Illustrated by Fiona Smyth
Winner of the the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction
Winner of the 2016 Stonewall Honor for Books in Children’s and Young Adult Literature
The eagerly anticipated follow up to Lambda-nominated What Makes a Baby, from sex educator Cory Silverberg and artist Fiona Smyth, Sex Is a Funny Word reimagines "sex talk" for the twenty-first century.
A comic book for kids that includes children and families of all makeups, orientations, and gender identities, Sex Is a Funny Word is an essential resource about bodies, gender, and sexuality for children ages 8 to 10 as well as their parents and caregivers. Topics covered include:
-- What is sex?
-- Privacy, safety, and respect
-- Boundaries regarding nudity, talking about sex, and touch
-- Assigned sex, gender identity, and gender roles
-- Names and functions of body parts
-- Talking about the word “sexy”
-- Protecting yourself against unwanted sexual touch and abuse
-- Crushes, love, and sexy feelings
Much more than the "facts of life" or “the birds and the bees," Sex Is a Funny Word opens up conversations between young people and their caregivers in a way that allows adults to convey their values and beliefs while providing information about boundaries, safety, and joy.
Sex Is a Funny Word is the first sex education book for this age group that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, and bisexual experience as well as gender creative and gender-nonconforming children.
Sex is a Funny Word Wins the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction

Woohoo!
Just about everyone loves Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth's Sex is a Funnny Word, the follow-up to their acclaimed (and enlightening) book for 3–7-year-olds, What Makes a Baby? Now we can add the Canadian Children's Book Centre to the list of Silverberg and Smyth's fans. They've awarded Sex is a Funny Word the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction.
Congrats to Cory and Fiona! We couldn’t be prouder.