Who Has What? by Robie H. Harris

This basic picture book offers a great starting place for parents - it deals with the difference between boys and girls, without going into the whole "where babies come from" section.

Mostly, the cartoon illustrations deal with all the body parts we have that are the same: legs, ears, noses, belly buttons, and nipples. Then it deals briefly (and again, with simple cartoon drawings) about the parts we have that are different: dogs have tails, boys have penis, and girls have vagina.

Every little girl with a brother knows this stuff - it isn't information we should hide or be embarrassed about. Yet it's hard if your family isn't gender-mixed to know how these things should be approached. Harris does a nice job of beginning the conversation for you.

Later, when kids want to know about sex ... there are other books and resources. This one's more for the basic, pre-kindergarten discussion.

The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania Al Abdullah with Kelly DiPucchio

In this cute but kind of preachy picture book, two young girl friends have an explosive falling-out over their very different lunches, but learn to appreciate their differences once they open their minds to new experience.

The illustrations by Tricia Tusa are soft with lots of white space, and executed in a loose, sketchy style. They're gorgeous, but the pastel colors and dainty drawings are rather ineffective in setting the dramatic tone for an escalating, full-school argument (although the food fight page is funny).

I know that in preschool, disagreements happen fast and are forgotten even faster. But I was surprised by the lighting-fast conclusion and set-pat resolution. Can you still be friends if you TRY your friend's sandwich and STILL think it's icky?

It's a great message, but ultimately I think it could have been done better. I'll give Queen Rania credit for trying, but it seems like this book proposal needed more work.