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A review by opal360
Beyond Birds and Bees: Bringing Home a New Message to Our Kids about Sex, Love, and Equality by Bonnie J. Rough
4.0
I found the book useful and informative and I anticipate that it will influence how and when I handle these kinds of topics. I agreed with many of the writer's arguments, though not every last one.
I wasn't completely sold on the presentation. The first two chapters consisted mainly of the writer reminiscing about her glorious stint as an expat in Amsterdam: you could easily skip those chapters and save time by starting at Chapter 3.
I also felt that she failed on multiple occasions to use plain language - ironically, given that one of her key arguments is that we should use plain language when we discuss these topics. She falls back on informal or elliptical language that left me unclear at times what point she was trying to make.
My hunch is that idiomatic language like this is often specific to a given culture or region and so, while the meaning might be clear to English speakers raised in the US, it will be more opaque for English speakers from other countries. Still, removing some of the cute language would make the narrative easier for everyone to follow.
I wasn't completely sold on the presentation. The first two chapters consisted mainly of the writer reminiscing about her glorious stint as an expat in Amsterdam: you could easily skip those chapters and save time by starting at Chapter 3.
I also felt that she failed on multiple occasions to use plain language - ironically, given that one of her key arguments is that we should use plain language when we discuss these topics. She falls back on informal or elliptical language that left me unclear at times what point she was trying to make.
My hunch is that idiomatic language like this is often specific to a given culture or region and so, while the meaning might be clear to English speakers raised in the US, it will be more opaque for English speakers from other countries. Still, removing some of the cute language would make the narrative easier for everyone to follow.