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
Gucci demonstrates all the bravado and ferocious self-confidence that he counsels—and the photos are a nice bonus.
A hip-hop star who went on his first international tour wearing an ankle monitor explains how to succeed.
“The words you are about to read can help you,” writes Gucci. “That’s because there is truth in them. These are words of wisdom, like the Bible and its proverbs.” Unquestionably, Gucci likes to aim high, as many of his proverbs attest: “Stop Underestimating Yourself”; “Whatever You’re Thinking, Think Bigger”; “Nobody Cares. Work Harder”; “When They Sleep, I’m Grinding”; “Do More, Get More.” And never forget, “Women Are Brilliant.” Gucci not only shares his recipes for success. As in a cookbook that shows pictures of the end result, the author includes dozens of dazzling photos of himself and his beautiful wife, among them a series on his surprise wedding proposal at an Atlanta Hawks game. After the success of his bestselling debut, The Autobiography of Gucci Mane, Gucci has realized there is money to be made in the book business. In addition to the Bible, he has his eye on Malcolm Gladwell and his reported $5 million advances. While he is “cool with Malcolm Gladwell being more celebrated than me as an author…the difference between Malcolm Gladwell and me is that I’m going to make more money because I’m going to make so many books for my following….You can enjoy this book or not, but I’m going to make my fifty-second book, my hundred and eighth book.” Many readers will hope that one of them will be a diet book, as the 100-plus pounds Gucci has lost and kept off are a frequent topic—alas, he doesn’t reveal his weight loss secrets here. Until the next book, try to live the Gucci Mane way. “Avoid lazy and miserable people,” and “Find something to be excited about every day.”
Gucci demonstrates all the bravado and ferocious self-confidence that he counsels—and the photos are a nice bonus.Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982146-78-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
Honest messages from one of America's best known women.
A compilation of advice from the Queen of All Media.
After writing a column for 14 years titled “What I Know For Sure” for O, The Oprah Winfrey Magazine, Winfrey brings together the highlights into one gift-ready collection. Grouped into themes like Joy, Resilience, Connection, Gratitude, Possibility, Awe, Clarity and Power, each short essay is the distilled thought of a woman who has taken the time to contemplate her life’s journey thus far. Whether she is discussing traveling across the country with her good friend, Gayle, the life she shares with her dogs or building a fire in the fireplace, Winfrey takes each moment and finds the good in it, takes pride in having lived it and embraces the message she’s received from that particular time. Through her actions and her words, she shows readers how she's turned potentially negative moments into life-enhancing experiences, how she's found bliss in simple pleasures like a perfectly ripe peach, and how she's overcome social anxiety to become part of a bigger community. She discusses the yo-yo dieting, exercise and calorie counting she endured for almost two decades as she tried to modify her physical body into something it was not meant to be, and how one day she decided she needed to be grateful for each and every body part: "This is the body you've been given—love what you've got." Since all of the sections are brief and many of the essays are only a couple paragraphs long—and many members of the target audience will have already read them in the magazine—they are best digested in short segments in order to absorb Winfrey's positive and joyful but repetitive message. The book also features a new introduction by the author.
Honest messages from one of America's best known women.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1250054050
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Flatiron View Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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