'There was a lot of sniggering': The sex education book generations of Aussie kids grew up with

If you grew up in Australia in the 1980s and '90s, chances are a large part of your sex education came from one book.

Where Did I Come From? was first released in the UK in 1973 but it took another couple of years before it arrived in Australia.

By then, its author Peter Mayle had quit his day job as an advertising agency creative director to write full-time off the back of the success of what was his first book.

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Innocent question that sparked an idea

The book was written by British-born Peter Mayle, who reportedly came up with the idea for the book after being asked a question by his son.

According to The Conversation, there are two versions of the story of how he came up with the idea for the book.

The first is that his son asked him how babies were made, while the second is that his son asked what an orgasm was.

Either way, he was reportedly so embarrassed he left for work immediately.

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Afterwards, Mayle began searching for an age-appropriate book to read to his son but was unable to find one that either wasn't too childish or too clinical.

So he decided to write his own.

After enlisting a fellow advertising industry employee, Arthur Robins, to do the illustrations, he started working on the first draft of the book, reportedly to avoid a talkative fellow passenger on a plane.

The book, the full title of which is Where Did I Come From? The Facts of Life Without Any Nonsense and with Illustrations, was released first in the UK in 1973 and went on to sell millions of copies.

It was updated in 1999 and again more recently, with the release of a 50th anniversary edition.

Pan Macmillan Australia says the book "tells the facts of life as they are – without any nonsense, and in a way that children can understand and parents enjoy".

What age group is the book intended for?

The book is recommended for children aged five to 10 and Years 1 to 4 of primary school.

According to Pan Macmillan Australia, it "covers all the basic facts from love-making, orgasm, conception and growth inside the womb, through to the actual birth day.

"It names all the names and shows all the important parts of the body."

Penguin described the book as a "beloved bestselling classic".

"Where Did I Come From? helps parents and their curious children get up close and personal with the intimate world of human sexuality told in an age-appropriate voice respectful of young people's natural intelligence," it said.

Both Where Did I Come From? and Mayle's next book, What's Happening to Me?, which explained puberty to older children, were adapted into animated videos.

9honey staff members are among those who recall being handed a copy of the book when they were young.

"I remember my mum giving me a copy of this book and What's Happening to Me?, which was by the same authors, and telling me to come to her with any questions afterwards," one staffer said.

"We also watched the animated videos in school during sex ed in Year 6 or 7. As you can imagine, there was a LOT of sniggering."

Another recalled seeing the book in the primary school library but said "no one was game enough to pick it up".

"But it definitely was one that everyone talked about... and the videos. There was so much giggling".

Why Where Did I Come From? was controversial

The book was controversial when it was first published because of its 'explicit' content and cartoon-style illustrations.

It was even banned for sale in Malaysia as recently as 2012.

Regardless, the book is still relevant and continues to be sold today, with a 50th Anniversary Edition released in 2023.

What happened to Peter Mayle?

Mayle went on to have a successful career as an author, first penning more educational style books both for children, including What's Happening to Me? The Answers to Some of the World's Most Embarrassing Questions, Will I Go to Heaven?, "Will I Like It?": Your First Sexual Experience, What to Expect, What to Avoid, and How Both of You Can Get the Most Out of It.

This was followed by adult titles such as How to Be a Pregnant Father: An Illustrated Survival Guide for the First-time Father and a parenting book called Baby Taming.

His first foray into fiction was via a comic-style Wicked Willie book series.

But it was his relocation to France that motivated his other works.

His 1989 book A Year in Provence became a bestseller and also inspired a TV series of the same name, while his 2004 novel A Good Year was adapted into a 2006 film starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard.

Mayle at one point was forced to flee his beloved Provence after hordes of visitors began arriving there due to the popularity of his books but he later returned and died there in 2018 when he was 78.

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