Maturing Books

American Medical Association Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen

American Medical Association, Kate Gruenwald Pfeifer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book for my 10 year old. I was very pleased with the way it explained things. I read the book to him and answered any questions that he had as we went along. He did not have very many, because it was explained very well. However, there is a part in the book I did not read to him, which is the reason why I did not let him read the book by himself. The part touches on sex, which I don't have a problem with except for the fact that it explained oral and anal sex, and I don't feel like a 10 year old should know about things like that.

Editorial Review:

Becoming a teen is an important milestone in every boy’s life. It’s even more important to get answers and advice to the most common health issues boys face from a trusted source. The American Medical Association Boy’s Guide to Becoming a Teen is filled with invaluable advice to get you ready for the changes you will experience during puberty. Learn about these important topics and more:

• Puberty and what kinds of physical and emotional changes you can expect—from your developing body to your feelings about girls
• The importance of eating the right foods and taking care of your body
• Pimples, acne, and how to properly care for your skin
• Your reproductive system—inside and out
• Thinking about relationships and dealing with new feelings

It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health (The Family Library)

Robie H. Harris

Amazon Price: $10.39 List Price: $12.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Candlewick Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $6.97

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Alternately playful and realistic, Emberley's . . . art reinforces
Harris's message that bodies come in all sizes, shapes, and colors — and that each variation is 'perfectly normal.'" — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)

When young people have questions about sex, real answers can be hard to find. Providing accurate, unbiased answers to nearly every imaginable question, from conception and puberty to birth control and AIDS, IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL offers young people the information they need — now more than ever — to make responsible decisions and to stay healthy. Already used as a trusted resource in twenty-five countries around the world (and translated into twenty-one languages), IT'S PERFECTLY NORMAL marks its tenth anniversary with a thoroughly updated edition that includes the latest information on such topics as birth control, hepatitis, HIV, and adoption, among others. This definitive new edition also reflects the recent input of parents, teachers, librarians, clergy, scientists, health professionals, and young readers themselves.

What's Going on Down There?: Answers to Questions Boys Find Hard to Ask

Karen Gravelle, Nick Castro, Chava Castro, Robert Leighton, Walker & Co

Amazon Price: $8.95 List Price: $8.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Walker Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 63 new & used starting at $1.29

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 44 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Why is my voice making such weird sounds? When will I be able to start shaving? Why do I keep getting pimples? What is a wet dream?

Your body has been behaving very strangely lately. You hardly know what to expect from one day to the next. Karen Gravelle, with some help from her two young advisors, Nick and Chava Castro, has written a down-to-earth and practical book that will help guide you through this confusing time in your life. What's Going On Down There? answers any questions you might have about puberty, from what it is and what it feels like, to what puberty is like for girls, to how to handle the sexual feelings you may be starting to experience. Robert Leighton's funny and informative cartoons ease the confusion and exasperation you might feel.

Part manual, part older brother, What's Going On Down There? will give you the facts you need to feel comfortable and confident about this new phase of your life.

Growing Up: It's a Girl Thing

Mavis Jukes

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Didn't like Sex talk 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Although the book discusses it tastefully, I could have done without the section on Sexual Intercourse. That makes it less appropriate for the younger set (9) who are just learning about themselves let alone an interaction with another. The book is written in a manner that keeps the subject interesting and the true life stories are a hit. After raising three adult children, I was looking for a book for my younger children that just discussed the physical changes at this age. Things like why it may be good to wear deodorant, take more baths/showers while stressing things like feeling comfortable with your body and that other people touching it is not appropriate. I think a good book but stress its use for older girls.

We all need help sometimes 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I gave the book to my daughter, to assist her with her daughter who is 9 years old now. The book is great. It covers all the things a little girl who is becoming a young teenager needs to know about her body changes and life in general. Wonderful!!

Editorial Review:

The bestselling "It's a Girl Thing" has a new little sister that's just right for younger girls curious about what puberty will bring.

Jay McGraw's Life Strategies for Dealing with Bullies

Jay McGraw

Amazon Price: $12.23 List Price: $17.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Aladdin Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $10.42

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Every day after that, Danny does something to frighten Craig....Craig is smaller and far too scared to tell even his parents, let alone his teachers. He is miserable. And every day, Danny tries harder to make it worse."

On the internet, on playgrounds, and in schools across the country, thousands of elementary and middle school kids are picked on, teased, and harassed by bullies. It's something that can jeopardize a child's development -- unless they have the tools to help stop bullying in its tracks.

In Jay McGraw's Life Strategies for Dealing with Bullies, McGraw helps kids identify potentially harmful situations and deal with bullies through tips, techniques, and examples that apply to real-life situations. Jay doesn't just speak about the bullies -- he also speaks to the bullies themselves to help them change their ways.

Jay takes a no-nonsense approach to bullying and the ways readers can handle it. This timely and much-needed book will be the tool kids across the country can use to stop being victims -- and take back the power in their lives.

"What's Happening to Me?" A guide to puberty

Peter Mayle

Amazon Price: $9.95 List Price: $9.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Lyle Stuart Amazon Marketplace: 82 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Very Good Information 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I remember when I was a little girl and my mom reading this book to me. I purchased it for my daughter so we could have "the talk", which she felt was torturous, but I still think that the book is great! Easy to read, relevant information without being overwhelming.

Great Deal, Super Seller, Thank you! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

What can I say, this book arrived promptly, in great condition, just what we ordered. Our 10 year old was already going through changes, and it helped out a big lot, THANK YOU

Well-presented, but thin on information 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I used this book w/ both my boys and it was fine, but I didn't love it.

The first half of the book is all "We're going to talk about puberty", "puberty is what we're going to talk about", "get ready to talk about puberty" - etc. I grew bored and so did my kids. It's like a novel with 7 prologues.

The second half of the book finally gets into some well-presented and age-appropriate information - about breasts, erections, periods, pimples, wet dreams, masturbation, etc. These topics are covered in what I think is just enough detail - with cute pictures to alleviate tension and about 2 pages on each topic. I give the second half of the book 5 stars.

One thing I didn't like is that the book assumes a level of knowledge. What I mean is, it goes right into talking about how semen want to get out of erect penises to go make babies, without covering how exactly babies are made. This book is for 9 - 12 year olds who should have some basic knowledge but I think a brief refresher (instead of all the filler in the beginning) would be good.

A word about ages: My oldest got a lot out of this book at 10. My second son was far too immature at 10 and giggled until I finally put the book away and waited a year. Obviously, a parent must use their judgment with regard to what ages they should present this book to.

Editorial Review:

Discusses the mental and physical changes that take place during puberty.

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: Expanded Third Edition: A Book for Teens on Sex and Relationships

Ruth Bell

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

"It seems like everyone else has the script. Everyone else knows what's happening and I look around and say, Duh."

Of course, the truth is that no one has the script because there is no script to follow. Chances are you'd find that almost everyone else has questions and worries a lot like yours, if you could get them to admit it. This brand-new, completely updated and revised edition of Changing Bodies, Changing Lives is full of honest, accurate, nonjudgmental information on everything teenagers need to know about today.

Am I the only one who

can't get up the nerve to ask someone out?
got my period so early?
doesn't even know the right way to kiss?
feels pressured to use drugs?
still hasn't hit puberty yet?
wants to avoid the gang scene?
worries when my mom doesn't come home at night?
is scared that I might have AIDS?
can't decide what form of birth control to use?
has no idea how to tell my friends I'm gay?
goes on eating binges?
has never had an orgasm?
is shut out of the popular crowd?

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives has helped hundreds of thousands of teenagers make informed decisions about their lives, from questions about sex, love, friendship, and how your body works to dealing with problems at school and home and figuring out who you are. It's packed with illustrations, checklists, and resources for the answers you really need. Best of all, it's filled with the voices, poems, and cartoons from hundreds of other teenagers, who tell you what makes them feel worried, angry, confused, sexy, happy, and, yes, even excited and hopeful about their lives. (Check out the first two pages for a sample of the quotes you'll find inside.)

Being a teenager is tough. With the information and the ideas inside this book, you'll have what you need to make these years the best they can be.

The Period Book, Updated Edition: Everything You Don't Want to Ask (But Need to Know)

Karen Gravelle

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

I love this book, and now I'm getting it for my little sister. 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This book is a must. I bought it for myself when I was twelve. I am now 21 and purchasing it for my 13 year old sister. For mom's who don't want their kids to read it, I'm disappointed. The title says it all. Things you need to know, but obviously don't want to talk to mom about. I spent an hour in the bookstore reading all the different "growing up" books. Not one other came close.

Things this book has that no other did
1. Descriptions of different types, colors, and textures of blood that you may excrete. It tells you what is normal and when to go to mom because it's not normal.
2. An in depth drawing and description of a pelvic exam and the scary tools used. The best around. (yes this is necessary, both me and my sister are anemic and had full exams at the age of 12)
3. It tells you to get a mirror and look at yourself. SOOO important. Other books may say it's okay to do this, but this one flat out says DO IT. There is no need to be ashamed of your body.

Mom's who think it tells to much about sex, it doesn't. And WAKE UP! We live in a sexual world, girls are coming into contact with pressures much younger. It's now normal to be a teen mother, a new highschool was built by me that had it's own daycare. Girls need to know these things. And there is nothing out of line in this book. It has black and white sketches of male genitalia and I would much rather be prepared than terrified the first time I saw one.

Editorial Review:

The essential guidebook for every girl.

The Period Book is a reassuring must-read for every girl about to have her period, and every parent wishing to prepare a daughter for this important milestone. With more than 300,000 copies sold, The Period Book stands out from the pack by specifically addressing younger girls. And with eleven now the average age at which girls get their period, this supportive and practical approach, providing clear and sensitive answers to common questions, is evern more welcome today.

The revised edition includes a new introduction for parents and an additional chapter about body image.

Ready, Set, Grow!: A What's Happening to My Body? Book for Younger Girls

Lynda Madaras

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the award-winning author of the best books on puberty — A completely new book written especially for 8-11-year-old girls, playfully illustrated in an appealing, two-color design.

Young girls before the onset of puberty have a curiosity about their soon-to-be changing bodies that needs addressing in a simpler way than for their older sisters. In the proven, trust-worthy, Madaras-friendly voice and style, this entirely new book now brings them the same kind of thoughtful, down-to-earth information—but at a reading and understanding level that's just right for them.

Responding throughout to real-life questions and observations from younger girls, Madaras explores the strange and thrilling changes that are happening, or about to happen, to them, including: the development of breasts, body hair, and body fat; the changes in their reproductive organs, both inside and out; their first period and all the complex feelings surrounding it; the unwelcome appearance of acne and new body odors; and, perhaps most important, how to respect and celebrate their unique bodies, even when the outside world is not always so accepting.

Lively cartoon drawings throughout make the book not only helpful, but fun to read, too.

The "What's Happening to My Body" Book for Girls, Revised Third Edition (What's Happening to My Body?)

Lynda Madaras, Area Madaras

Amazon Price: $10.36 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Newmarket Amazon Marketplace: 47 new & used starting at $6.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 54 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"I kept wanting it to happen. When it did I remember thinking, 'It's about time.'"

"I was worried at first. Then it really wasn't so bad after all."

"I remember my brothers weren't allowed to hit me in the chest anymore. I was kind of pleased about that."

What mysterious condition are these now grown-up girls talking about? Ah, yes, puberty! With scads of personal stories and an abundance of useful, detailed information about girls' changing bodies and feelings, author Lynda Madaras and her daughter Area Madaras have expanded their guide for girls on the verge of change. First published in 1983, the bestselling classic has been revised and updated several times over the years to keep up with ever evolving facts and wisdom about puberty in girls. In this third edition, the authors continue their straight talk on the menstrual cycle, reproductive organs, breasts, emotional changes, puberty in boys, body hair, pimples, masturbation, and all the other fun, scary, and interesting things that go along with growing up. Filled with anecdotes, illustrations, diagrams, and honest, sensitive, nonjudgmental information for the young girl, the revised edition also addresses the new scientific facts about when a girl actually begins puberty (earlier than previously thought), advice on "female athletic syndrome," eating disorders, unwanted attention because of early development, and information on eating right, exercise, AIDS, STDs, birth control, and so much more. A welcome, reassuring book for parents and daughters, designed with the understanding that some girls and parents will want to read it together, and some will want to read it on their own; without a doubt, though, all will benefit. Got boys? Don't miss What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys. (Ages 8 to 15) --Emilie Coulter