The Care & Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls Paperback – 1 Sept. 1998

I bought this for my nearly 9 year old daughter and since it arrived on Tuesday she's hardly put it down and has just about finished it. She says she's going to read it again straight away! She says she has no questions (so far) and it's allayed her fears of growing up too.I had a quick flick through it myself and it's a friendly, approachable book covering all aspects of a girl's changing body, what will happen and why. Unlike other books on the same subject there is no mention of becoming sexy or of sex itself for which I am glad, my daughter may be growing up but she doesn't need to know about that yet.Yes, as some of the comments state, it is a bit American at times but we live in an Americanised world and my daughter hasn't been phased by the Americanisms.I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with a daughter of 8-10years who is approaching the next phase of growing up and for who you want to make those changes a little less daunting.

I bought this book for my shy 10 year old after a rather confusing PHSE lesson at school. Although the drawings are somewhat explicit in certain areas, they are actually totally appropriate in this context. The language and friendly approach to the topics and questions is great - matter of fact, friendly and appropriate for pre-teen girls. The book covers things like hair washing and manicures, bullying, feeling an outsider as well as when and how to choose a bra and what happens when your periods start. It does NOT cover sex which is not of primary concern right now. I found it practical without being patronising or politically correct, and it suggests that the reader should ask mum or an older girl they trust if they are worried or need help.My daughter particularly appreciated the letters pages where common concerns or worries are answered like an agony column. My daughter says she isn't worried about things now because she knows that other people feel the same as her and she can talk to me about anything. A great book for pre-teens.

I have a 9 year old daughter whose body is changing very quickly. I wanted a book that didn't go into the nitty gritty of sex and intercourse. Neither of us are quite ready for that yet! This book explains all about how her body will change and how to look after herself. It includes looking after her teeth and hair as well as talking about periods and what to do when you have one. It describes the uterus as building a nest for a baby - which I thought was a nice way of putting it.I read the book before I gave it to my daughter and decided that we would have some time together eating haribos and reading some of the pages together.This book was just what I wanted. I wanted a book to be about my daughter and how her body is changing not anything else. And it was perfect for that.

I wanted a young, friendly book for my 11 year old daughter who is daunted by the very idea of puberty. I had read a few books on 'puberty' but many of them included information on sexual relationships (which I can understand as being part of the terratory but is a step too far for her). This book talked about all aspects of a young girl's changing body including hair, skin, buying bras and periods but thankfully didn't stray into sexual relationships. The other thing I really liked was that all the pictures showed them as young girls (of different shapes and sizes) rather than barbie dolls. That said - she still freaked out when she saw it - but at least it's in her bedroom where she can refer to it if she wants to and I'm happy that she won't be reading and worrying about things that are beyond her age.

I am very happy with this book. I needed a non-threatening, easy to read and understand book for my 8 year old who was developing early. I didn't want to deal with the topic of sexual reproduction or having sexual relations just yet as she was too young in my opinion, so this book was perfect. It deals with the subject of growing up, how to take care of your body and dealing with her future female physical changes and what to expect. Straight forward, to the point and nothing too heavy. The pretty, girlie illustrations were perfect for a child her age. Helps you kick things off without going too far into discussions they (or you!) may not be ready for yet.

I brought this book for my 9 year old twin girls,as one of them is beginning to show signs of 'changing'.I flicked through it before giving it to them just to check if the content was age appropriate for them,and in my opinion it is perfect.It has no mention of sex,which is great as in my opinion I feel they are too young to be learning about it yet.So I gave them this book to read and told them to ask me any questions if they needed to(they didn't ask much,but we did talk about it after).Now I am happy that if either of them start their periods(which hopefully won't be too young,but you never know!),they will be aware of what is happening.

This is a lovely book! I bought it for my 12 year old daughter and it's been both a source of reassurance for her and prompted many lovely chats between us.It is presented in an easy to read format: factual, interesting, gently amusing and unpatronising. The illustrations are delightful and help to keep the tone of the book light and friendly.It not only deals with physical changes but also feelings and emotions and friendships all of which can be confusing and a bit scary at times when you are young. I'd definately recommend it to anyone with a young daughter aged 9-13ish. A reassuring book and a helpful back-up for parents guiding young girls into young women.

I bought this for my 9 year old to help her understand mentruation, mainly to save both of us the embarrassment of sitting down and having an uncomfortable chat. I removed about three pages due to them being about tampons which at this moment she doesn’t need to know about. This book has given her a massive head start and she is well informed and prepped.

This book was well illustrated and again informative

This is a great supplement for phys ed. at school. It goes into more details and topics than the school usually covers.

Although this book did arrive within the delivery window stated, it was a pretty large delivery window - 2 weeks!When it did finally arrived, I was not happy with the star of the book. OK its second hand but not a particular good condition second hand. At least wipe the marks that can be wiped off before sending! Then there's the bends, rips and writing on front inside cover....Content is great though, exactly what I wanted.

Everything from dealing with body hair, to periods. It is not intimidating, and has a very confidential tone. It encourages girls to talk to their mother, or other female adult about any questions they might have, and is very very reassuring. Absolutely fabulous.

My own mom bought this book for me when I was 10 or 11. She didn’t make a big deal about it as my body changes kind of embarrassed me at that age. This book helped me in SO many ways! Now, I have an eleven year old bonus child who has reached puberty. I ordered one other book, simply because I couldn’t remember the title of THIS one. I’d mentioned how I thought the book I bought was too much for my bonus kid and Mom reminded me of the title of this book. I’m so relieved! So, this book will be placed on my bonus kids’ bed for whenever she is ready to read it. And I’m pretty proud and privileged that I get to be the one to give her this book. Hands down, the best book for girls. Words are simple, no sex, lots of illustrations. Easy to understand and just utterly HELPFUL. This book is a legend and you won’t be disappointed.