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Does This Happen to Everyone?: A Budding Adult's Guide to Puberty
Insightful and considerate answers to 70 questions boys and girls have about puberty and young love. Even before they experience puberty and young love themselves, girls and boys have many questions about sex and sexuality. Parents often don't know the best way to answer them and it's practically impossible to find the right time to start a conversation about the birds and the bees. Especially today, when most young people have access to the internet and its explicit or dubious content, it is extremely important to address the topic of sex education with children proactively and give it the attention it needs and deserves. As daunting as it might be for parents to take the lead, leaving the internet or a classmate to "explain" sexuality is not an option. Thankfully, the book Does This Happen to Everyone? offers a welcome alternative with a contemporary look and feel that is both fitting for kids and appealing to adults. Does This Happen to Everyone? is an empathetic and entertaining publication that radiates joy, imaginativeness, and fun. In it, Photo artist Jan von Holleben and writer Antje Helms provide answers to the most important questions about puberty in words and images that are relaxed and uninhibited, yet suitable for children. The book takes questions, worries, and fears seriously and responds to them in a direct, yet sensitive way that anyone can understand.
- GenresNonfictionMiddle Grade
160 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2014
2 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 18, 2021
Deeply entrenched in- and enforcing- the gender binary, this book assumes that young boys think girls are "stupid," that boys grow into sex-obsessed, car- and muscle-loving simpletons, and that girls should apologize for how "touchy" they get before their period which might cause them to be "aggressive and do or say hurtful things."
The book also suggests that if a boy ignores a girl who has a crush on him, that she "might find [him] even more attractive." We need feminist books, not ones that double-down on gendered stereotypes.
None of this sort of polarizing BS is helpful for youth coming into their own.
The photos are already dated, and set up in a way that is likely meant to be artistic, but is in fact, quite creepy.
This is a key time in your kids' life to instil and support the diversity and nuanced reality of what it means to be a sexual creature in this modern world.
I write this with my tween daughter sitting on one side of me, and my son on the other, and we all agree that this book should not be the one you give to your kid, no matter who they are, or how they express their gender and/or sexuality.
A much better option is SEX IS A FUNNY WORD, by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth.
And a note to trans or gender-creative youth:
Don't even take it off the shelf. You don't exist in this one, hon, except in the "wrong body" trope.
The book also suggests that if a boy ignores a girl who has a crush on him, that she "might find [him] even more attractive." We need feminist books, not ones that double-down on gendered stereotypes.
None of this sort of polarizing BS is helpful for youth coming into their own.
The photos are already dated, and set up in a way that is likely meant to be artistic, but is in fact, quite creepy.
This is a key time in your kids' life to instil and support the diversity and nuanced reality of what it means to be a sexual creature in this modern world.
I write this with my tween daughter sitting on one side of me, and my son on the other, and we all agree that this book should not be the one you give to your kid, no matter who they are, or how they express their gender and/or sexuality.
A much better option is SEX IS A FUNNY WORD, by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth.
And a note to trans or gender-creative youth:
Don't even take it off the shelf. You don't exist in this one, hon, except in the "wrong body" trope.
March 22, 2015
I think that this book should be the standard for books written about sexual education that are directed towards tweens and teens. This book covered a multitude of topics that would be of interest to tweens and teens going through puberty, and it was written in a way that wasn't judgmental or overbearing. There were even passages about asexuality, homosexuality, and transgendered individuals, which is a reason that this book got such high marks for me. I also liked that some of the passages essentially ended with phrases like "You're hormones are running rampant and you'll want to experiment sometimes and that's totally cool. Or you may not want to experiment and that's fine as well." I was surprised that this was a book translated from German, and I am very impressed with the way that they handled sexual education in this book. Some people might have hang ups with certain passages of this book because, besides referring people to their doctors or medical practitioners, the authors endorse going to Planned Parenthood for resources and information which I know might rub some people (in America at least) the wrong way.
December 2, 2014
The authors here have achieved something wonderful with this book. Not only is this the best puberty book information-wise that I have ever seen, it also manages to be humorous, light-hearted, nonjudgmental, and cautious. On nearly every page, the message 'this is natural, it's not wrong to feel this way' provides a soothing acceptance that many teens so desperately need and often do not get. The pictures are tasteful but suggestive (as they are supposed to be) and are actually the most humorous part of the book, looking at them from an adult's view. Probably what is the most important about the book are the questions that are asked. Holleben and Helms have hit the nail on the head not on what adults think teens should know about puberty, but what questions teens are really thinking about.
July 6, 2020
Is this one of the greatest books of all time? Yes. Do I have my friend Paige the librarian to thank for bringing it to my attention? Yes. Did I learn information about puberty that was, to a 36-year-old that in no way grew up in an evangelical or repressed household, entirely new to me? Yes again.
February 21, 2021
Bardzo żałuję, że nie przeczytałam podobnej książki, kiedy dorastałam i dojrzewałam. Informacje zbierałam z lekcji przyrody, a potem biologii, czasopism. Czytałam też fora internetowe - co nie było właściwie takie złe - ale ta książka, to świetne kompendium, które może nie wyjaśnia wszystkiego, ale na pewno dużo więcej, niż można dowiedzieć się ze szkoły. Zostanie w mojej bliblioteczce do czasu, aż córka podrośnie i będzie chciała ją przeczytać.
February 4, 2018
Picked this up in my search for a book that my kids can hopefully find in our library and explore on their own. Took me a while to open this book but once I did I found it easy to finish. I can't find anything wrong with it - the implied age for sexual exploration is quite young, even though I know it happens, and it's probably good that they addressed it. Photo art is cheeky and creative.
March 19, 2017
A great book for children aged 10+. My daughters love it. The text is quite short, but covers all relevant topics. The images are fantastic: very imaginitive and fun.
January 3, 2018
Super fun book for teens about puberty.
July 8, 2024
Voilà un documentaire qui m'a emballée !
A travers une multitude de questions, ses auteurs abordent sans tabou la sexualité et le passage à l'adolescence puis au monde adulte. Ce qui m'a plu dans cet ouvrage, c'est le rapport texte-images et sa présentation tout-à-fait originale. Les photographies réalisées pour illustrer le propos sont belles, colorées, gaies, et apportent la touche d'humour et de détachement nécessaire pour parler de ces sujets sérieux. Ce qui est drôlement futé, c'est qu'elles mettent justement en scène des jeunes auxquels le lecteur peut s'identifier.
L'ouvrage est divisé en cinq parties (plus deux autres, l'une qui donne des références pour approfondir sa lecture, l'autre qui explique le making of des photographies) : Grandir et changer, Etre fille et être garçon, Tomber amoureux et trouver le grand amour, Le baiser et le sexe et Etre enceinte et avoir des enfants.
Le style est direct, simple et concis, on va à l'essentiel et je trouve ce discours drôlement rassurant pour un jeune. Chacun pourra s'y reconnaître, comprendre ses différences mais aussi ses angoisses. C'est un documentaire qui parle beaucoup du corps mais aussi du reste, notamment de l'amour...
Comme mes fils sont encore un peu jeunes il n'y a que moi qui l'ai lu pour le moment, mais je l'ai mis dans la bibliothèque de mon grand en lui suggérant de l'ouvrir quand il en aurait envie. Nul doute en tout cas que c'est un livre précieux à conserver. Voilà un ouvrage riche et intelligent qui répond aux interrogations des jeunes, explique sans porter de jugement. De quoi décomplexer nos pré-ados et ados !
A travers une multitude de questions, ses auteurs abordent sans tabou la sexualité et le passage à l'adolescence puis au monde adulte. Ce qui m'a plu dans cet ouvrage, c'est le rapport texte-images et sa présentation tout-à-fait originale. Les photographies réalisées pour illustrer le propos sont belles, colorées, gaies, et apportent la touche d'humour et de détachement nécessaire pour parler de ces sujets sérieux. Ce qui est drôlement futé, c'est qu'elles mettent justement en scène des jeunes auxquels le lecteur peut s'identifier.
L'ouvrage est divisé en cinq parties (plus deux autres, l'une qui donne des références pour approfondir sa lecture, l'autre qui explique le making of des photographies) : Grandir et changer, Etre fille et être garçon, Tomber amoureux et trouver le grand amour, Le baiser et le sexe et Etre enceinte et avoir des enfants.
Le style est direct, simple et concis, on va à l'essentiel et je trouve ce discours drôlement rassurant pour un jeune. Chacun pourra s'y reconnaître, comprendre ses différences mais aussi ses angoisses. C'est un documentaire qui parle beaucoup du corps mais aussi du reste, notamment de l'amour...
Comme mes fils sont encore un peu jeunes il n'y a que moi qui l'ai lu pour le moment, mais je l'ai mis dans la bibliothèque de mon grand en lui suggérant de l'ouvrir quand il en aurait envie. Nul doute en tout cas que c'est un livre précieux à conserver. Voilà un ouvrage riche et intelligent qui répond aux interrogations des jeunes, explique sans porter de jugement. De quoi décomplexer nos pré-ados et ados !
November 24, 2014
The best book about puberty and sex education I have ever seen. Gentle, humorous, assuring, concise, and very readable. Text and illustrations work well together, language is modern and youthlike and the book covers all important aspects of the issue.
Agreeing with Jen - "Everyone with a preteen go get a copy of this book right now." (And give it to him/her to read, of course.)
Agreeing with Jen - "Everyone with a preteen go get a copy of this book right now." (And give it to him/her to read, of course.)
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May 2, 2017A fantastic resource for preteens and/or teens that covers a lot of basic information..
January 17, 2015
This is a great resource for YA who are beginning or in puberty. It's a book I plan to buy and hold for my own kid.
November 10, 2015
A pretty good starter for tweens who are just starting to learn about themselves and their bodies.
September 26, 2014
Everyone with a preteen go get a copy of this book right now.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews