Growing Up: An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body

By Author / Illustrator

Clare Owen, Rachel Greener

Genre

Non Fiction

Age range(s)

Publisher

Nosy Crow Ltd

ISBN

9781839947001

Format

Hardback

Published

04-05-2023

Synopsis

A modern and inclusive guide to help every child understand their journey from childhood to being a grown-up.

Growing up is a natural part of life, and every child deserves to understand the different ways their body may change as they grow older. While puberty happens to everyone, every child's journey from childhood to being a grown-up will be as unique as they are!

In this honest, accessible illustrated guide to puberty, young readers can find out exactly what may happen as they grow from being a child to becoming a grown-up. From getting taller and discovering hair growing in new places to developing breasts, experiencing periods or having wet dreams, this book provides the perfect stepping stone for every caregiver to have an open conversation about what it really means for a child to be growing up.

Working closely with a leading national LGBT organisation as well as a biology specialist and an equality, diversity and inclusivity consultant, Growing Up covers everything from biological sex and gender identity to physical changes and emotional development, including sections on friendships and emotional health, creating and respecting boundaries and online safety.

Written in friendly and accessible language that can be shared with a child or read independently, Growing Up also includes a further reading section and glossary to answer more complex questions, as well as signposting where young readers can find help from trusted sources outside of the home or school environment.

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Reviews

Growing Up: An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body is the perfect book to share with developing youngsters as they navigate and learn their way through puberty and their changing bodies. Simple and clear page layouts, personal and reassuring messages for the reader and a glossary all add to the successfulness of this text. With just the right mix of illustrations and text the creators have done a great job of covering a range of topics in an inclusive way, making this an ideal resource when teaching this sensitive subject.

32 pages / Reviewed by Maria, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 9+

A very informative read! This non-fiction book is all about growing up. It includes lots of in depth information to help children to understand how things will change as they grow up and give them some knowledge on what to expect in themselves as they get older.

Growing Up: An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body starts by trying to relate to the reader, explaining that once they were a baby and now they are a child; something that all adults have experienced too. I think this is useful as many children do not think about the fact that the grown ups in their lives may have been through similar experiences growing up as they will themselves.

There is information all about being a baby at the start as well as a page on tackling misconceptions about the ideas other people may have on how you should look, dress and behave based on your gender. The rest of the book covers all sorts of topics including how your body physically changes during puberty, what happens when girls get their periods, how your emotions can change as you go through different stages of growing up and how screen time can affect your relationships with other people.

I like how the book is filled with pictures and diagrams to reinforce the information that is given; they are useful and informative without looking like they should belong in a text book. Most of the pages start and end with a short paragraph in bold which encapsulates the key message of the page including who to talk to if you are worried or need more information about certain topics. There is also a useful glossary at the back which children can use if they are unsure of the meanings of words.

This would definitely be a useful book to use to support the teaching of sex education in schools or to have at home for children to refer to and explore when learning about growing up.

32 pages / Reviewed by Lucy Hopkins, teacher