About a year ago, Sprinkles reviewed Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, a book showcasing Robert Frost’s famous poem with beautiful illustrations by Susan Jeffers. Since then, she has been collecting poetry books suitable for young bunnies. Caramel reviewed one of those books (This is a Poem That Heals Fish, written originally in French by Jean-Pierre Siméon and illustrated by Olivier Tallec.) just a couple days ago. Today Sprinkles reviews another family favorite, A Child’s Garden of Verses, a beautiful collection of poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1885. The edition Sprinkles is talking about was illustrated by Tasha Tudor and first published in 1981.
Sprinkles reviews A Child’s Garden of Verses, a collection of children’s poems written by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Tasha Tudor.
Many know Robert Louis Stevenson as the author of classics like Treasure Island (1883) and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886). At the book bunnies household, he is better known as the person who wrote A Child’s Garden of Verses, a beautiful collection of children’s poems that we read out loud together. In the edition we have, there are beautiful and simply elegant illustrations on each page, that only add to the experience of reading these simple but evocative poems out loud.
There are one or two poems displayed on each page, and the illustrator accompanies them with topical imagery that takes us deep into the story unfolding in the poems. For example, the page that displays the poem “Pirate Story” is decorated with images of three children playing pirates. At the top center of the page they are sitting or standing on a makeshift boat in the middle of a garden with a swing, playing pirates. The cattle that show up in the third stanza show up at the bottom of the page as the three children flee with glee.
One of my favorites is the short poem “The Swing” which in only three stanzas of four lines each rhythmically and authentically captures the joy of swinging back and forth on a swing. Here is how it starts:
How do you like to go up on a swing Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do? -Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Swing"
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow— Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes gets so little that there’s none of him at all. -Robert Louis Stevenson, "My Shadow"
Sprinkles is reading A Child’s Garden of Verses, a collection of children’s poems written by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Tasha Tudor.
A Child’s Garden of Verses collects together sixty four poems. First there are about forty poems, on topics ranging from rain to singing, from travel to bedtime. Then There is a collection of nine poems collected under the heading of “The Child Alone”. Stevenson seems to have been a rather sickly child (he dedicates the whole collection to his childhood nurse Allison Cunningham), and the poems in this section seem to be perhaps more personal than some of the others; you can hear the solitude of a child who had to remain alone and in bed for a lot of time. They are not unhappy poems, but rather, they explore a sick child’s healthy imagination and are quite fun to read. There is then a section titled “Garden Days” containing eight poems about nature and playing outside. Finally a section titled “Envoys” finds poems individually addressing Stevenson’s mother, his friends and other special people. The book ends with a poem addressed “To Any Reader” where the poet reminds us that grownups, like the poet himself, were all children once, and all children today will one day grow up:
As from the house your mother sees you playing round the garden trees, So you may see, if you will look, Through the windows of this book, Another child, far, far away, And in another garden, play. But do not think you can at all, By knocking on the window, call That child to hear you. He intent Is all on his play-business bent. He does not hear; he will not look, Nor yet be lured out of this book. For, long ago, the truth to say, He has grown up and gone away, And it is but a child of air That lingers in the garden there. -Robert Louis Stevenson, "To Any Reader"
As you can see from the examples I have already provided, poems in A Child’s Garden of Verses are mostly in simple poetic forms and simple rhyme. This makes these poems a lot of fun to read out loud with young ones, and their topics, all themes and topics relevant and familiar to young children, make them accessible.
The poems in A Child’s Garden of Verses were written more than 140 years ago and as such are now in public domain. So you can find the whole collection online; see, for example, this page or this page. But we read books not only to access the words from their creator but also to hold on to them in the most visceral way, in a book that can be held, touched, seen, smelled, and shared.
In short, books like A Child’s Garden of Verses can be great opportunities to add more poetry to your family time. I hope you will give this book a try!
Sprinkles encourages all bunnies young and old to read more poetry together; books like A Child’s Garden of Verses, a collection of children’s poems written by Robert Louis Stevenson and illustrated by Tasha Tudor, can be great opportunities to add more poetry to your family time.
This review is intended for parents and guardians.
Sprinkles reviews children’s books about puberty – for boys.
Today’s post is about five books about puberty appropriate for young boy bunnies who are approaching that important time of great change. The first four are written exclusively for an audience of boy bunnies, and at the end of the post, I will mention a fifth book that can also help this particular audience though it is not exclusively targeting them.
The first book I will discuss is What’s Going on Down There? A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up, a 2017 book written by Karen Gravelle and illustrated by Robert Leighton.
Sprinkles reviews What’s Going On Down There? A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up, written by Karen Gravelle with Chava and Nick Castro, and illustrated by Robert Leighton.
This book makes a neat companion to the author’s 1996 The Period Book which I wrote about in my review on books about puberty written for girls. Published by the same company, the book comes in a small format just like the earlier book. And just like that earlier one, this is a very readable and surprisingly informative book. In thirteen chapters ranging from how boys’ bodies change during puberty to sexual harassment, from sexually transmitted diseases to how babies are made and how they can be avoided, Gravelle’s book offers young readers a ton of useful information, well organized and presented in fluent and compassionate language. There is even a full chapter on how girls change during puberty so boys reading the book will not be totally clueless about what is going on with their female classmates, their sisters, and their female cousins. The goal is not merely to quench curiosities though; I believe the inclusion of this chapter also serves a more compassionate purpose. When a boy understands that girls are changing too, and that boys are not the only ones who are feeling awkward, uncertain, and even perhaps scared, maybe he will be a bit more compassionate towards himself and others. He will also hopefully be able to see the girls in his life more like peers and friends rather than alien, incomprehensible objects.
Sprinkles is reading What’s Going On Down There? A Boy’s Guide to Growing Up, written by Karen Gravelle with Chava and Nick Castro, and illustrated by Robert Leighton.
What’s Going On Down There? uses explicit and scientifically accurate language about the sexual organs and human reproduction. The illustrations are hand-drawn, and though detailed, would most likely not be viewed as obscene. The author is compassionate and matter-of-fact through the book, and she mentions both homosexuality and transgender individuals and the possible social and religious tolerance limits in relation to both. Being a woman, she explains that she had substantive input from two young boys, Chava and Nick Castro, as well as interviews with fifteen men who told her the most important things they wished they knew when they were boys themselves.
**
The next book I will write about is the 2020 book Everything you Always Wanted to Know About Puberty — and Shouldn’t Be Googling – For Curious Boys, written by Morris Katz and illustrated by Amelia Pinney.
Sprinkles reviews Everything you Always Wanted to Know About Puberty — and Shouldn’t Be Googling – For Curious Boys, written by Morris Katz and illustrated by Amelia Pinney.
Everything you Always Wanted to Know About Puberty — and Shouldn’t Be Googling – For Curious Boys is written from the perspective of a “cool older brother”, as the author Morris Katz describes himself tongue in cheek. The pages are colorfully organized and illustrated. The style is informal and perhaps a bit unserious, though the author voice comes across as friendly and helpful: the author is indeed young and has younger brothers, so the tone feels authentic. The main thrust of the book is captured in this little excerpt:
“My advice on this could be applied to puberty as a whole. You can’t control what’s going to happen, but you can control how you react to your experiences. Accepting things as they are and taking it easy on yourself no matter what will make your life a lot less stressful. Don’t drive yourself crazy over things you can’t control.”
Sprinkles is reading Everything you Always Wanted to Know About Puberty — and Shouldn’t Be Googling – For Curious Boys, written by Morris Katz and illustrated by Amelia Pinney.
Some sections of the book provide extensive details. The hormonal changes that eventually lead to puberty in boys are described in great detail, for example. Therefore, I was surprised that the male genitalia and the general reproductive system are not described as much in detail as in Gravelle’s What’s Going On Down There? book. The book does cover an extensive list of topics, distributed into three large parts (Part 1. What Looks, Sounds, and Smells Different? Part 2. What Feels Different? and Part 3. The Outside World). There is thoughtful discussion of social media, peer pressure, relationships with parents, thrill seeking and risky behavior, respecting girls and women, avoiding toxic masculinity, and many more.
Parents may or may not feel comfortable with the tone in which topics such as drugs, masturbation, and porn are discussed. To me, the particular tone felt consistent with an older brother, one who knows what is best for you, one who wants you to make the right decisions, and who is trying to support you along the way without sounding preachy. But some parents might wish for a different tone altogether. All in all, I found this to be a good book, but all families are different, and parents would best take a good look at it before sharing with their little ones.
**
The third book from my shelves is Growing Up Great!: The Ultimate Puberty Book for Boys, written by Scott Todnem, illustrated by Anjan Sarkar, and first published in 2019.
Sprinkles reviews Growing Up Great!: The Ultimate Puberty Book for Boys, written by Scott Todnem and illustrated by Anjan Sarkar.
Growing Up Great is written by Scott Todnem who has been teaching health education to middle schoolers for a long time, and you can read him as a trusted teacher who is telling it like it is. The main thrust of the book is captured in two statements the author makes repeatedly in slightly different forms throughout the book:
“Change is good. And knowledge is power.”
and
“Just be you through it all. No one has ever been you, and no one will ever be you.”
Among the books I have read for this review, this one is perhaps the most “factful”, if I am allowed to use one of Caramel’s favorite words. I have learned quite a lot of things from the book myself (which may not be too surprising, especially given that I did not have brothers or male cousins or even male classmates as I was growing up — having gone to a girls’ high school — and so did not have first-hand experience with male puberty). The book covers the physical changes a boy’s body goes through extensively. There is also much emphasis on the importance of mental, physical, and social health, self-respect, and consent in all situations.
Sprinkles is reading Growing Up Great!: The Ultimate Puberty Book for Boys, written by Scott Todnem and illustrated by Anjan Sarkar.
Among the books I have read for this review, this one is perhaps the most “factful”, if I am allowed to use one of Caramel’s favorite words. I have learned quite a lot of things from the book myself (which may not be too surprising, especially given that I did not have brothers or male cousins or even male classmates as I was growing up (having gone to a girls’ high school) and so did not have first-hand experience with male puberty). But I did find the book very readable and informative.
**
The fourth book about puberty written for boys that I wanted to talk about in this post is the 2017 book Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys, written by Cara Natterson and illustrated by Micah Player.
Sprinkles reviews Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys, written by Cara Natterson and illustrated by Micah Player.
Brought to us by American Girl Publishing, just like Cara Natterson’s earlier book The Care & Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls, Guy Stuff is one of a series of books aiming to help adolescents learn more about themselves as they are going through puberty. It is overall well organized and playfully illustrated. The text is not one long narrative; rather, each page has different text boxes, lists, short subsections, and other organizational tools that allow for skimming and jumping back and forth rather than simply sitting down for an extended time to read through from cover to cover.
The chapters themselves are vaguely organized around the body: the “Heads Up” chapter focuses on hair, ears, eyes, face, and so on, while the “Belly zone” chapter focuses on nutrition, body shape and size. The “Get Going” chapter is about legs and feet but also exercise and physical movement. The “Big Changes” chapter is where we get into the big basics: the subheadings list hormones, pubic area, underwear, erections, shaving, voice, moods. The book begins with a short chapter (“Body Basics”) emphasizing good habits and attitude, and ends with another short chapter (“Your Inner You”) including a discussion under the subheadings: “your feelings”, “being a guy”, “all of you”, where peer pressure and the stereotype of “boys don’t cry”are covered.
Sprinkles is reading Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys, written by Cara Natterson and illustrated by Micah Player.
All in all, Guy Stuff is engaging and informative. There are clear illustrations of male body parts. However, the book does not touch some of the topics that might be more uncomfortable for some parents (e.g., masturbation, porn) that some of the other books do mention, at least in passing, so it could perhaps be a safer choice for more parents.
**
The four books I mentioned above are all written for an audience of boys exclusively. And they all do the job quite well, to inform and comfort the young bunny whose body is going through some surprising changes. However, before I wrap up, I would like the readers to also consider the gender-neutral classic, It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, written by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley.
As I wrote earlier, It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health is a somewhat controversial book as it depicts naked human bodies (in caricature) and certain sexual acts (also in caricature). It also introduces ideas of gender diversity (Chapter 5 is titled “Who You Are: Straight, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, transgender, +”) and discusses masturbation and abortion (Chapter 16: “Perfectly Normal: Masturbation” and Chapter 24: “Laws and Rulings: Abortion”, respectively). So even parents who might find these topics suitable for their young ones might wish to review the book on their own before sharing it with them.
All that being said, I found the book very informative and generous. The laws in the United States are in constant flux in relation to abortion, but other than that, most of the information in the book is up to date and seemed to me to be more than relevant to a young bunny growing into her own body. The generosity I am talking about is in the compassionate ways the book explains differences of opinion about controversial topics like abortion and LGBTQ+ issues, as well as the many ways people can form families by methods such as in-vitro fertilization and adoption. And the bird and the bee that we had met in the other books by Harris and Emberley apparently first made their debut in this book, and they are just the same funny odd couple they were in those other books. Their reactions to the illustrations as well as the content of the text reflect the many types of natural reactions a young bunny may have to them. The bird is often the more enthusiastic one, enthusiastic about learning everything there is to learn, while the bee is often the one who is a little overwhelmed with it all and wants to quit talking about it. Both are natural reactions, and I have seen them in my own children at times when these issues came up. I think therefore that their presence through the book might help a young bunny reading the book to feel seen.
**
It is probably time to wrap up this review. I have already written a lot, and only about five books; there are many other options out there. However, I chose these five because each of these books is clear and informative and supportive. Overall, I am glad there are so many good options for young people these days to learn about puberty. I do hope caring parents and loving guardians will encourage their young ones to read some of these books and use them as a way to initiate conversations and discussions about the many exciting features and challenges of puberty.
Sprinkles has enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to read each and every one of these books about puberty directed at tween boys, and recommends that grownups of young bunnies consider sharing at least one of them with their young ones.
It has been a while since Sprinkles posted a review to this blog. So Marshmallow and Caramel agreed that she was due for another. This is that long-awaited review!
In October 2021, Sprinkles reviewed a few children’s books about gender identity. Then in October 2022, she reviewed children’s books about where babies come from. Today she reviews a handful of children’s books about puberty. In this particular context, the books are mainly split into boy books and girl books. As a result Sprinkles will review these in two separate posts. The review below is the first of two, about books written for girls.
This review is intended for parents and guardians.
Sprinkles poses with five children’s books about puberty, four meant for girls and one for a wider audience.
Today I am writing about five books, each with its own strengths, intended to help young bunnies learn about the changes their bodies will go through during puberty. Puberty can be a challenging time for young bunnies. I think the main source of the challenge is the uncertainty of it all: the not knowing what is going on and not knowing whether what is going on is normal or not. These books aim to answer the most natural questions a young bunny may have as she begins to notice changes in her own body and those of her friends.
Unlike most of the books about gender identity and where babies come from that I have reviewed earlier, the books in this genre, that is, children’s books that aim to explain puberty, seem to come in two versions, one for the girls and one for the boys. There are of course exceptions, and I want to start this post with one such exception: the 1994 classic It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie H. Harris and Michael Emberley, the team who also brought us It’s NOT The Stork: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Families, and Friends and It’s SO Amazing: A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, which I have already written about in my post on books about where babies come from.
Sprinkles reviews It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, written by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley.
It’s Perfectly Normal is perhaps the most well-known book in this genre; it even has its own Wikipedia page! As readers can also see from that page, this is a somewhat controversial book as it depicts naked human bodies (in caricature) and certain sexual acts (also in caricature). It also introduces ideas of gender diversity (Chapter 5 is titled “Who You Are: Straight, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, transgender, +”) and discusses masturbation and abortion (Chapter 16: “Perfectly Normal: Masturbation” and Chapter 24: “Laws and Rulings: Abortion”, respectively). So even parents who might find these topics suitable for their young ones might wish to review the book on their own before sharing it with them.
All that being said, I found the book very informative and generous. The laws in the United States are in constant flux in relation to abortion, but other than that, most of the information in the book is up to date and seemed to me to be more than relevant to a young bunny growing into her own body. The generosity I am talking about is in the compassionate ways the book explains differences of opinion about controversial topics like abortion and LGBTQ+ issues, as well as the many ways people can form families by methods such as in-vitro fertilization and adoption. And the bird and the bee that we had met in the other books by Harris and Emberley apparently first made their debut in this book, and they are just the same funny odd couple they were in those other books. Their reactions to the illustrations as well as the content of the text reflect the many types of natural reactions a young bunny may have to them. The bird is often the more enthusiastic one, enthusiastic about learning everything there is to learn, while the bee is often the one who is a little overwhelmed with it all and wants to quit talking about it. Both are natural reactions, and I have seen them in my own children at times when these issues came up. I think therefore that their presence through the book might help a young bunny reading the book to feel seen.
Sprinkles is reading It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, written by Robie H. Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley.
It’s Perfectly Normal is organized into six parts: Part One is titled “What is Sex”, and it includes five introductory chapters (Chapters 1-5) on sex, reproduction, babies, gender identity, and sexual intercourse. Part II is titled “Our Bodies”, and includes four chapters (Chapters 6-9) on human bodies both female and male, and both inside and outside. Part Three is the central part for our review, and is titled “Puberty”. This is the longest part, with seven chapters (Chapters 10-16) on distinct changes to the female and the male body as they go through different stages of puberty, as well as other changes that impact feelings. Part Four is titled “Families and Babies” and made up of six chapters (Chapters 17-22) about pregnancy, birth, families, as well as taking care of babies and genetics. Part Five is the shortest, titled “Decisions”, and includes a chapter on planning (Chapter 23: “Planning Ahead: Postponement, Abstinence, and Birth Control”) and one on abortion (Chapter 24: “Laws and Rulings: Abortion”). The sixth and final part is titled “Staying Healthy” and consists of five chapters (chapters 25-29) and focuses on issues involving sexual health, sexual abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and making responsible choices.
Though written earlier than It’s NOT The Stork: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Families, and Friends and It’s SO Amazing: A Book About Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, It’s Perfectly Normal is aimed for a more mature audience. If your young bunny has already read those two books, this book will be just the right next step for them. There is overlapping content but maybe that is fine for a young person facing so many new things in their lives. Some familiar content melded with some new stuff might just be the right way to avoid the overwhelm and actually make sense of what is going on.
**
Next I would like to talk a bit about another series, published via the American Girl franchise, titled The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls. The first book in the series, now called The Care & Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for (Younger) Girls, was written by Valorie Lee Schaefer and illustrated by Josée Masse and originally published in 1998. I happened to get my paws on a copy of its 2018 edition.
Sprinkles reviews The Care & Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for (Younger) Girls, written by Valorie Lee Schaefer and illustrated by Josée Masse.
The Care & Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for (Younger) Girls is a tall book, and each two-page spread focuses on a specific topic. The topics covered are basic body parts (ears, hair, eyes, mouth, skin, hands, underarms, breasts, legs, feet, pubic area), health topics (food, acne, sports safety, sleep troubles), and other important parts of growing up (braces, bras, periods, changing feelings). The tone is light and the illustrations are bright and cheery.
Sprinkles is reading The Care & Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for (Younger) Girls, written by Valorie Lee Schaefer and illustrated by Josée Masse.
The Care & Keeping of You 1: The Body Book for (Younger) Girls is aimed mainly at tweens and written like a user’s manual. So it is not only about puberty, but rather about growing into one’s own, and knowing how to take care of one’s own body while doing so. The sections that probably explain the most significant changes in a tween girl’s body, about breasts and periods, are all surrounded by sections which cover topics that are a lot less emotionally overwhelming. So the book reads lightly, and the young one reading it will come away learning a lot and feeling comfortable and confident while doing so.
Sprinkles reviews The Care & Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls, written by Cara Natterson and illustrated by Josée Masse.
The second book in the series, The Care & Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls, was first published in 2012. It is written by Cara Natterson, who served as a medical advisor for the first book, and illustrated by Josée Masse, the same artist who illustrated the first book. So you can definitely sense a continuity between the two books. If your kiddo has read the first book and found it helpful, this second one might be a good next step for her.
Sprinkles is reading The Care & Keeping of You 2: The Body Book for Older Girls, written by Cara Natterson and illustrated by Josée Masse.
This second book can also stand on its own, as a book written for a slightly older crowd. It uses slightly smaller font, and the book itself is in a smaller format. And the girls in the cover of the first book also adorn the cover of this one, but now they are a bit older. In this book there are chapters on growing taller (or not), a more detailed discussion of the female body and physiology, some discussion of sleep and periods too. The content is organized into four main chunks: Back To Body Basics (about taking care of one’s changing body), Puberty Power (about periods, hormones, changing breasts, and body hair), Mental Health and More (about body image, exercise, mood swings), and Your Body, Your World (about family dynamics and peer pressure). Overall, this book does take the reader a bit more seriously and expects a bit more from them in return. There is also a Q&A section in each part where the author answers specific questions from readers.
Overall both these books can be helpful to a tween girl as she learns to take care of herself and understand the changes she is going through. As a package deal I think the two books cover a good amount of material, though perhaps they do not get into some of the more nuanced (and thus somewhat more controversial) topics that It’s Perfectly Normal goes into.
**
The next book I want to write about is The Period Book: A Girl’s Guide to Growing Up, written by Karen Gravelle with Jennifer Gravelle Stratton, and illustrated by Debbie Palen.
Sprinkles reviews The Period Book: A Girl’s Guide to Growing Up, written by Karen Gravelle with Jennifer Gravelle Stratton, and illustrated by Debbie Palen.
The Period Book, first published in 1996, was written by Karen Gravelle with the help of her niece Jennifer. For the current edition from 2017, the authors consulted a few young people, too, to make it more up to date and relevant to today’s youngsters. Indeed the authorial voice of the book reads really like a friendly aunt or a good older sister chatting with you and answering some real questions you might want to ask her. And it is not only about periods, even though that might be what the title leads one to believe at first.
Sprinkles is reading The Period Book: A Girl’s Guide to Growing Up, written by Karen Gravelle with Jennifer Gravelle Stratton, and illustrated by Debbie Palen.
The Period Book is a small format book, written in purple font with purple illustrations. It is a quick and easy read, and goes through the standard physiological changes, hormonal and emotional changes, and changes in friendships. Its twelve chapters, titled “Changes of Puberty–Those You Can See”, “Changes of Puberty–Those You Can’t See”, “Your Period”, “What to Wear”, “Is This Normal?”, “Puberty Bummers and How to Handle Them”, “What If …?”, “Braces–The Non-Bummer”, “No Body is Perfect”, “Changing Friendships”, “Romantic Feelings”, and “Dealing with Harassment”, cover a good range of topics that will help a tween or a teen understand what is going on with her body while also getting some of her most salient questions answered. And since the author is a cool aunt, she will not laugh at your questions, so you can ask her anything. At least that is how this book feels. However keep in mind that such a cool aunt is probably not going to be too embarrassed to talk about how to put in a tampon and what vaginas look like, and there are indeed accompanying illustrations for these topics, too.
**
The last book I want to talk about in this review is Celebrate Your Body (And Its Changes, Too!): A Body-Positive Guide for Girls 8+, written by Sonya Renee Taylor and illustrated by Cait Brennan.
Sprinkles reviews Celebrate Your Body (And Its Changes, Too!): A Body-Positive Guide for Girls 8+, written by Sonya Renee Taylor and illustrated by Cait Brennan.
Celebrate Your Body (And Its Changes, Too!), published in 2018, is the newest of the books I read for this blog post. At 156 pages, it is also the longest. But I did not feel like this would make it more of a burden to read. It is first of all very colorfully illustrated, and the author has a strong and supportive voice, once again kind of like that of an older sister. Her voice is maybe a bit less chill than the one you hear in The Period Book, but she does sound a lot more enthusiastic about supporting your young one in how she chooses to grow into her own body.
Sprinkles is reading Celebrate Your Body (And Its Changes, Too!): A Body-Positive Guide for Girls 8+, written by Sonya Renee Taylor and illustrated by Cait Brennan.
Celebrate Your Body is a newer book, and some of this shows in the way the author talks about gender identity and safe spaces. But it is all around sound advice, about understanding and taking care of one’s changing body, but also about alcohol and drugs, sleep, and changing friendships. The seven chapters of the book (“Fabulous You!”, “Your Changing Body”, “Breasts and Bras”, “Below your Belly Button”, “Your Period”, “Feeding and Fueling Your Body”, “Feelings and Friends”, and “Family and Other safe Spaces”) are well organized, and the young bunny who reads this book will leave it very well informed. Once again, there is an illustration of how to use a tampon, as well as a half-page vagina viewed straight ahead. These illustrations are definitely not indecent or sexually suggestive in any way, but of course families differ in how comfortable they are with these things. So if you are not willing to have your young bunny see these types of illustrations, this might not be the right book for you and your family. Otherwise, this is indeed a good book, and your young one might learn a lot and gain some confidence in her body along the way.
**
Having read all these books, I am most excited by the fact that today’s young bunnies have these kinds of options. When I was a young bunny going through my own changes, I did not have many books to turn to. My family was supportive and open in many ways, but of course, sometimes a book is easier to learn from, and one might not want to ask all their questions to their family. And sometimes older folks do not know how to approach these issues themselves, and they are even more embarrassed than the younger folks.
For parents, these books offer an excellent opportunity. Introduce one or more of these to your tween or teen, and let them have at it. Or if you have that kind of relationship with them, you might want to read one of these books together. In any case, it is best to have the young ones have access to these books, and also make sure they know that you are open to a conversation while or after they read them. It is important for young bunnies to have access to accurate information, and reading any one of these books can be an empowering experience for a young bunny in her tweens or early teens. But of course, most importantly we want to have our eyes and ears and minds open for when they are ready to talk.
Sprinkles has enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to read each and every one of these books about puberty directed at tweens, and recommends that grownups of young bunnies consider sharing at least one of them with their young ones.
At the end of last year, we decided to try something new and New-Year-ish and talk about all the books we had read through 2022. This year, we continue this new tradition and take a look at our reviews for 2023.
[2023 saw the bunnies read and review many books, both new and classic. You can find a full list here.]
The book bunnies review the books of 2023.
Sprinkles: Again, it is probably easiest for me to go over my reviews first, because as usual, I reviewed much fewer books than the two of you. I did enjoy all the books I reviewed though.
First, in October, I reviewed two children’s books about the mathematician Emmy Noether. This was right after the time I saw the one-woman play about her life, so I was very excited to talk about Noether and her life. I think my favorite among the two was Emmy Noether: The Most Important Mathematician You’ve Never Heard Of, written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Kari Rust, and published in 2020. Rust’s illustrations are cute and sharp at the same time, and the cartoonish detractors of Noether are shown humorously while the severity of Noether’s challenges is not minimized. The math and physics connections of her work are explained with precise terms in what is still a totally comprehensible language, and the illustrations support these descriptions. All in all, I thought this was a neat book to introduce young people to Noether and her life.
Sprinkles is posing with Emmy Noether: The Most Important Mathematician You’ve Never Heard Of, written by Helaine Becker and illustrated by Kari Rust.
Sprinkles is posing with Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, written by Robert Frost and illustrated by Susan Jeffers.
By the way I’d love to review more poetry books for young bunnies, so if any of our readers know of any, please send us your suggestions.
Finally in late 2023, I also reviewed a book called My Unfurling by Lisa May Bennett. This was a different kind of book, engaging with rather adult themes, so I felt it would not necessarily fit our blog, but Nicole Pyles was kind enough to have me write a guest post for her blog, World of My Imagination.
Marshmallow: I also reviewed a book with some mature content this year. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is a graphic novel, a growing-up story of sorts, but it deals with a lot of challenging issues, more so than your average growing-up story.
S: True. I also just finished reading this book, and you are right, I agree, the book has a lot of mature content. You also read a handful of books directed at students older than yourself.
S: Makes sense to me. Caramel, you also read about school this year.
Caramel: Well, but mine is all fiction. I began to read the Spy School books.
M: Those are great books!
C: Yes, they are.
S: You have gone through the series rather fast, haven’t you?
C: Yep.
S: I know there are two more books in the series that you need to review, but so far, you reviewed all of the first nine books. Which one is your favorite?
C: It is hard to say. They are all so good!
S: Say you were traveling and needed to take only one with you. Which one would you take?
Some of Caramel’s favorite Spy School books. Some of Caramel’s favorite Spy School books. Some of Caramel’s favorite Spy School books. Some of Caramel’s favorite Spy School books.
S: So was Spy School the most fun series you read this year?
C: Well, I did not really read a lot of other series this year. But I did read the Wayside School books, and those were fun too. Still Spy School books might be more fun.
S: I see. What else did you read this year that you liked?
Two of Caramel’s favorites this year were Wild Robot Protects and The One and Only Bob.Two of Caramel’s favorites this year were Wild Robot Protects and The One and Only Bob.
C: I liked that book a lot, too. Though it was kind of a sad book. I wish it had been happier.
S: I know Caramel. How about you Marshmallow? What were some of your favorites from this year?
M: Probably my favorite for this year was Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng. I thought it was very moving and all around a great book. I also really enjoyed reading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I mean, I did not find it very comfortable as I was reading it because it got very tense, but once I was done, I could see that it was extremely well constructed.
S: She is good, isn’t she?
M: Yep. She is a classic, you could say!
One of Marshmallow’s favorites this year was Agatha Christie’s And then There Were None. Another of Marshmallow’s favorites this year was Our Missing Hearts bf Celeste Ng.
S: You also read a few other classics this year, right?
S: This might be the most fiction you have ever reviewed till now!
M: It really might. And I liked all of these books.
S: That sounds like a good year to me!
Some of Marshmallow’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Marshmallow’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Marshmallow’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Marshmallow’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Marshmallow’s favorite nonfiction books this year.
S: How about you Caramel? Which nonfiction books did you like most?
Some of Caramel’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Caramel’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Caramel’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Caramel’s favorite nonfiction books this year.Some of Caramel’s favorite nonfiction books this year.
S: I can see your pattern. Star Wars books, books about making planes and spaceships, books about animals and other facts, and books about LEGOs.
C: I don’t know Sprinkles. Maybe you are getting tired.
S: Maybe I am. We have been talking about books for a while now. And it is getting late. So shall we wrap up this wrap-up of the year?
M: Yes. I am getting really hungry!
S: Okay, let us do that then. All in all, this was a really good year with lots and lots of good books, wasn’t it?
C: Yep.
M: Definitely! And we will continue to read and review many many more in the new year!
S: But we are taking off for January, like we have been doing every year. We should definitely mention that.
C: But we will be back!
M: In February. With many more great book reviews!
S: So happy new year!
C: And stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!
The book bunnies, and new friend Red, wish all bunnies around the world a happy new year in 2024, with lots of good books and many friends, old and new!
BookBunnies 