It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris

Book Review

An overview of the book

It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris is a sex education book for kids aged ten years and older. It has absolutely everything that kids this age, are curious about.

This book has a lot of content in it. It has about 80-90 pages, multiple illustrations with lots of words in it. So you need to make sure that your child’s literacy is at the right level for this book. This is the sort of book that you would buy if you only wanted the one sex education book – instead of having multiple books.

The author has also written another two books. It’s Not The Stork: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Families And Friends, which is for the 4-7 year old age group. It’s so Amazing: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families, has been written for the 7-10 year age group.

So, what’s inside It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris? A lot! There is a lot of information that tweens may be curious about, when it comes to their changing bodies, growing up, sexual health, love, relationships and sex.

So, a very quick run-through on what this book has inside it! So it talks about what sex is about. So it is about gender but it also about making babies. It then explains sexual desire and the fact that they may start to have romantic thoughts about their friends, something that is a very new thing for kids as they go through puberty. It then explains what sex is, and the fact that sometimes we may be attracted to the same sex or the opposite sex.

It’s Perfectly Normalthen moves onto our bodies, explaining that our bodies are similar but also very different. So it talks about the differences between males and females. It also provides quite detailed information about the internal reproductive organs as well as the external ie genitals with penises and vulvas and on the inside and on the outside.

Puberty is then talked about, as this age group will be on the cusp of puberty if they haven’t already started to show changes. So the purpose of puberty is explained, along with what information about what changes to expect, feelings, and how to take care of their body. An explanation is also given about hormones and what they do on the inside ie periods and eggs for girls and sperm and ejaculation for boys. Masturbation is also discussed because it changes due to the arrival of the sex hormones. Boys begin to ejaculate and have wet dreams. And everyone usually starts to have sexy thoughts!

It’s Perfectly Normal then moves onto families and babies. So it reminds kids that families can all be very different and that having a baby is a huge responsibility. Information is given about genes and chromosomes and what happens when a baby is conceived. It then talks about the fact that there is more to sex than intercourse, and that there is a range of other behaviours that can go with it eg holding hands and kissing. Pregnancy is then discussed, including conception, the development of the baby and birth.

Next is a section of making decisions. Delaying sex, abstinence and birth control are discussed. Abortion is explained and the rules in regards to who can and can’t have one.

It’s Perfectly Normal also talks about staying healthy. Sexual abuse, sexually transmitted infections, blood-borne viruses, online safety and making healthy choices are all discussed.

This book covers a wide range of topics. My daughter, she’s eleven now, she actually steals this book (well, she doesn’t steal it, she borrows it), and it disappears into her bedroom. So whenever I’m looking for a book and I can’t find it, I usually know it’s in her room. And she’ll come and ask me a question if she doesn’t understand something in it. So it’s that sort of a book where she can look up stuff and she just reads it. She does say though, that she looks more at pictures than the words. So it is almost what you would call, a resource book.

It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris is a good book that covers a wide range of relevant subjects for tweens. If you want one book that has everything in it or a resource to go for information, then this is the book to get!

Ideal Age

Ideal for children aged 10 to 13 years.

Buy this book

Buy a copy of It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robie H. Harris from Amazon.

Video Transcription

A transcription in case you are more of a reader than a listener

Hey there! Let’s dive into this awesome book called It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris and illustrated by Michael Emberley. It’s all about changing bodies, growing up, and sexual health. What’s really cool about this book is that the author did her homework. She consulted with parents and made changes based on their feedback. This is actually the third or fourth version, and she even made different versions for different age groups.

The first one is for little kids aged four and up, then there’s one for seven-year-olds that briefly touches on puberty. And finally, we have this one, which covers changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health. It’s like an encyclopedia packed with information. Seriously, every household should have a copy because it covers so much ground.

Now, I have to be honest, no book is perfect. You might come across things you don’t agree with or don’t like. For example, there’s not much about intersex or what happens when a baby’s gender is indeterminate. But hey, it does talk about homosexuality, which is great. Oh, and one thing I noticed is that it doesn’t touch on pornography, but that’s something you can cover in later books after puberty.

The thing is, sexuality is always evolving, and new issues are constantly emerging. But this book does a fantastic job of addressing what’s happening during puberty. It starts off by explaining what sex is and how babies are made. Then it explores strong feelings, making love (both straight and gay), and the changes happening on the outside and inside of our bodies during puberty.

It also covers important topics like masturbation, diversity in families, and making decisions about abstinence or birth control. It even touches on laws and abortion, although that might vary depending on where you live. And of course, it talks about staying healthy, including addressing sexual abuse and HIV/AIDS.

The book presents all this information in a simple, positive way that’s not scary at all. It’s age-appropriate and really emphasizes normal childhood sexual development. There are some cute illustrations too, with little pictures and explanations of different body parts and activities. It’s a safe and informative resource for kids.

Remember, you can never give kids too much information. If they’re not ready for it, it’ll just go over their heads. So don’t worry about sexualizing or damaging your children. In fact, not giving them accurate and correct information can be more harmful. Trust me, this book is a great tool to help them understand their bodies and the risks out there.

So go ahead and grab a copy! You can read it together with your kids or give it to them and follow up with a discussion later. It’s totally up to you. And hey, the author is open to feedback, so maybe we can suggest adding a section on pornography in future editions. Times are changing, after all.

Alright, I’ve rambled on long enough. Cheers!

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