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It's Perfectly Normal

Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender, and Sexual Health

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Fully and fearlessly updated, this vital new edition of the acclaimed book on sex, sexuality, bodies, and puberty deserves a spot in every family's library.
With more than 1.5 million copies in print, It's Perfectly Normal has been a trusted resource on sexuality for more than twenty-five years. Rigorously vetted by experts, this is the most ambitiously updated edition yet, featuring to-the-minute information and language accompanied by new and refreshed art.
Updates include:
* A shift to gender-neutral vocabulary throughout
* An expansion on LGBTQIA topics, gender identity, sex, and sexuality—making this a sexual health book for all readers
* Coverage of recent advances in methods of sexual safety and contraception with corresponding illustrations
* A revised section on abortion, including developments in the shifting politics and legislation as well as an accurate, honest overview
* A sensitive and detailed expansion on the topics of sexual abuse, the importance of consent, and destigmatizing HIV/AIDS
* A modern understanding of social media and the internet that tackles rapidly changing technology to highlight its benefits and pitfalls and ways to stay safe online
Inclusive and accessible, this newest edition of It's Perfectly Normal provides young people with the knowledge and vocabulary they need to understand their bodies, relationships, and identities in order to make responsible decisions and stay healthy.

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  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      April 15, 2021
      A groundbreaking text gets updated. Harris and Emberley's title has been a controversial staple of the sex-ed genre since its first edition in 1994. This iteration will look familiar in structure and language, and Emberley's spot illustrations throughout still show various bodies, often naked, sometimes engaging in discreetly covered sexual activity. In this outing, readers will find more information about the internet, an update on legal developments around abortion access, and more inclusive language around gender identity and sexuality. Of especial note are new illustrations highlighting same-sex relationships, both in and out of bed. As has been a feature since the beginning, a bee and a bird pipe up throughout; the bird is interested in everything about sexuality and puberty, and the bee expresses more discomfort and disinterest, mirroring how different readers might respond. While Harris continues to deliver accessible yet clinical messaging around the realities of puberty and the risks and rewards of sexual activity, this book falters significantly in its attempts to include intersex, trans, and nonbinary readers. It switches confusingly between "a pregnant person" and "pregnant women," acknowledges gender-neutral pronouns but resorts occasionally to "his or her," and labels bodies as "female" and "male" without referencing the limitations of or any reasoning behind that usage. The illustrations of human beings similarly fail to include any medically gender-transitioned bodies in an otherwise diverse array erroneously titled "All Kinds of Bodies." Still a useful resource, but it doesn't meet the needs of many readers. (index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from August 29, 1994
      In this intelligent, amiable and carefully researched book, Harris ( Before You Were Three ) frankly explains the physical, psychological, emotional and social changes that occur during puberty--and the implications of these changes. Taking a conversational, relaxed tone, Harris also discusses such subjects as sexual orientation, sexual reproduction, pregnancy, birth control, sexually transmitted diseases and sexual abuse. The author intentionally and effectively repeats certain crucial information, especially on the subject of the possible consequences of sexual intercourse. Alternately playful and realistic (and occasionally graphic), Emberley's ( Ruby ) watercolor-and-pencil art reinforces Harris's message that bodies come in all sizes, shapes and colors--and that each variation is ``perfectly normal.'' Cartoon panels illustrate various complicated processes (e.g., menstruation, the fertilization of an egg, childbirth). Appearing on each spread are two characters--an easy-going bird and an apprehensive bee--whose comments add levity to this solid volume. Ages 10-14.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 29, 1996
      In a starred review, PW said, "this intelligent, amiable and carefully researched book... frankly explains the physical, psychological, emotional and social changes that occur during puberty." Emberley's watercolor and pencil art "reinforces message that bodies come in all sizes, shapes and colors-and that each variation is `perfectly normal.' " Ages 10-14.

    • The Horn Book

      January 1, 2021
      This fifth edition of the classic sex-ed compendium for tweens and young teens updates the 2014 edition, most notably revising the text throughout to use more gender-inclusive language and less binary thinking. Harris lays the groundwork in the first chapter, e.g., providing definitions for sex and gender and acknowledging that for some people the labels assigned at birth "do not describe who they are." Many pages have been redesigned to accommodate added text and reconfigured chapters. The addition of new illustrations better reflects diversity in all its forms. A welcome -- and welcoming -- edition.

      (Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

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  • English

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