It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health
Author: Robie H. Harris
Illustrator: Michael Emberley
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Date of Publication: 2009
Format: Softcover
Page Count: 96 Pages
Cost: $12.99
ISBN: 0-763-4484-6
Reading Level: Ages 10 and up
Plot Summary: In this nonfiction book intended for children and young adults over the age of ten, a cartoon bird and bee discuss detailed and frank information about puberty and sexual health. Subjects covered include sexual reproduction, sexual orientation, pregnancy, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual abuse. The most current edition of this book also includes a chapter on sexual health and the internet. Emberley’s watercolor and pencil art depicts nude bodies of all shapes and sizes, reinforcing the book’s key takeaway point that, while everyone is different, they are all still perfectly normal.
Evaluation: This book presents clear, concise information on a variety of topics relating to the sexual health and development of young adults in an extremely engaging format. Readers who are embarrassed by the topic will feel gratified by the discussions between the cartoon bird and bee, whose conversations emphasize the fact that nervousness is a perfectly normal response to the topic. The illustrations are gorgeous and will be very much appreciated by curious readers. This title would be a perfect companion for parents looking to have ‘the talk’ with their child, and is certainly a book readers will want to hold onto for future reference on an as-needed basis.
Reader’s Annotation: If you have questions about how and why your body changes as you go through puberty, this book has the answers you are looking for!
Links:
Lesson Plan Library: Sexual Pressures
Related Reads:
The “What’s Happening to My Body?” Book for Girls by Lynda Madaras
What’s Going On Down There?: Answers to Questions Boys Find Hard to Ask by Karen Gravelle
Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships by Ruth Bell
100 Questions You’d Never Ask Your Parents by Elisabeth Henderson
No comments:
Post a Comment