It's Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health by Robbie Harris and Michael Emberly


Harris, R. H., & Emberley, M. (2014). Its perfectly normal: Changing bodies, growing up, sex, and sexual health. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

It's Perfectly Normal is the perfect name for this book. the main character's bird and bee are learning everything about sex and what it means. This book is a wonderful depiction of what being normal is all about and when you are growing up and when you are an adult it includes talking about sex. This book explores the topics or gender, sex, sexuality, sex organs, anatomy, puberty and much more. These are topics that nearly every young adult is interested in learning about, but have a very difficult time getting direct answers or answers at all. This book has the answers!- written in a way that is assuring to the reader that everything and everyone is "perfectly normal."

When evaluating nonfiction we have 5 essential questions we must answer to properly evaluate if the text is quality information and appropriate for young adults: 
  • What are the qualifications of the author? When looking at the book for evaluation, I looked at the author's bio on the last page of the book. This is commonly found on the book jacket. Robbie Harris has had a career as a teacher and her interest in child development lead to her writing this book. In the back matter of the book, I also found acknowledgements of all of the experts, consultants and reviewers of this book for its accuracy. 
  • Are the facts accurate? This book blends scientific facts and information into an easily digestible amount of information. The scientific facts about the sexual organs and sexuality is both factual and culturally sensitive to those reading it. The vast amount of acknoledgements and the index help the reader know that this book was thoroughly checked and vetted. This book has an original copyright date of 1994, and has been republished many times and the most current copyright date being 2014 leads me to believe that it has been updated and factual. I am not an expert on any of the scientific matter, but from those pieces of information I feel that I could say that the facts are accurate. 
  • What is the purpose and scope of the book? The purpose of the book is very clear. It was written for young adult readers to help them understand difficult topics about their own bodies, what they experience growing up, sex, and sexual health. This is a rather large scope, but the author covers each topic with as much detail and care as the next. 
  • How does the organization of the book assist readers in locating information? This book is a clear and clever way to talk about scientific matter in a less clinical sense. The illustrations done by Michael Emberley masterfully give life to the topics through humor while maintaining credulity. The book is broken up into an introduction and six parts spanning 29 total chapters. The table of contents is clear and the index allows readers to find the exact pages on topics that they want to learn about.
  • What role do visuals play? The visuals play a very important role in this book. There are two ways that the visuals impact the information and readers experience: the comic strip like characters who are narrating and learning alongside the reader and the anatomically correct and informative illustrations that aid in understanding the information. The illustrations do an absolute phenomenal job in breaking up the text and adding to the information. I really appreciate also the diversity of characters represented in the illustrations because it allows for every person who reads the text feel that they belong- which helps support the overall message- "It's Perfectly Normal."
Other books that you might like after reading this informational text are: 
  • It's So Amazing: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Family by Robbie Harris and Michael Emberley (aimed at younger readers) 
  • It's Not the Stork: A Book About Girls, Boys, Babies, Bodies, Families and Friends by Robbie Harris and Michael Emberley (aimed at younger readers) 
  • How They Choked: Failures, Flops, and Flaw of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg and Kevin O'Malley
  • How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg and Kevin O'Malley
  • What Would She Do? 25 True Stories of Trailblazing Rebel Women by Kay Woodward and illustrated by Andrew Archer, Anna Higgie, Jessica Singh, Jonny Wan, Kelly Thompson, Pietari Posti, Sofia Bonati, and Susan Burghart
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chapter 10: Historical fiction

Image
Chapter 10: Historical fiction Historical fiction is any fictional story set in the past. I typically like to add the caveat that typically historical fiction is based on significant events or historical period in the past. While it is difficult to pin point at what point historical fiction ends and contemporary fiction begins- most students define it as being before they were born or if it is in a history text book. One important aspect of historical fiction is that it gives the reader “the opportunity to vicariously experience what it might have been like to live in a previous time and place.” Some criteria to help you and your student evaluate Historical fiction is: Does the book tell a good story that blends the history in the story itself?; Are the facts if the historical period accurate?; How are the values of the time brought to life?; Is everything consistent with the social environment or culture?; and Does the theme of the story relate to contemporary readers? I fee...
Read more

Final Reflection 5391

Well, this class has been very interesting and challenging. I am about a mid-level technology buff. I enjoy using technology in the classroom, but often struggle to incorporate it consistently. This class has shown me so many different options to use in the classroom. It also has inspired a new passion for me to continue finding more technology and applications that can be included in my classroom. Which technology we have studied in class made me most excited?  If I am honest, most of the visual and auditory applications were the most exciting for me to explore. Some things like Infographics, Cartoons & Comics, Screencasts, Instagram, and Flipgram were especially interesting to me. I think these were the most interesting to me because they are so applicable to my classroom and the students I serve. Since I teach middle school- my students are particularly visual. They love visual stimulation- all of the images they see on a daily basis and being able to create more visual...
Read more

Chapter 9: Poetry

Image
Chapter 9: Poetry This chapter discusses the format of poetry and how to evaluate it in conjunction with YA literature. There are 5 main questions that are outlined in the chapter to ask yourself for evaluating Poetry for children: Is the subject of the poem something with which children would be familiar?; Does the poem use imagery?; Does the poem rhyme?; How is the rhythm used?; and what role does sound play? Another important aspect of this chapter discusses the findings of studies surrounding poetry for children. For example, they found that most children prefer narrative style poetry. This study focused on elementary schools, but you can also tell that this is still prevalent in YA literature. Some very popular YA literature that is written in this format- Kwame Alexander’s Crossover series, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, and Ellen Hopkin’s Crank series. When evaluating these books, it is important to look not only at the content of the book like themes,...
Read more