A Girl’s Guide to Puberty, by Michelle Mitchell

A few weeks ago Mr Booking for 4 suggested our kids might be ready for bit more puberty/sex education information. Me being me, I volunteered for the task of sourcing books that would be appropriate for their ages and personalities. I went to the fount of all childrens’ book wisdom, an Australian Facebook group called Your Kid’s Next Read. The administrators are experts in children’s literature and contributors are librarians, authors, parents, and other children’s book aficionados.

I searched for posts with puberty book recommendations and made a list of what I thought would suit us. People had spoken really highly about Michelle Mitchell’s books, A Girl’s Guide to Puberty and A Guy’s Guide to Puberty. Our library only had the girl’s one so that went straight on reserve.

On the way back from the library we stopped at a park and I read the first 70-odd pages to make sure it was suitable and I was thoroughly impressed with the tone, level of information, images and suitability for my child.

My plan was to sit down with my 9-year-old daughter to read it with her. I wanted to make sure she was understanding everything and that I was on hand to answer questions, especially as she is not an eager reader. I introduced it to her thinking we would make time later to read as I was about to head out the door, however, she was unexpectedly keen to read it – immediately – and set about reading with enthusiasm I’ve rarely seen from her. Over the next few days she absolutely inhaled the entire book, nearly 250 pages, and has become the resident puberty expert in the house.

What really took me by surprise was the attitude she had to the topic. Our older child has often been shy, embarrassed and reluctant around these topics, and I was shocked at how open, eager and matter-of-fact Freya has been. She reported back to us what she had been learning and she asked her questions honestly, even to point of asking a visiting grown-up friend when she had started her period.

I was really happy that this book addressed just enough information for a 9-year-old and it kept to the main topic, puberty. Its main focus was on what girls should expect as their body changes from a child to a woman. I felt that it described what is ‘normal’ and allowed that within the realm of ‘normal’ there is room for variation. The tone was sincere, helpful, and straightforward. Proper names were used for body parts and the diagrams were just right for the demographic.

Another really great thing to come out of is the realisation I’ve had that perhaps what Freya needs to reignite her reading is more non-fiction. I’ve begun seeking out books on topic she might find interesting like the human body and historic events.

Because of the great success Freya has had, we have ordered one copy of each book for our family library. I feel really confident that they will be a great resource for our kids to come back again and again to in years to come.

Of course, you must keep in mind your child’s unique needs, readiness and personality, but I would absolutely recommend these books to all parents wanting to get their kids informed about “the puberty”.