The illustrations are entertaining - accurate but cartoonish and the "bird" and "bee" comments at the margins are brilliant. The bee finds everything excruciatingly embarrassing and says so, but the bird loves it all and comments accordingly. Children can relate well to both characters and their thoughts at different stages of their development. They also begin to realise that the bee may be silly in being so prudish about natural matters and may adapt their own comments and behaviour in the light of this. We have used these characters to instigate family or individual discussions about these important topics - for example, prompting a discussion by saying "I can see you feel like the bee and find this very uncomfortable to talk about - would you like to look at the book again?" or "the bird loved this bit" and discussing more openly.

The approach taken in the book means that children go on to read chapters eg sexual health which they might not otherwise have read because they like the style of writing and the "aside" comments from the bird and bee. My children (two girls and a boy) read bits of the book avidly from the ages of about 9 or 10. They continue to dip into it as the months go by and as they realise the possible relevance of chapters which were a mystery to them previously. I still find it tucked in one or other of their bedside tables from time to time and would expect to do so for some years to come.