Yes Means Yes: A Kid's Book about Consent, Boundaries, & Listening to Your Body - by Elaine Tai (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Only you get to control your body. And others get to control theirs. What if you wanted a hug but your friend didn't? What would you do if someone came too close? It can be hard to express how you feel when it comes to touching and being touched, or know how to react if someone else wanted more space. Yes Mean Yes helps you and your grown-ups understand, talk about, and respect body boundaries through easy examples and colorful illustrations"--Page [4] of cover.

Book Synopsis

Teach kids about the importance of consent and body boundaries in this full-color picture book, perfect for parents and young readers.

Explore various scenarios on body boundaries and personal space with your child through Yes Means Yes' charming cast of characters. The book will help children learn why we should not assume another's comfort level, whether it's with classmates, family, authority figures, or strangers. Alongside the mother and child in the story, kids will learn empathy and understanding, as well as how to give voice to their own feelings.

The various, "everyday" scenarios include the desire to touch someone's hair, play that can frustrate or hurt someone, and how someone might feel uncomfortable being touched or approached. Children will learn the importance of using their voice and listening when others use theirs, and parents can use the scenes as a foundation for further conversation.

With adorable, colorful illustrations by Kai Kwong, Yes Means Yes aims to present empathetic and positive ways to instill understanding of how we respect each others' comfort zones. Readers are reminded: "Only you get to control your body. And others get to control their own!"

About the Author

Elaine Tai (she/her) is a librarian with strong interests in social justice and lifelong learning, and she has been lucky to engage with wonderful authors, artists, activists, and others because of the reach of libraries. She is often motivated to create out of frustration, but also inspired and influenced by the community around her. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her curmudgeonly cat Neko and spends her free time as a wannabe patron of the arts, [very] amateur artist, and collector of things. Yes Means Yes is her first book.

Kai Kwong (she/they) is a graphic designer, illustrator, and lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a passion for creating colorful and typographically focused design, her expertise is primarily in commercial branding and packaging. When not juggling client work and personal projects, Kai spends her free time appreciating birds, hunting down vintage Ikea furniture, and screen printing shirts in her parents' garage. Yes Means Yes is her first foray in children's book illustration.