Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My son just turned 11. He's a kid-kid, a boy who is still fairly oblivious about any kind of teen issues, but as he's moving on to Middle School and will increasingly be out of mom and dad's parental sphere, it is definitely time to begin talking about the changes he and his body will be going through. So we purchased this book, and I have to tell you that I DON'T LIKE IT. The first thing I didn't like was that negativity in the Introduction. It was all about 'being afraid to ask questions', 'not being able to talk to your parents', 'being ignorant', 'being laughed at', and 'feeling awkward'. Now some kids might feel that way and the book may serve them well by taking such an approach. But my kids (13 & 11) still talk to me (and talk and talk and talk) and I don't really appreciate introducing negative notions that they may not have thought of otherwise. Another thing I disliked was how jumpy the dialog seemed to be. I read the The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Younger Girls with my daughter and it didn't have the same frenetic approach. In Chapter One, for example, the book discusses, Smell, Baths, Getting Dressed, Lotion, How Deodorant works, washing your hands, what a germ is, Shampooing hair, what conditioner is for, ear care, how loud noise can hurt your hearing, zits, washing your face, shaving, brushing your teeth, going to the dentist, braces, smelly feet, what Athlete's Feet is, Drinking, Smoking, and Drugs, Steroids, sleep, and wetting the bed. A lot for one chapter, and though related in topic, you have to know that each of these subjects were presented in the order I listed them, .AND. they were in different text 'bubbles'. I felt like I had whiplash at the end of the first chapter. AND then there's the lack of diagrams. Girls books are chocked full of images of girl bodies. Girls and how they look at different stages of development. How their chest grows, their body hair. This book, one tiny not-too-realistic drawing. Which ties into the fact that words were used that some boys aren't going to know the definitions of. (I'd list them here, but then the review probably wouldn't post.) But generally speaking, I was hoping for a book that would parallel the girl-books we've purchased, that would talk about hair growth, hormones, and girl-boy relationships in less frivolous manner. So... This book might be great for your son. It covers a lot of material, and so it might get a conversation going. But I really thought it was off base for what I was looking for. Something with more emphasis on biology, and less emphasis on finding friends after you move, and money, and what he might be when he grows up. Pam T~ mom/fur-mom