A “Bare Naked” Reveal
The original publication of The Bare Naked Book in 1986 caused quite a stir. It was considered pretty daring at the time to show naked bodies and talk about them frankly in a children’s book! But we knew it was important for children to see different bodies being celebrated and to learn about their own. The book was fun, matter-of-fact, and often appeared on lists of recommended titles related to themes of body image and personal safety.
Over the years conversations around diversity and identity evolved significantly. We began to realize that too many children would not find themselves and important people in their lives within the book’s pages. Annick Press and I agreed it was time to update the book.
Showing a fuller range of human beings and their bodies required new illustrations, and happy was the day artist Melissa Cho came on board. We also made significant changes to the text.
You’ll find out more when the book is released in March. For now, I hope you love the new cover as much as I and all the folks at Annick Press do!
Kathy Stinson is the author of the classic Red Is Best and the award-winning The Man with the Violin. Her wide range of titles includes picture books, non-fiction, young adult fiction, historical fiction, horror, biography, series books, and short stories. She has met with her readers in every province and territory of Canada, in the United States, Britain, Liberia, and Korea. She lives in a small town in Ontario.
Very cool, Kathy! 🙂
Happy New Year to you.
To you too, Catherine!
One of my all time favourite books probably because it did push reality!
👍🏻😎Pam
Wonderful, Pam. I think you’ll really like the update!
What an important book to update! Fantastic!
Thanks, Trudee! I’m really pleased. The original was popular enough to have stayed in print all these years, and now even more kids will find people like them in the book. 🙂
Love it, Kathy! Melissa Cho captured so very eloquently the posture, expression and wonder of the child. Miriam Körner
Writer | Photographer | Visual Artist | Wilderness Guide
http://www.miriamkoerner.blogspot.ca
Thanks, Miriam.
Yes. Melissa has done a fantastic job.
Just wait till you see the interiors! 🙂
Sounds great. I will have to get one for Reid and Leo.
It’s pretty fun. Hope you and they will like it!
Hi Kathy – Love this book and have been using in classrooms for years.
Is there an electronic version I could purchase? Would be much easier to use in zoom classes.
Many thanks for your work!
Hi Anne. I’m happy to hear that you have long been using The Bare Naked Book in your classroom, and even happier to report that Annick Press will be releasing an ebook version by the end of the month. Thanks to you and your colleagues for all you’re doing to keep kids engaged in the challenging online environment. Read on!