A great intro to periods with clear explanations, a reassuring tone, and relatable stories.
This illustrated book for tween girls demystifies topics around menstruation with real-life stories.
Co-author Sommer founded the organization Grow & Know to promote puberty education around the globe. In her fourth book for early adolescents, she joins debut co-authors and Grow & Know researchers Schmitt, Hagstrom, and Gruer to create a work aimed at an American audience. The guide tells readers what to expect from their changing bodies—such as getting taller and growing breasts and additional hair—and how their emotions may feel like a roller coaster. This is followed by tips on good self-care, such as the need to use deodorant and/or antiperspirant. Further chapters go into detail about what happens to the body during menstruation, how to deal with issues such as leaks or cramps, and how to use products such as pads and tampons. In another chapter, eight girls from the United States tell the true stories of their first periods in their own words. Additional information includes “Period Myth Busters,” which identifies true and false beliefs, as well as a Q&A that addresses such questions as “Why does my period skip sometimes?” a chapter about boys (“So what’s going on in his body??”), and a glossary. The overall message is that puberty and menstruation are perfectly natural and normal. The relaxed, friendly tone will help allay young people’s worries even when it comes to anxious scenarios: “If a leak stains your clothing, don’t worry, it happens to everyone! Tie a shirt around your waist to cover the stain until you can change.” The book often advises asking an adult for help, but readers will most likely be especially interested in the gamut of personal-experience narratives, which can vary quite a bit; for example, some girls know what’s happening to them, while others think they’re terribly ill. Debut illustrator Scheffler enlivens the book with a cheerful, cartoon-art style depicting diverse characters.
A great intro to periods with clear explanations, a reassuring tone, and relatable stories.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 107
Publisher: Grow & Know INC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change.
Artist and activist Vaid-Menon demonstrates how the normativity of the gender binary represses creativity and inflicts physical and emotional violence.
The author, whose parents emigrated from India, writes about how enforcement of the gender binary begins before birth and affects people in all stages of life, with people of color being especially vulnerable due to Western conceptions of gender as binary. Gender assignments create a narrative for how a person should behave, what they are allowed to like or wear, and how they express themself. Punishment of nonconformity leads to an inseparable link between gender and shame. Vaid-Menon challenges familiar arguments against gender nonconformity, breaking them down into four categories—dismissal, inconvenience, biology, and the slippery slope (fear of the consequences of acceptance). Headers in bold font create an accessible navigation experience from one analysis to the next. The prose maintains a conversational tone that feels as intimate and vulnerable as talking with a best friend. At the same time, the author's turns of phrase in moments of deep insight ring with precision and poetry. In one reflection, they write, “the most lethal part of the human body is not the fist; it is the eye. What people see and how people see it has everything to do with power.” While this short essay speaks honestly of pain and injustice, it concludes with encouragement and an invitation into a future that celebrates transformation.
A fierce, penetrating, and empowering call for change. (writing prompt) (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09465-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
