An easy-to-read magazine-style guide for girls age 10 to 14 on "staying healthy, safe and in-charge." Mavis Jukes covers everything from how to buy a bra to birth control, from sexually transmitted diseases to coping with the unexpected onset of a period away from home. Issues such as setting healthy boundaries, trusting feelings, and being able to go to adults for help are discussed in a tone that is frank, entertaining, and gently authoritative without sounding condescending. Though most girls this age will know more about these subjects than parents ever dreamed, the subjects are dealt with accurately in way that helps build self-confidence and character in girls at an extremely vulnerable time in their lives.
From Publishers Weekly
It's difficult to imagine an adolescent girl who wouldn't benefit from this candid, supportive and often genuinely funny guide to surviving?and enjoying?those awkward pre- and early-teen years. Newbery Honor author Jukes bares her soul about her own sometimes misguided experiences growing up in the 1950s, when typical parental strategy "was to withhold all facts about sex from kids until the kids got old enough to be so embarrassed by the topic that they would refuse to talk about it." A rich supply of personal anecdotes lightens up her explicit, thoroughly accessible discussion of puberty and sexuality; Tilley's (Riddle-icious) breezy cartoons also put readers at ease. The author fills her text with sage advice adolescents can't hear often enough, stressing the importance of resisting peer pressure, respecting and taking good care of one's body, and communicating with and seeking help from parents and other responsible adults ("Looking like an adult doesn't mean that you're expected to take on adult roles and responsibilities. You're a kid, entitled to the love, care and protection of the adults around you"). While she tackles tough subjects like sexual abuse, harassment and sexually transmitted diseases, she includes tips on more frivolous, kid-pleasing topics, such as shopping for clothes and selecting the right makeup. Written with a bracing, inspiriting honesty, this volume will spark communication between parents and daughters. Ages 11-14. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9?Combining her own and friends' reminiscences with current research, Jukes discusses a wide variety of subjects from buying a bra to sexual harassment and abuse. In a warm, conversational style, she covers body changes in both boys and girls, menstruation, general health, drinking and drugs, sexual feelings, pregnancy, contraceptives, and sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. The text is sometimes humorous, but always conveys caring, respect, and concern. Illustrations consist of only a few small cartoons. Several styles of type are used to vary the look of the pages. The list for further reading offers good suggestions. Written for the same audience as Karen and Jennifer Gravelle's The Period Book (Walker, 1996), Jukes's book shares the same scope of coverage as Lynda Madaras's What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls (Newmarket, 1987) and Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman's The New Teenage Body Book (Berkley, 1992). A fine and thoughtful effort.?Martha Gordon, formerly at South Salem Library, NYCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Frances Wells Burck
A wise older friend, [Jukes] delivers the facts but never talks down, preaches or uses scare tactics.
Review
"It's difficult to imagine an adolescent girl who wouldn't benefit from this candid, supportive and often genuinely funny guide...this volume will spark communication between parents and daughters."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The text is sometimes humorous, but always conveys caring, respect and concer...A fine and thoughtful effort."--School Library Journal, starred review
"What's good and unusual here is Jukes' been there, done that matter-of-factness about aspects of female existence rarely discussed in literature...Tilley's scribbly, lighthearted vignettes accentuate the light tone of the text."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Will leave girls informed and in charge."--The Horn Book
Review
"It's difficult to imagine an adolescent girl who wouldn't benefit from this candid, supportive and often genuinely funny guide...this volume will spark communication between parents and daughters."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The text is sometimes humorous, but always conveys caring, respect and concer...A fine and thoughtful effort."--School Library Journal, starred review
"What's good and unusual here is Jukes' been there, done that matter-of-factness about aspects of female existence rarely discussed in literature...Tilley's scribbly, lighthearted vignettes accentuate the light tone of the text."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Will leave girls informed and in charge."--The Horn Book
Book Description
The highly acclaimed girls' guide to adolescence by a Newbery Honor-winning
author is now available in a rack-sized paperback edition. Reviewers were
unanimous in their praise for this useful and important book.
"It's difficult to imagine an adolescent girl who wouldn't benefit from this
candid, supportive and often genuinely funny guide...this volume will spark
communication between parents and daughters."--Publishers Weekly,
starred review
"The text is sometimes humorous, but always conveys caring, respect and
concer...A fine and thoughtful effort."--School Library Journal, starred
review
"What's good and unusual here is Jukes' been there, done that
matter-of-factness about aspects of female existence rarely discussed in
literature...Tilley's scribbly, lighthearted vignettes accentuate the light
tone of the text."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Will leave girls informed and in charge."--The Horn Book
From the Inside Flap
The highly acclaimed girls' guide to adolescence by a Newbery Honor-winning author is now available in a rack-sized paperback edition. Reviewers were unanimous in their praise for this useful and important book.
From the Back Cover
"It's difficult to imagine an adolescent girl who wouldn't benefit from this candid, supportive and often genuinely funny guide...this volume will spark communication between parents and daughters."--Publishers Weekly, starred review "The text is sometimes humorous, but always conveys caring, respect and concer...A fine and thoughtful effort."--School Library Journal, starred review "What's good and unusual here is Jukes' been there, done that matter-of-factness about aspects of female existence rarely discussed in literature...Tilley's scribbly, lighthearted vignettes accentuate the light tone of the text."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Will leave girls informed and in charge."--The Horn Book
About the Author
Mavis Jukes is the award-winning author of several books for children and teenagers, including the Newbery Honor Book Like Jake and Me . Her other titles include No One is Going to Nashville , Blackberries in the Dark , Getting Even , Wild Iris Bloom , and I'll See You in My Dreams . Mavis taught school for several years -- and was a lawyer -- before becoming a children's book writer. She volunteers as an attorney in the area of juvenile defense and is presently a language arts specialist in a public elementary school. She lives with her husband, the artist Robert Hudson, and their teenage daughters in Sonoma County, California.
It's a Girl Thing: How to Stay Healthy, Safe, and in Charge FROM THE PUBLISHER
It's a Girl Thing is a book for every preteen girl about her changing body and life.
Honest
Answers questions about confusing topics -- from changin bodies to pressure from friends to the struggles of becoming a teenager.
Reassuring
If a girl is not home when she starts her period, this book tells her how to handle it. If a girl finds herself in an uncomfortable situation, this book hleps her feel confident about making the choices that are right for her.
Thoughtful
An award-winning children's book author, teacher, and mother of two teenage daughters, Mavis Jukes shares vivid, often funny (but sometimes painful) memories of what it was like when she was a preteen.
Accurate
Reviewed for medical accuracy by doctors in pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and adolescent psychology.
Important
Not only will girls learn the difference between a bra that fits and one that hurts, they will also become familiar with crucial information they'll need to make safe choices as teenagers.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
It's difficult to imagine an adolescent girl who wouldn't benefit from this candid, supportive and often genuinely funny guide to surviving-and enjoying-those awkward pre- and early-teen years. Newbery Honor author Jukes bares her soul about her own sometimes misguided experiences growing up in the 1950s, when typical parental strategy "was to withhold all facts about sex from kids until the kids got old enough to be so embarrassed by the topic that they would refuse to talk about it." A rich supply of personal anecdotes lightens up her explicit, thoroughly accessible discussion of puberty and sexuality; Tilley's (Riddle-icious) breezy cartoons also put readers at ease. The author fills her text with sage advice adolescents can't hear often enough, stressing the importance of resisting peer pressure, respecting and taking good care of one's body, and communicating with and seeking help from parents and other responsible adults ("Looking like an adult doesn't mean that you're expected to take on adult roles and responsibilities. You're a kid, entitled to the love, care and protection of the adults around you"). While she tackles tough subjects like sexual abuse, harassment and sexually transmitted diseases, she includes tips on more frivolous, kid-pleasing topics, such as shopping for clothes and selecting the right makeup. Written with a bracing, inspiriting honesty, this volume will spark communication between parents and daughters. Ages 11-14.
Children's Literature - Susie Wilde
There are such specific and important stages in a young woman's coming of age that I'm grateful to see individual books to guide them through! Even though my mother handled my initiation well, I still remember being upset when I got The Curse. As I watch my daughter mature, I realize that information and attitudes have changed so much that our children approach womanhood with more joy than fear, more happiness, than dread. Mavis Jukes' It's a Girl Thing is for girls 11-13. For years, Jukes has been a powerful contributor to children's books, but this is her first nonfiction book. Revealing much about her own coming of age with funny stories, she tells about everything from first bras to first kisses. The tone is factual and playful. Her book is as on-target as her fiction!
School Library Journal
Grades 5-9.
Combining her own and friends' reminiscences with current research, Jukes discusses a wide variety of subjects from buying a bra to sexual harassment and abuse. In a warm, conversational style, she covers body changes in both boys and girls, menstruation, general health, drinking and drugs, sexual feelings, pregnancy, contraceptives, and sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS. The text is sometimes humorous, but always conveys caring, respect, and concern. Illustrations consist of only a few small cartoons. Several styles of type are used to vary the look of the pages. The list for further reading offers good suggestions. Written for the same audience as Karen and Jennifer Gravelle's The Period Book (Walker, 1996), Jukes's book shares the same scope of coverage as Lynda Madaras's What's Happening to My Body? Book for Girls (Newmarket, 1987) and Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman's The New Teenage Body Book (Berkley, 1992). A fine and thoughtful effort.
-- Martha Gordon, formerly at South Salem Library, NY
Jennifer Baumgardner
"Frank and thoughtful, It's a Girl Thing tackles the complex terrain of sex and our bodies for preteens and early teens. A pre- Our Bodies/Ourselves."
-- Ms. Magazine
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"I'll make sure my daughters read it!" -- Medical correspondent for ABC-TV's Good Morning America — Nancy L. Snyderman
"Here is a funny, genuine, straightforward book for every preteen girl. It will answer her questions about puberty, sexuality, and just plain girl things in a reassuring way. I wish I'd had it when I was eleven! Every young girl onmy list is going to get a copy of this." — Judy Blume
"A landmark event.. a wonderful springboard for conversation between mothers and daughters." -- Professor, Cornell Unviersity, and author of Fasting Girls: The History of Anorexia Nervosa — Joan Jacobs Brumberg
Art & Photography
Book Info
