Where Hands Go - Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs

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AUTHOR: Krystaelynne Sanders Diggs
ILLUSTRATOR: Ananta Mohanta
GENRE: Children's Nonfiction
PUBLICATION DATE: July 10, 2021
RATING: Undecided!

It goes without saying that such topics must be accompanied by a conversation by a parent/guardian. A parent can’t simply rely on the book to do the parenting. I was hoping that this book would serve as a good option for a parent to introduce the topic of safe touch. But it turned out to be a case of “good intention, bad implementation.”

The story is written in rhythmic verse and talks of a little girl who has been taught by her mom where hands should go through a poem. I wasn’t a great fan of the rhymes as they seemed forced and included a couple of words too difficult for children to understand. (‘stray’ and ‘unruly’) But more than this, I wasn’t a fan of the information provided. Basically, this poem only states that kids should shout ‘NO’ and run away when ‘hands begin to stray’. But what does ‘straying’ actually mean to a child? What parts of your body would come under that definition? And why is it stated that it is mommy’s duty to protect the child? What if a child doesn’t have a mother? What if the mother is the cruel one? There are many missing bits of information in the content and the book does not provide any effective solution to what should be a very serious message in today’s day and age.

The illustrations are quite adorable and far outshine the content of the book.

I’m not really sure to whom I would recommend this book. It has its heart in the right place but it doesn’t serve the purpose it was intended for. It says too little and leaves a lot on parental shoulders. So I shall not be leaving a rating for this. I don’t wish to hurt the prospects of the book that means well.

Thank you, NetGalley and BooksGoSocial, for the ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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