Miles is the Boss of His Body

by Abbie Schiller, Samantha Kurtzman-Counter, Valentina Ventimiglia (Illustrator)

Overview

The latest installment in The Mother Company’s award-winning “MILES” series,  Miles Is The Boss Of His Body is a fun, engaging way to explore the potentially difficult topic of kids’ personal safety.  On his 6th birthday, Miles’ excitement is dimmed when he finds himself being pinched, noogied, hugged too tight, picked up and tickled by his well-intentioned family and decides he’s had enough!  When Miles decrees that he is the “Boss of his body,” his whole family expresses support and respect for his personal boundaries.  In a colorful, comic-book style, young kids will laugh while learning this potentially life-saving concept that can benefit them for years to come.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989407137
Publisher:	The Mother Company
Publication date:	09/16/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	32,268
Product dimensions:	8.76(w) x 8.74(h) x 0.28(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

SAMANTHA KURTZMAN-COUNTER is a children’s book author, children’s show producer and director, and partners with Abbie Schiller in The Mother Company.  Samantha adapts all the books from the “Ruby’s Studio” shows to ensure they are exceptional as stand-alone
properties.  She gets most of her notes from her son Jack, who just entered 1st grade.

 
ABBIE SCHILLER is a children’s book author, children’s show creator and producer, and founder of The Mother Company. She and Samantha collaborate with renowned parenting experts and educators to ensure all The Mother Company books and shows are age-appropriate and educational. Then she tests them at home with her 3-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter – and all their friends – to make sure they are also totally entertaining.

Editorial Reviews

"This book gives children the permission they need, along with the tools they need, to speak up for themselves in regards to their body and personal space. An essential lesson for all children!"

Dr. Lindsay Heller

"Teaching children that they're the "Boss of their Bodies" is an empowering way to protect our kids from any kind of unsafe or uncomfortable touch. This book is a gentle and effective tool to share this important lesson in a way children will fully understand."

Pattie Fitzgerald

12/01/2014
PreS-Gr 2—Using a style reminiscent of Mo Willems's "Knuffle Bunny" books (Hyperion), this empowering title, based on a screenplay, uses cartoon illustrations placed on sepia photographs in an eye-catching display. Miles is excited about celebrating his sixth birthday with his family, but as the day progresses, he gets more and more agitated by the adults who pinch his cheeks, tightly hug him, pat his head, tickle him, and lift him into the air. After putting up with as much as he can take, he angrily explains that he's tired of all the unwanted touching. "I'm six years old and I'm the BOSS OF MY BODY!" Miles yells, before shutting himself in his bedroom. Though he's concerned that he went too far, his relatives praise him for standing up for himself and agree that he is right. This book builds confidence, conveys an important lesson for children and adults, and will be useful in initiating an important discussion.—Maryann H. Owen, Children's Literature Specialist, Mt. Pleasant, WI

School Library Journal

2014-07-29
Miles may be 6, but he's in charge of his body anyway, isn't he? In this montage of simple, cartoony characters set against photographic backgrounds, readers are introduced to Miles, who is about to celebrate his sixth birthday with his family and desperately looks forward to his favorite: "double-meaty-pepperoni-sausage-pineapple-hold-the-onions-extra-cheesy birthday pizza!" But before the pizza man arrives, Grandpa has to give Miles' cheek a pinch, and brother Scotty bestows a serious noogie, and Aunt Millie sends a suffocating hug (via Miles' mom), and Dad lifts him off the floor (" Dad, please put me down!"). Then a guy in a chicken suit arrives to tickle Miles. Miles blows his stack before retreating to his room for some time alone. Mom knocks. "Am I in trouble?" asks Miles. "No," says his mom. "We're here to tell you how proud we are of you." Dad pipes in: "No one should ever touch you in ways you don't want to be touched." Though the story is ham-fisted to the point of being a pork shoulder with the bone in, and though neither the artwork nor the text will last, the point probably will sink in. As the endnote states, "Roughly 90% of the harm done to children is not by a stranger, but by someone they know." Even if the worst thing this book prevents is an unwanted noogie, it is still doing a service. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews