Boobies

Do not be fooled; this book is not about the blue-footed sea bird shown on the cover, but, instead, is about the specific body part that all mammalian life-forms have. A science book disguised as a picture book, Boobies takes young readers through the basic facts (who has boobies and what they are for), discusses animal boobies, things that are named after boobies, and boobies in art. Boobies.

The text is very matter-of-fact in the vein of the classic Everybody Poops. The juxtaposition between the silly titular word and the plain text is effective at relaying the facts to its intended audience while walking the line between science and goofiness very well. The dry humor and puns may go over the heads of young readers but they are wonderful additions for adults. It is commendable that writer/illustrator Nancy Vo has written an entire book on breasts without mentioning sex or gender, concepts to which this body part is so often attached.

The inclusion of boobie-mentions outside of anatomy are welcome additions that further contextualize the subject and show the world’s fascination with boobies. We learn of mountain ranges named after boobies, that “mountain peaks” is Chinese slang for boobies, and we see examples of boobies in art from 25 000 BCE to 1900 CE.

The illustrations, made with stencils, matte acrylics and pen, are fun and, like the text, don’t take themselves too seriously. Rendered primarily in orange and teal, the illustrations have a retro feel and range from an entire spread of brightly-coloured odd-shaped boobies to a striking picture of a person nursing a baby. Visual puns, more suited for the audience than their textual counterpart, are also included: what looks like a pair of boobies turns out, on the next page, to be the wide round eyes of a fish.

Boobies is a wonderful, non-judgmental, body-positive celebration that successfully manages to both educate and entertain.