Book Review
A short overview of this book
The guide, period. by Naama Bloom who created HelloFlo, is a popular book about puberty and periods for girls but manages to avoid the sexual parts of growing up.
This book for girls focuses on periods but does talk about the other part of puberty as well (but not masturbation, sexual feelings and sexual intercourse). It has a very modern layout, with interesting facts and trivia, which makes it very popular with girls.
The book is interesting but as a parent and a sex educator, I don’t like books that make fun of periods and that perpetuate the myth that periods are only a negative experience. You could turn the negativity of the book into a teachable moment though, and chat about attitudes and beliefs about periods. Feedback from girls though, is that they enjoyed the book.
Sexual intercourse is NOT talked about in this book.
Ideal Age
Ideal for children aged 10 to 14 years.
Buy this book
✅ Buy a copy of The guide, period. By Naama Bloom (HelloFlo) from Amazon.
Video Transcription
A transcription in case you are more of a reader than a listener
Hey there! Let’s chat about the Hello Flow book, also known as The Guide Period, written by Naama Bloom, the founder of Hello Flow. I first heard about Hello Flow a few years ago, and they started off as a company offering menstrual products through mail order. Since then, they’ve grown and now have a big blog where they cover topics like growing up, women’s stuff, puberty, and periods.
This book was released in October 2017 and it’s filled with vibrant colors and images. So, what’s it all about? Well, it’s not a book that dives into topics like sex, masturbation, or sexual feelings. Instead, it’s a guide for girls about puberty and periods. It covers everything from becoming a woman, to breasts, pubic hair, periods, and how to manage them.
Now, I have to be honest with you, there are a few things I didn’t quite like about it. For example, there’s a chapter that talks about managing the mess of periods. While it’s true that periods can be messy, I feel like the way it’s presented can be a bit negative. And there’s this term they use, Shark Week, to refer to periods. It’s meant to be funny, but I don’t think it’s helpful to describe the vagina and vulva as perpetually crusty. It might give girls the wrong idea that puberty is something awful and being a grown-up isn’t fun.
But hey, let’s not focus on the negatives. The author does mention that she doesn’t want other kids to go through the same things she did, and she consulted with experts to ensure the information in the book is accurate. Plus, it’s not all serious stuff. There are fun parts too, like pictures of different pubic hair patterns throughout history. And there are graphs too, although some of them might be a bit tricky to understand.
Overall, this book is just one of many out there that talk about periods and puberty. Personally, I prefer to give my daughter resources that provide information without imposing my own values and without making her dread the experience. But hey, everyone’s different, so take a look at it yourself and see what you think.
Cheers!
