Books on puberty for a younger child?

[zebrabelly]

My dd is about to turn 8 and has had some symptoms of puberty for the last couple years. I would like to give her a book (or more) about puberty and I am wondering where to start? I need something appropriate for a younger girl (in other words, she doesn't need a ton of info on sex and birth control at this point, yk?) but with good info.

I think I've heard "What's Happening to Me?" recommended (and I had that one as a kid, also) - does anyone have experience with that one?

A mom at park day told me that she bought a book written by a teenager about her period for girls - this lady told me she wrote notes in the margins about her own cycle and experiences. I LOVE this idea, can anyone recommend a book like this? (I'll also ask the lady I know again, of course, but would love other reviews, too.)

Other thoughts?

[JellyMomma]

We have a book called "It's So Amazing"... I really like it for ages about 7 - 11. Amazon has it... Read the Amazon reviews and see if it might be what you're looking for...

[SashaBreeze]

We own a copy of The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls. It is very good for your daughters age because it goes into all of the changes her body is going through but doesn't touch the sex topic at all. It may be what you are looking for. And as a bonus the book is pretty cheap.

[bestjob]

The Care and Keeping of you was a real help to my dd when she was that age. (She's now a delightful 15 yr old who has a lot of fun socially and participates in social, cultural, and sporting activities at her school.)

When dd was around the age of 11 or 12, many of the mums noticed that the girls would all take their copies of TC&KofY to their overnight parties. They were networking with an important resource, which is great to see. Kind of like me recommending MDC to moms who want to know more about being the kind of mom they want to be.

And... as a heads up, when dd was 12 I put a couple of books about male sexual growth on the bookshelf. I've just put them there. Not a big discussion. More along the lines of "this is how the other half thinks". Sometimes the books are on the shelf. Sometimes they're in dd's room.

[momtokea]

I would also like to recommend The Care and Keeping of You. It's by American Girl and is perfect for an 8 year old.

[Tigerchild]

Another vote for "The Care and Keeping of You" even though I know many here hate AG. My 8 year old has been developing breasts, acne, and probably I can expect her to get her period early (I got mine when I was 11). So I've read a TON of puberty books, TCKY was the only one I purchased and the only one that DD really seemed to like.

She already had It's So Amazing...I do love that book, but I don't think it's an adequate puberty resource, to be honest. I don't mind sexuality discussion, but for some weird reason it tends to eat up a lot of space in other books (I think authors assume that parents have not talked to their kids about sexuality and reproduction before or something weird like that!). So it was nice to have a book where the focus was on body changes, new ways one cares for their body when their sweat glands start developing more, how to deal with emotional changes, and periods.

I actually would recommend checking out a ton of books for your DD at the library first (especially if they have a handy hold system like ours!) and then see which ones she really likes and buy those for her.

But out of all the books I've ready, TCKY seems to be the best for early starters. IMO.

[One_Girl]

We really enjoy Growing Up It's A Girl Thing by Mavis Jukes. The author talks about growing from a girls point of view in a very fun and readable way. She also is very reassuring about puberty not meaning adulthood (something my dd is worried about).

[zebrabelly]

I thought I subbed to this thread, but apparently not! Thanks for the responses, everyone!!