The Girls' Guide to Growing Up: the best-selling puberty guide for girls

This is the perfect little book for my fourth-grade daughter. So glad I bought it. I wanted her to be informed about human biology as she will enter middle school next year, but I wasn't sure how to explain everything from periods, matters and details of hygiene, to how babies are made without making her (or me, maybe) feel awkward. I have mom friends who are great at such explanations, while I have to think for quite some time how to say what and when. As she is reading the book, I can now talk to her about the content. She likes reading it so far. The content covers everything from the body changes to expect from puberty to where babies come from in short, factual, effective, child-appropriate, and friendly phrasing. The author succeeds at making girls feel normal about their soon-to-change bodies and gives them the information they need to understand what is going on. The illustrations show enough to support the text but without making the reading experience "weird." It is an informative book that even featured a fact or two (about the brain) that I wasn't aware of. Overall, the book normalizes puberty and girl's bodies, assures girls that they have control (to shave or not, to use different menstrual products that suit them, to continue sports), leaves room for inclusion (girls might find themselves thinking about a boy or a girl as they get older), addresses that boys undergo significant changes too, and provides the groundwork for other discussions we need to have with our kids as they grow older (it mentions that adults may use birth control to not have babies but does not go into detail).

The book is short and gives really a cliffs notes overview of the changes ahead. I liked it because it was clear enough for my 8 year old to understand and easy for me to explain. We both made it through it in one sitting without too much embarrassment and only the attack of the giggles twice. We got through it in one sitting and I stopped to ask questions along the way and I think because the material was presented concisely and simply she was able to ask questions easily. This is by no means a be all end all book. But for an 8 year old its perfect. Simple, not too much detail, no talk of boyfriends. It doesn't talk of marriage which seriously most of us have had sex outside of marriage. It does have 2 pages on boy puberty which I actually appreciated. I think girls should understand boys are also going through changes. I'm assuming the boy version of this book does the same thing. Both sexes should understand they are both physically and emotionally a hot mess. My only nitpick is the male genitals are so badly drawn I had to go into greater detail than I would have liked to describe how they actually look. Overall I recommend the book if you have a kid on the younger side and are the type of parent who appreciates frank discussions.

Bought this for my 10 and 11 year old who have not went through any puberty changes yet. They know about periods and what happens but this book does a great job of explaining everything and the pictures are informative. It does have a section that explains sex. If my daughters were 8-9 I don’t know if I would want them reading that part just yet because it’s very detailed. I also didn’t realize this book was written/from outside the US before buying. So measurements and weights mentioned wasn’t in pounds and inches. It wasn’t a big deal because I can help my daughters convert it but it might be confusing if younger girls read it alone.

This book is pretty concise and has some diagrams. If your girl isn't a big reader, this one is pretty good to get through the basics.

This particular book, I would not recommend to parents with children under 14 years old. There is explicit sexual content that is not appropriate for a nine and 10-year-old. That is not what I was looking for at all. I just wanted a book that explained to young girls the changes that are coming in their body. That is not the time to discuss sexual intercourse.

This book is great, I read it with my 9 year old to prep for puberty. The format was just right for her age. There were enough details to help her learn what she needed without being too wordy or over her head. I absolutely recommend this book!

I love these books for introducing puberty, periods and sex to my kids. I got the girls and boys books. It is short, concise, and easy to understand. Pictures are informative without being graphic. Yes my kids were embarrassed and giggling through most of it but the book helps ease the embarrassment for both of us. I am a nurse and know it's important for kids to understand their bodies. Im very happy with this book.

I was very surprised when I read the reviews of people concerned about the anatomical diagrams in this book. Children are having their periods at 8 and 9 years old. They need to understand their body and how it works. They also need to be somewhat aware of the opposite sex. Yes, there is a small discussion on how babies are conceived. But it is not graphic in nature. Preparing your child by providing this information arms them and protects them. 1 in every 3 females are sexually abused. If you give them the words to use and show them how things work perhaps they will come to you if a situation arises. I want to protect my child and feel this book opens the door to many more conversations.

Very informative and helpful easy to read book. Before i was ready for my daughter to learn about boys i just taped them pages together and now that shes alittle older i carefully took the tape off. That book has helped us both in whats going on in a moody preteen

GREAT book it teaches a young lady all important things in life!

Muy bonitas ilustraciones y descripciones.

I was a little nervous to talk about all the 'birds and the bees', although I know its completely natural, it was still a little daunting. A friend I worked with recommended this book as she read it with her daughter, so I thought 'why not give it a go?'. I am so glad I did! My daughter and I would read a page or two before bed. It's illustrations were great to help understand the words better (for her) and it's written in a subtle, yet honest way (which I really appreciated). If you have a daughter who is currently going through the early stages (or even through it now) of puberty, I truly recommend this purchase. Very happy with this purchase - I have even leant it to a friend.

The book explains very well and in a very gentle language everything a girl going through puberty should know. Definitely recommend!