Tell us about sexual health/wellness books you have loved/loathed!

[rockstarbob.livejournal.com]

Attention VPers: We need your help!

We're trying to collect a list of books about sexual health/wellness that are aimed at a teenage (or even pre-teen) audience. Were there any books of that nature that you read as a (pre-)teen and loved/liked/loathed? If not, feel free to tell us about that, too... or describe to us the book you would have liked to have read. 

Otherwise, please leave us a comment (or shoot us an email if you prefer) with as much of the following information as you can recall:

1. Title


2. Author


3. Your age when you read it


4. How you accessed the book (Was it given to you by a parent or educator? Did you find it in the public/school library? Did you have to sneak to buy or borrow it?)


5. Your thoughts about the book -- please feel free to be as detailed as you like. We'd love to hear specifically about the aspects of the book you liked or disliked, and why you liked/disliked those things. Some examples of things we'd like to know about include:

• the accuracy/balance of the information (was anything missing, overemphasized, or just plain wrong?)
• the book's tone/voice/style (was it patronizing? just right? too technical? etc.)
• who you think the target audience is
• whether you thought the presentation of the information was good and age-appropriate
• whether there were any attitudes/implications in the book that you found troubling

Anything you want to tell us is good, though!  Thanks in advance for your help. :)

--Bob
For the VP Team
contact_vp

Comments

[airenwoodmoon.livejournal.com]

1. I've only had one Sex Ed book in my life and that's Changing Bodies, Changing Minds. At least I think that's the title.

2. Ruth Bell? According to the only site I can find it on. I guess it's out of print.

3. It's been in my house since I can remember (apparently bought at one of those library things), and I was first given it when I was in 5th grade.

4. First looked at in in 5th grade. Read parts and glanced through the older I got (16 or so?).

5. I hated it at first. :) But then I grew to like it more and more and have even used it for story references. The target audience was both males and females around puberty and the embarrassments, what happens, etc that goes with all that. It was in short paragraph story format- much like the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. I'm pretty sure it was published in the 70s (judging by the pictures and clothes worn), so it seemed pretty progressive for that time. But at the same time I don't think it dealt with any trans-gender issues. I'd have to look at it again to see how female positive it was (I do remember a lot of stories about girls pleasing their boyfriend). And there was a whole page on different slang words for the genitals.

I'm probably not much help- I haven't picked the book up in years and don't have access to it anymore.

[mainie.livejournal.com]

1. Deal with it!
2. not sure, but i think it was a bunch of authors
3. 12ish
4. my best friend's aunt bought it for her, and we used to read it together.
5. the book was awesome and made you feel normal. it told me everything i needed to know, and my best friend and i were way more informed than most 6th graders. it was very accurate, and i think the target audience was pre-teen/teen. i thought it was age appropriate, but more conservative people probably wouldn't.

[eexposed.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, I got this book too, when I was maybe 10 or 12, and I remember my dad's girlfriend at the time going through it and saying that I didn't need to know all this stuff about condoms and dildos at my age. :P I adored it, though, I still sometimes go back through it because the info in there can be pretty helpful!

[kiss-bangx.livejournal.com]

ditto

[awoodnymph.livejournal.com]

This book was AWESOME!!! I don't know where mine went but I really wish I still had it. I'll probably buy a new one.

[pinkdramon.livejournal.com]

Wasn't that book put out by Delia's clothing line or something like that? Or gURL or something?

I seem to vaguely recall the title but I didn't own it.

[eexposed.livejournal.com]

It was gURL! :) They still have a pretty good website for girls to check out, I still go back even though I'm quite a ways past puberty and all that...

[saharazaad.livejournal.com]

This was mine, too :) My mom bought it for me, though, and our number fives are pretty similar

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

[opaloctober.livejournal.com]

Title: "The Period Book: Everything You Don't Want to Ask (But Need to Know)"

Author: Written by Karen Gravelle, and Jennifer Gravelle; Illustrated by Debbie Palen

Your age when you read it: Maybe 10??

How you accessed the book: Found it at a bookstore in our local mall called Waldenbooks.
Did you find it in the public/school library? No
Did you have to sneak to buy or borrow it? No

Your thoughts about the book -- I loved it, it told me everything about sex/puberty that my mom had always been scared to approach, in a thorough, but entertaining manor, I still have it at my mother's house in my old room, and if I can find it on that old bookshelf, I would love to give it too my own daughter someday!

[hannastar.livejournal.com]

1. Let's Talk About Sex

2. Robie Harris & Michael Emberley

3. I was probably... about 8 or 9? I think I got it around the time I had my first sex education class, which was 9-10. I have a vague feeling I had the book first, then the school sex ed.

4. My parents bought it for me, my mum gave it to me. This was after we'd had a basic "the talk". My parents have always been fairly open about these things :)

5. I LOVE this book! I found it very easy to read, full of pictures and cartoon strips, very informative, very funny. The whole book is sort of narrated by a cartoon bird and a cartoon bee (see what they did there) who start off not knowing anything much about sex. One of them is really openly curious and excited to learn, the other is very embarassed at first and says he doesn't want to know about sex because it's weird. As you go through the book the bird and the bee learn more and more and discuss and review what's on the pages. The one who was embarassed at the beginning gradually becomes more relaxed and enjoys learning. At the very end of the book there's a picture of them both jumping into the air and yelling something like "SEX IS TOTALLY NORMAL!"

I don't recall any inaccurate information in the book at all. I think some of the things I read went over my head somewhat at age 9, or I read them but didn't think they were relevant. I remember liking the cartoons illustrating periods and conception, and the explanations of various stages of puberty. My mum was really enthusiastic about the cartoons showing a birth as the mother in the book was shown squatting on the floor and standing with her arms around her partner's neck (one of my mother's pet peeves: how everyone giving birth on TV lies on their back in a hospital bed with their legs in the air)

I'm not sure if I noticed this as a 9-year-old or not but I remember looking back at the book when I was in my teens and noticing how lots of the pictures show mixed-race relationships and families. There was a page on same-sex relationships with pictures of f/f and m/m couples hugging, eating dinner together, doing housework. It's positive about different body shapes and disability too.

This is the edition I had as a kid. (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lets-Talk-About-Sex-Changing/dp/074453674X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) There's been a newer edition/re-print since then - no idea what if anything might have been changed.

[eexposed.livejournal.com]

Let's see, I've read a ton of them, so I might just give a more quick rundown on each one, instead of typing out the whole thing, if that's okay... I read almost all of these from about ages 9-13, and I didn't find any of them in the library at school. My parents bought them for me, mostly. I was a pretty curious lady! :P

The Girls' Life Guide to Growing Up by Karen Bokram, Alexis Sinex, and Debbie Palen - sort of average/so-so, if I recall correctly - cool illustrations, but written for a girl that might be a bit younger (9-10 years)

The Period Book: Everything You Don't Want to Ask (But Need to Know) by Karen Gravelle and Debbie Palen - I loved this one! The illustrations were awesome, the information was pretty thorough, as far as I recall it only dealt with menstruation however.

Changing Bodies, Changing Lives by Ruth Bell - I remember enjoying this one, I had a pretty old edition of it, and it had good diagrams and actually said what sex involved, which was in only one other book that I read at the time

Period.: A Girl's Guide by Joann Loulan - Cute, short, to the point, and it definitely made you feel normal and gave ways to handle some of the weird new aspects of menstruating

The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls by Victoria Schaefer - pretty good all-around hygiene and basic bodily change handbook, but not really any info on sex that I can remember

It's a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe, and In Charge by Mavis Jukes - empowering and cool, in my opinion! It also gave details on what actually happened in the act of intercourse (between a male and female partner), which wasn't in many other books that I read

Deal With It! by Esther Drill, Heather Mcdonald, and Rebecca Odes - great layout, colours, illustrations, and good info on many topics about sex (and gender, and psychological issues, and family, and school, etc.), not just the average menstruation + breasts speech.

Hope that helps!

[necromance.livejournal.com]

I had The Care and Keeping of You also. I still remember some of their hair and skin tips!

[neurotic.livejournal.com]

Me three! It was on my sister's bookshelf, and I used to sneak looks at it, lol.

[thinktink16.livejournal.com]

Me four! I loved this book. Was quite embarassed when Mom bought it for me, but I was so greatful for it when I had questions about my body changing. It was put out by the American Girl company.

But yeah, no real information about sex. Most puberty/buying bras/shaving/periods/etc. So wonderful.

[running-farmer.livejournal.com]

1. Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era
2. the boston women's health collective and judy norsigian
3. sixteen
4. i bought it from amazon (i had a job, so i could get a copy for myself, but i think it should be at libraries as well, it's pretty well-known).
5. i thought all the information in this book was incredibly accurate and unbiased. it does a really good job of providing all sides of controversial women's health issues (such as abortion) and showing a lot of compassion. i think the target audience is probably late teens and up. it was definitely age-appropriate for me at sixteen.

[realserendipity.livejournal.com]

Seconding
Title:Our Bodies, Ourselves
Author:he boston women's health collective and judy norsigia

Your age when you read it:15 or 16 the first time, i consult it occasionally nowadays

How you accessed the book?I saw a copy at Planned Parenthood and would read it everytime I went in, after the second visit I bought it.

Your thoughts about the book --
The target audience I think could be any woman. It talks about all stages of a womans life. It helped clear up some misconceptions that I had when I was young.

[mangofandango.livejournal.com]

Some books I have read in the past or in purchasing for my library!

1.

"Deal With It"

keeps coming up here, and I read it at some point in my teens. Gurl.com has something to do with its production, and it's pretty cool in that it's formatted in a very internet-ish way - boxes, colors, quotes outside of the standard paragraph format, pictures and doodles, etc. I liked it, though it has been a long time since I read it. As I recall, it's fine for a teen audience but because it has a fairly broad scope and encompasses some stuff that certain parents would find..."unnecessary" or additional to the basic facts, I'd peg it as slightly older in age range than some other choices. Early to mid teens, with some appeal to older people, probably. Again, it's been a while, I'd have to review this one.

2.

"The Period Book"

by Gravelle and Gravelle
I loved this book as a preteen. I totally snuck it at first, reading it in the library when no one was paying attention. It's written by a girl and her aunt - I think the girl was like 12 or 14 - and it really has an air of authenticity and major, major kid appeal. It's got great cartoony illustrations, and it answers lots of questions about periods and the associated business. The scope is perfect - it focuses on menstruation, but puberty and sex stuff comes up, because it's related. I do not recall any problematic info or attitudes here, and I gave it to students in my school who were probably 10 and up. (Also by Karen Gravelle, and others, a book called "What's Going On Down There?" Focuses on boy stuff, and I haven't read the whole thing, but it appears to be equally cool.)

3. You know, I waffled about whether to include this because it skews younger, but

"It's Perfectly Normal"

by Robie Harris is like, the bible of kid-and-preteen sex education. It's so good. The information is presented very straightforwardly, but in a friendly, non-scary manner. It also has great illustrations. There is a notable page showing naked people of a bunch of body types, all drawn in very friendly ways. This book was a major draw with 4th-6th graders at my school. When 4th graders were first learning about puberty, they were all full of terror and excitement and they loved to look at this book and squeal. I liked to sort of hang around nearby the squealing conversation and jump in if things got too negative/freaked out/inaccurate/whatever, and the naked bodies page was an interesting lightning rod. Kids liked to yell that it was gross, and we had more than one conversation about that reaction that I think was actually beneficial. Anyway, this is a good book, and an important one, though it is not appealing to teens so much as the 9-12 year old crowd.

Annnd I think I have more, but must sleep now and will get back to this. :)

[suburbanamnesia.livejournal.com]

I loved It's Perfectly Normal!! I got it when I was 14, lol - from my nana. I still use it though - I just showed it to my boyfriend a couple of months ago. Love the bird and the bee who narrate the book! :D

[imindiaunajones.livejournal.com]

"It's Perfectly Normal" was the GREATEST book ever. So good.

[arctowardthesun.livejournal.com]

1-Deal with It
2-Esther Drill, Heather Mcdonald, Rebecca Odes
3-i read it at about 11 or 12
4-I bought it with a gift card i got for my birthday. There was no shame or secrecy about it, my parents trusted me to educate myself, which i did.
5-This was my puberty bible. It's starting to fall apart because i passed it around to all my friends and i even gave it to my boyfriend to read because he didn't have a lot of experience. It's pretty much amazing and sex positive. My sexual health decisions are based on stuff i learned from it and i pride myself on my good sense.

[drownophelia.livejournal.com]

1) the Alanna the Lioness Quartet

2) Tamora Pierce

3) 12 (last weeks of 5th grade)

4) Catholic elementary school library, middle school section (5th grade & up)

5) Thought absolutely not directly about health/wellness, the four-book series (each about 150-200 pages long, aimed at a middle school audience) follow a young girl through adulthood in a fantasy-medieval universe where she conceals her gender to become a knight, and goes through knighthood training with her sex a secret (mostly--later books its revealed to select friends, and then she's knighted the first lady knight in over 100 years, and become king's champion).

it was totally eye-opening to me about gender bending, and passing; and later (3rd book, i think) alanna develops a sexual relationship with another character, and there are precautions taken to prevent pregnancy (magical precautions... but still, its discussed in advance). they're totally age-appropriate, discuss gender, gender stereotypes, female sexual development (she gets her period, has to deal with it in an almost all-male environment; she gets breasts, has to hide them; she gets crushes on her fellow knights--and they on her, to their confusion), and late-teen sexual relationships. all of it is presented matter-of-fact, and positively. i greatly appreciated the series when i first read them, and later in life, tamora pierce and her empire of female-centric, empowering young adult fantasy novels is one of my favorites ever. (i'm actually listening to a book-on-cd of hers right now!)

[luvherbones.livejournal.com]

1. The care and Keeping of You
2. Valorie Schaefer and Norm Bendell (from the American Girl Company)
3. Probably 11-12ish
4. My mom gave it to me.
5. A very friendly book, mostly talking about puberty and general self-care. It had nice illustrations and clear, if generalized information (I've always been a bit of a nerd and I like to know why not just what, heh). Probably a good book for up to 13/14 year olds. It also covered a little bit about crushes/teen romance, but nothing really openly about sex and all heterosexual, if I recall correctly. It was nice about showing different body types/styles of dress in the illustrations, I think. Overall, I'd describe it as "safe."

I'll be back with more...

[masterskasumi.livejournal.com]

1. Our bodies Ourselves (original edition) I am 48
2. the boston women's health collective
3. 12-13 (seventh grade) 1972-73
4. A friend at school had it and shared, then I asked my mother for it and she got it for me for christmas that year.
5. What a wonderful book! I can remember reading it cover to cover for the first time. I felt so "normal" afterwards LOL. It didn't talk down to me even at 12. It covered so many subjects in a matter-of-fact way yet in a caring voice. I read it so many times, and shared it with my friends, it was falling apart eventually.
I have a 9-yr-old daughter now and I can see myself giving her this book (updated) as well. Of course not as a substitute to talking to her but as a reference tol for her.

[somnambulo.livejournal.com]

1. What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls : A Growing Up Guide for Parents and Daughters (Paperback)
2. Lynda Madaras
3/4. I think my mom was planning on giving it to me when I was 11 or 12, but I found it when I was 8 or 9 and would steal it from it's spot on her shelf and read it and then put it back. So by the time she gave it to me and tried to give me the period talk, I already knew it all.
5. I liked how the book gave scientific information and detailed pictures without being intimidating for a young girl. There was also a section about puberty in boys, and information about masturbation, relationships, and homosexuality, if I remember correctly. I learned a lot from it.

I also read The Care and Keeping of You, which I didn't really enjoy because it seemed like it really dumbed down a lot of topics. And I found my mom's copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves and read parts of it. I think I was too young to understand a lot of Our Bodies, Ourselves (probably because I was so young I thought boys had cooties and couldn't imagine why anyone would ever want to have sex).

[http://users.livejournal.com/__recidivist/]

I'm glad to see "What's Happening to My Body?" I had a few books about sex ed and growing up (including "A Baby is Born," "Deal with It!," and "The Care and Keeping of You,") but this one definitely had the most information. I read it around the same age as you.

[haptotrope.livejournal.com]

1. Title
The Sensuous Woman
2. Author
V? some annonymous initial
3. Your age when you read it
13
4. How you accessed the book (Was it given to you by a parent or educator? Did you find it in the public/school library? Did you have to sneak to buy or borrow it?)
found in the nightstand in my grandma's guest room.

5. Your thoughts about the book -- please feel free to be as detailed as you like. We'd love to hear specifically about the aspects of the book you liked or disliked, and why you liked/disliked those things. Some examples of things we'd like to know about include:

* the accuracy/balance of the information (was anything missing, overemphasized, or just plain wrong?)
it was wierd. but I think it was just curious, and a bit erotic.

* the book's tone/voice/style (was it patronizing? just right? too technical? etc.)
I think it was trashy -- lots of "blow job tips and stuff.. I think i was from the 60's/70's
* who you think the target audience is
older housewives, who hadn't picked up on the sexual revolution yet.
* whether you thought the presentation of the information was good and age-appropriate
oh hell no.
* whether there were any attitudes/implications in the book that you found troubling.
I don't think I noted them as troubling at the time, but feminisim was a late blooming thing for me.

[haptotrope.livejournal.com]

http://www.amazon.com/Sensuous-Woman-J/dp/0440178592

(by "j")

[thinktink16.livejournal.com]

Title : Like another poster, this is not directly a book dealing with this stuff, but I found the Judy Blume series really helpful. "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret" and "Deenie" in particular.

Author: Judy Blume

Age: 11-14 or so

How you accessed the book : Donated from my older sister.

In almost every one, a girl deals with getting her period and it also touches upon some issues that teenaged girls may be going through, like scoliosis. The great thing is that it puts "growing up" into the contexts of young women, not just "this is what will be happening to you" like in other books.

She also wrote a book called "Then Again, Maybe I Won't" which dealt with male puberty. I learned about what it meant to "get hard" and have a wet dream... which was helpful for a curious girl in her pre-teens. I never found it fair that we only learned about what happens to girls in those elementary puberty videos.

These were supplimented with "The Care and Keeping of You" which has been posted about already. The combination of these books gave me a pretty comprehensive idea of what to expect at puberty.