Book Review
Short Summary
Gary Didn’t Know The Rules was written by Holly-Ann Martin for kids aged 6 to 12 years old. It’s the 4th book in a series featuring Miss Martin’s class where she teaches kids about how to protect themselves and their peers. It was first published in 2017
What This Book Is About
Kids are often taught about stranger danger and how they should be careful of potential abuse by the adults around them. However, this book also talks about the fact that there are also child-to-child risks that they should be careful of. That’s what the author, a protective behaviour expert, talks about in this book.
The book tells a story about Gary, a new student in Miss Martin’s class, who was involved in an incident in the boys’ toilet.
The great thing about Holly-Ann as an author is the fact that she uses age-appropriate language while still managing to get the point across. Some of the lessons she talks about in the book include:
- 5 private rules to keep kids safe
- Everyone has the human right to be safe and there are laws in place to make sure of this.
- There are maybe some children who come across porn accidentally and would act out sexually with their peers even at a very young age.
- There are body parts that should be kept private.
- There are early warning signs that can tell kids there’s a potential risk.
Reflection and Comments
This is a resource that fills a huge gap especially when it comes to teaching kids about how to protect themselves. It even tells kids what to do in case they come across private movies or private pictures, terms that are used to refer to for porn or other unsafe material.
At the end of the book, it shows Miss Martin telling Gary that she believes him and that it’s not his fault. She proceeds to promise that she’ll do everything she can to keep him safe, which is exactly what kids need to hear especially when they’ve been abused or have witnessed something that is unsafe. This makes it the perfect book for parents, teachers and counsellors to read to the kids they want to protect. As with all of her books there is a section at the back that includes essential information for caregivers about what to say and do when a child discloses that they have been abused.
Buy a Copy of This Book
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You can buy a copy of this book online. If you are in Australia, we recommend you purchase via Booktopia or Amazon Australia. If you are in India, you can purchase your copy from Amazon India. For all other countries, you can click the Amazon US button below and you will automatically be redirected to your local Amazon page.
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