Fans pick 100 books like The "What's Happening to My Body?" Book for Boys

When I first came across a box of used American Girl books at our local bookstore, I passed right by.

I wasn’t a total snob; afterall, my daughter and her friends fiercely loved their American Girl dolls. But American Girl books about puberty, relationships, and family? I was dubious. But moments after I flipped through Friends Till the End and A Smart Girl’s Guide to Liking Herself, I was impressed.

Each book was well written, promoted universal values (e.g., honesty, respect), and had a warmth to them. The material was laid out in short chapters, with colorful headers, accessible call-out pages, and interactive activities.

Though Understanding Families is part of their Smart Girl’s Guide collection, youth of all sex/genders will get a lot out of the entire series.  

When I first sat down to fully explain human reproduction to my own child, I grabbed It’s So Amazing because it included explanations of insemination and IVF – subjects that most books in the genre don’t explain.

The book also covers many topics leading up to and after conception: anatomy, puberty, gestation, birth, genetics, and family. Its graphic-novel format enables readers to digest the information-rich content in bite-sized pieces, at their own pace. The book is funny and warm, and normalizes kids’ curiosity about the body.

There are two other books in this series: It’s Not the Stork and It’s Perfectly Normal. They are all great books to add to any family’s collection. 

I’m a bit of a rebel rouser, so when The Amazing True Story of How Babies Are Made landed on bookshelves and created a big stir, I knew I had to buy it.

What sparked the controversy was a very simplistic illustration of how the erect penis fits inside the vagina. Parents were up in arms, claimed it encouraged their children to have sex, and deemed it pornographic.

It doesn’t actually do any of that - but, instead, provides a well-crafted, funnily-told explanation of human reproduction. What it really has going for it, is that it includes an explanation (albeit a brief one) of IVF, donors, and surrogates - a rare find in a picture book.

Any resource that includes these methods in the explanation of how babies are made is a winner in my book.  

I’ve heard Cory Silverberg speak at various educator workshops, and I agree with his views that home is largely where sex education should take place.

Yes, of course most parents want it to happen in school as well, but home should be a place where kids can get honest answers to their tough questions. All of Silverberg’s sexual health books (they’re all worth checking out) are written to support these conversations, and You Know, Sex is no exception.

It covers all of sexual health: anatomy, puberty, consent, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.; plus it boldly dives into controversial topics like pleasure, masturbation, and pornography.

I’m especially stoked about this book because the chapter on reproduction covers insemination, IVF, donor conception, and surrogacy. The explanations are straightforward, with informative, colorful illustrations. 

I love this book because it encourages body positivity among girls who represent a vast variety of identities, especially when it comes to size. I appreciate that Taylor honors the possibility that a female-bodied girl may actually feel like their body and sex assigned at birth does not align, sometimes or all of the time, with how they feel about their gender. Not only does this book include “fascinating facts” boxes of practical and medically accurate information—and empathetically assures readers that “you have company” and are not alone—it pays tribute to body diversity and encourages body pride with its inclusive and affirming approach. You will find everything in here from the wonders of puberty and all of its changes, to how we can take care of our awesomeness with nutrition and physical activity. In addition to empowering girls to take responsibility for knowing the incredible power within their bodies as… show more.

Body image issues affect so many of us, and it can feel particularly acute in the middle school years, when our bodies are undergoing so much change. Though it’s been decades, I palpably remember how strange my growth spurt felt from the inside and how it changed my confidence.

In Alyson Gerber’s excellent book, Sarah is used to excelling on the basketball court, but when the shots stop falling, she’s quick to blame her changing physique and takes matters into her own hands to rectify things by drastically altering her eating habits.

Gerber handles this material with empathy and compassion, never talking down to the reader or getting preachy. Whatever your gender (body image issues are hardly limited to girls), there’s so much to relate to in this story.

This one’s a novel in verse written from the perspective of a girl going through puberty in real time.

Celi Rivera is thinking about the way her body’s changing; she’s considering a crush on a boy; and she’s feeling a little apprehension about the “moon ceremony” her mother’s promised when she gets her first period.

I love this one for so many reasons—but mostly because it celebrates becoming a young woman and standing up for herself.

This story about three ordinary, working-class women is, to me, a measured, realistic depiction of how society often denies a woman even her most basic desires. In contemporary Japan, being female can still be a stifling experience, and this novel captures the claustrophobic confines of womanhood through its quiet, deliberate tone.

I was especially drawn to how these women’s small acts of rebellion took on greater significance when considered in the context of their lives. Not all battles are epic. Sometimes, big victories or even peace with oneself can be found in the tiniest acts of resistance.

A girl’s discomfort with puberty is only part of the story. The other part is 11-year-old Margaret growing up in an interfaith family with a Jewish father and Christian mother.

Margaret struggles to find a religious identity. She must contend with her father’s mother who hopes she embraces Judaism and her conservative Christian maternal grandparents who reject their daughter’s interfaith marriage. This powerful coming-of-age story has gotten recent attention from a recent film and challenges from book bans. For me, it’s another example of Judy Blume’s insight, humor, and humanity.

Whoever said ignorance is bliss was lying! Ignorance about one’s body is a massive obstacle to breastfeeding. As a newly qualified breastfeeding counsellor I remember being amazed at how many women become mothers without really knowing anything about how their breasts work. But why would they? In formal lessons about ‘growing up’, breasts are hardly mentioned (beyond the fact that they will appear at some point) – almost nothing about how they function, and even less about what they’re for. And, of course, most children in the UK never get to see breastfeeding in action. Emma’s book is the antidote to all that ignorance. It’s the book I wish I – and my daughter – had had, aged ten. I’m so glad it’s there for my granddaughter.