What's Happening to Me? A Guide to Puberty

This book is a travesty. My mother read this book to me as a child and I remember even now how uncomfortable I felt seeing the illustrations. As a 30 year old woman I am appalled. This book is shockingly sexist, heteronormative, and outdated. It placates girls’ fears about their changing bodies by telling them their breasts and vaginas - whatever size and shape - are beautiful because they are attractive to men. The only sources the book cites are men, including a male doctor who claims that premenstrual symptoms usually disappear after the first few periods, and usually only last a few days. And apparently tampons are “nice” and most girls can’t feel them. As an actual woman I can tell you none of the above is true for almost every woman I know. The entire attitude of the book is so destructive because it reduces critical questions and biological differences to gendered cliches and tropes. I agree it can be hard to talk to children about puberty, but it is far more harmful to ignore the science and instead try to alleviate the embarrassment many feel during puberty by focusing on the appeal of puberty’s changes to the opposite sex.

This book is definately meant for the "tween" age. This is a good beginning book for the early questions. It is a frank, descriptive book without being too graphic and detailed. It was first written years ago, so some people might think it is old fashioned and/or childishly written; this though, is what makes it good for the tweens.

A very gentle, caring book for children of about age 8, who can expect to start going through puberty. Covers issues of: why puberty happens, how the appearance of bodies change, hormones, breast development, erections, menstruation, deepening of voice, pimples, masturbation, body hair, wet dreams, and circumcision. This book follows on from, and is in the same style as "Where Did I Come From?". Extremely popular, all children should have easy access to this volume from age 8 onwards.

This is a great book about puberty which is perfect for showing to your child. I will do it when I have some. It goes into good detail and doesn't talk any nonsense. It's very upfront. I mean, it's not like "Oh, your period feels good." It talks about how women might get depressed or groggy, which I think is important for them to know. it talks about erections, masturbation, periods, and even curcumcism (sp?). It also talks about wet dreams and the feelings you may get towards other girls. A great and useful guide.

I was surprised to find anyone giving this book a less than glowing review. I remember loving it as a kid and that my friends all loved it, too.
Sure, we already knew a lot of the stuff in it, but both the writing and illustrations in this book are so charming and fun, that only the extremely jaded or repressed could possibly fail to enjoy it.
Of course I plan to get a copy for my own child, even though I haven't quite had my baby yet. I just look forward so much to revisiting this wonderful book that I can't wait until my kid is the right age for it (which I would say is about 10 or 11 years old).
Don't pay any attention to the sour pusses who gave this terrific book low marks; go to your library and see for yourself. I'm sure you'll agree that What's Happening to Me? should be in every kid's collection.

I can still remember my own mother using this book to guide me through "the talk" about puberty. The images are still the same and I find my own children giggling just as I did at the boy who has something "unwanted" happen on the diving board. This book is a good way to add a bit of levity to a scary subject, and is a great accompaniment to "A Chicken's Guide to Talking Turkey with your Kids about Sex" from Leman. Read it to your child and censor what you deem necessary depending on their age, maturity and experiences.

This book and its predecessor "where do I come from" are fabulous! The pictures are accurate but done in such a cartoon ish way that they don't embarrass anyone. The text is easy to understand for any age. Everything is covered acurately and honestly and in good taste. Highly recommend!

I remember that my grandma bought this book to give to my mom, so that she could share it with me. I developed pretty early, so my mom had already talked to me about my period before I read this book. I remember that she allowed me to read it myself and let me ask questions (I had lots). I also remember looking at the book with my cousin and laughing at the pictures of the developing male and female bodies. All in all, it's a great book that I'm glad is still in publication. I'd caution parents to give it to their children earlier than the age the book recommends. Both boys and girls are reaching puberty earlier these days and need to know about all of this.

My 40 year old husband remembered this book from his childhood so we knew it would be a good go too reference. Our kids think it is hilarious. I appreciate the way the information is presented to the reader without making them feel like they are reading a text book.

This was recommended by my nephew and nieces as the most informative book about puberty (when I asked them). It is really good. It is to the point, but keeps it lighthearted. It addresses a lot of good questions and worries kids have but won't ask. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Written by the same person who wrote the bestselling "Where Did I Come From?" (see Picture Books), this book has fine content, but fails to appeal to its older target audience. At this point, most children have probably outgrown the laugh-out-loud-about-puberty stage, and would prefer a more earnest, straightforward tack. Try Lynda Madras' titles for boys and girls, or "It's Perfectly Normal."

This was recommended by my nephew and nieces as the most informative book about puberty (when I asked them). It is really good. It is to the point, but keeps it lighthearted. It addresses a lot of good questions and worries kids have but won't ask. I HIGHLY recommend it.

Written by the same person who wrote the bestselling "Where Did I Come From?" (see Picture Books), this book has fine content, but fails to appeal to its older target audience. At this point, most children have probably outgrown the laugh-out-loud-about-puberty stage, and would prefer a more earnest, straightforward tack. Try Lynda Madras' titles for boys and girls, or "It's Perfectly Normal."

Okay, this book said some weird stuff and at first i got the sample, and the sample only showed the cover and the table of contents! This book sucks. Dont buy it. I feel like this book is a bit stereo typical, based off the things it said..
It also said some other whacky things. It wasnt good

Unneccessarily "graphic" cartoons made my 12 year old son, and myself, very uncomfortable. Also, there is a section that encourages masturbation as "normal" and "neccessary" and "fun". Some parents would not agree with this. I include it here so that parents like myself, who believe that this is an unhealthy habit that can turn into an addiction, can make a more educated choice.

If you are looking for a very graphic explanation with crudely drawn pictures, this is the book for you. I like to view the birds and the bees as something beautiful and this book is definitely not that. I did not pass it along to my child.

If you are Catholic or Christian, this probably isn't the book for you. I bought it because it is frank and honest; but when I recieved it I was disappointed to see that masturbation is graphically explained (how to) and the book states that it is harmless, normal part of development. If this is not your belief, skip this book.