This was a thorough, well pitched and inclusive book for kids around 12 years old to help children and families begin to understand and talk about Sex, gender, bodies and relationships. It is really accessibly written and covers a wide range of topics. I do however wish it had included information around disability.

Five stars...six!

This book is fantastic. The language is inclusive, and the topics are covered comprehensively, in terms of the intended audience. I really appreciate the author's note about WHY they are using inclusive language; the focus on this is critical. Also, the author picks up some challenging topics - porn, consent, gender identity versus gender expression, and many more - and addresses them all with age-appropriate language for the audience and a matter-of-fact, responsible viewpoint.

I am so impressed with how this work is constructed. As a person who works in equity, inclusion, compliance, and Title IX in higher ed, I am constantly encountering texts that attempt to and then fail at covering these topics well, even for adult audiences. I have no complaints or concerns here. Even the illustrations reflect inclusive bodies and identities.

This book serves an important purpose, and I hope that many young people - and likely many adults - will learn a great deal about themselves and others through interacting with this content. It'll absolutely have a place in my children's lit class and pre-order status in my Amazon cart!

This book is a general, kind of "101" book for bodies, puberty, and sex. It is definitely a great book to use for getting into the basics of body changes and development. What was great about this book was how it included ALL types of bodies and inclusive language, such as "people with penises" or "people with periods." I would recommend this book for all families teaching their children about changing bodies, as well as for schools to have in their libraries. And of course, for public libraries as well!

I wish I had a book like this when I was growing up, as it can be very difficult for parents to talk about gender and sexuality with their children. This educational book talks about the birds and the bees briefly, and the author is consciously aware that not all people with certain body parts identify as their biological sex. As this is certainly something parents should discuss with their children, I might ask students to bring a permission slip home if I were to use this book in my health curriculum. However, as a librarian, I would purchase this book for all students and staff to use with no permission slip needed, although I would be worried about parents and other adults challenging the book. The book is a great educational resource for older children who are becoming more aware of their own gender and sexuality preferences, and the author does a great job remaining unbiased while discussing various topics in the modern day about sexuality and gender topics that are becoming more popular in the news.

probably one of the best sexual health and education books I have ever seen. I cannot wait to pick up a paper copy to give to a friend for her girls, and to go over with my kids.

This was a truly incredible book–it featured so many different people and bodies and skin tone and abilities! Not only was it incredible for its inclusiveness, however, but for its information as well! I’ll certainly say that I didn’t know how twins were conceived, nor how they became fraternal or identical! That being said, it’s a largely scientific book that’s wholly appropriate for children curious about bodies and how they change.

That being said, however, there were two parts that did make me a little uncomfortable. At one point, this book did mention porn in a very neutral way, stating that it’s typically for adult pleasure and that it’s normal to be curious about it, and to talk to a trusted adult if you accidentally stumble upon it. On one hand,I understand why it’s there–it’s better to have prefaced it than to go into such layers of the internet unprepared, but I personally find porn so revolting that I just didn’t know what to make of that bit, nor how to feel about it.

Another part that made me a little uncomfortable was the topic of hormone blockers. Again, on the one hand, it’s good for children to know about this option, for knowledge is certainly power! But for a book so empowering and filled with loving our bodies throughout all their natural changes, it felt a little out of place and bizarre to read something arguing for something so medicinal and unnatural to be done to bodies out of bodily contempt.

Overall though, I did find this book to be helpful and inclusive despite my misgivings, and would definitely purchase it for a young person in my life or for my library. There’s some great information in here that I know others would benefit from.

This is an extremely informative book for teenagers. I learned a lot about gender identity that I didn’t know. There is also a lot about puberty, sexual reproduction, and families. It is all explained in very understandable terms.

This is a nice, inclusive book for youngsters curious about puberty and growing up. It is up to date and talks about LGBTQ+ terms, and changes to the body, in an open, matter of fact, and importantly, clear way without being patronising or preachy.
The illustrations are informative, colourful and appealing, and the correct terms are used, as I said before it does not come across as patronising, so kids will feel confident in using the correct terminology and be able to talk more openly about related issues with less embarrassment (often it's the adults who are more embarrassed, let's be honest!)
and fundamentally avoid the confusion sometimes caused by use of the incorrect terminology or 'cute' euphemisms. This would be useful to have in schools and use n PSHE sessions, sex education etc. Nowadays there is a lot more awareness around gender., transgender puberty, LGBTQ+ inclusivity etc, and it only makes sense to update our resources, this book is a handy tool in that way.