, covering not only the big three of puberty—hormones, reproduction, and development—but also power, pleasure, and how to be a decent human being. And like the other books from this author, it is diverse and very inclusive!

You can watch a video review or buy a copy of You Know, Sex? by Cory Silverberg, from Amazon.

The Every Body Book

Perfect for 7 to 12 year old children

cover of The Every Body Book : The Lgbtq+ Inclusive Guide for Kids About Sex, Gender, Bodies, and Families by Rachel Simon

The Every Body Book by Rachel Simon is very popular with parents who are trying to find a ‘general’ sex education book that is also inclusive. This book is illustrated and has more information that what you would find in a picture book. It is similar to the big Robie H. Harris books, but it is not as comprehensive.

The best way to describe this book is as an illustrated LGBTQ+ inclusive kid’s guide to sex, gender and relationships education that includes children and families of all genders and sexual orientations, covering puberty, hormones, consent, sex, pregnancy and safety.

You can find a video review here and buy a copy of  The Every Body Book from Amazon.

How do you Make a Baby?

Perfect for 8 to 13 year old children

cover of how do you make a baby by anna fiske

How Do You Make a Baby by Anna Fiske is more of a ‘how babies are made’ book than a ‘general’ sex education book. But I wanted to include it as it is a great book for talking about the meaning of sex. And it actually talks about the different ways people can ‘do’ sex. Plus it is inclusive and talks about man/woman, woman/woman and man/man sex.

So this is a good book to consider if you are wanting an illustrated book with a more detailed explanation of sex.

You can find a video review here and buy a copy of  How do you Make a Baby? from Amazon.

Sex Ed for Teens

Perfect for tweens aged from 12 to 16 years

cover of favourite sex ed books for teens

There are a lot of sex education books for teens, but these three are the ones that I always seem to be recommending to parents. So if you have a tween or teen, and want a book that talks more about sex, then you are in the right place.

Wait, What? A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up by Heather Corinna and Isabella Rotman is an inclusive graphic book for tweens and younger teens that satisfies their curiosity about love, sex, relationships and growing up. It’s a nice little book! So this book is good for 12 to 14 year olds.

You can find a video review here and buy a copy of  Wait, What? from Amazon.

Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human by Erika Moen is probably my favourite sex education book for teens as it almost includes everything they need to know! And despite being filled with lots of sexual information, it is actually presented in a non-judgemental yet age-appropriate way. I really do like this book and it is a good one for kids aged 14 years and older.

You can watch a video review here and buy a copy of Let’s Talk About It from Amazon.

Welcome to Sex: Your no-silly-questions guide to pleasure, sexuality and figuring it out by Dr Melissa Kang & Yumi Stynes is a detailed sex manual that would be perfect for teens who are wanting to understand the mechanics of sex and the sexual landscape they will soon be joining. It would also be an excellent book for parents to also read, if they need a refresher about love, sex and relationships. This book is for mature teens aged 14+.

You can find a video review here and buy a copy of Welcome to Sex from Amazon.

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