It's so amazing! A book about eggs, sperm, birth, babies, gender, and families

Review by Booklist Review

It is truly amazing to realize that It's So Amazing!, the award-winning, straight-talking answer to where babies come from, first appeared 25 years ago. This newest edition retains its factual focus, charming illustrations, and reassuring tone. There's also a lot of new material. Many sentences now include qualifiers (many, most) to reflect wider physical and developmental diversity. An explanation of how menstrual cups work has been added to the section about periods. Specific gender references have been swapped out for gender-neutral language. Added illustrations in the chapter explaining physical sex feature diverse couples, and the text avoids mentions of male, female, or gender in general in deference to an added chapter, "What's Gender?" (labels, terms and definitions, acceptance). Additional material explains terms like pansexual and LGBTQ+, while an entirely new page addresses bullying and boundaries, and the section on HIV and AIDS also mentions the HPV vaccine. This updated, no-nonsense guide consistently celebrates diversity and inclusion and is ready to be shared with new generations of kids.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In a starred review, PW said, "The creators of It's Perfectly Normal, targeted to middle-schoolers, here reach out to a slightly young audience with candor and humor, neatly distilling various aspects of sex, reproduction and love." Ages 7-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 1 & Up-These highly acclaimed titles have been go-to guides for a whole generation of children, teens, and their parents wishing to address these delicate, often difficult-to-discuss topics. They are noteworthy for their straightforward and accessible style, reliable information, and warm, inclusive artwork. It's Perfectly Normal, which is geared toward children nearing puberty, has sold more than one million copies, been translated into more than 35 languages, and has been endorsed and used by teachers, librarians, clergy, health care and mental health professions across this country. It also has the distinction of being listed as #7 on the American Library Association's list of most frequently challenged books of the 21st century. This edition has been revised for a new generation, including updates in scientific and medical information about reproduction, birth control, abortion, sexual abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases. Harris and Emberley have also included information on gender identity and online safety. It's So Amazing!, written for a younger audience, has also been revised to include up-to-date scientific and medical information and also addresses being online and using the Internet. (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

The original Horn Book review of the 1994 nonfiction book It's Perfectly Normal (rev. 3/95) aptly described it as an "unassuming, coherent, comprehensive explanation of sex in all its complicated glory." Harris and Emberley's 1999 book for slightly younger readers, It's So Amazing! (rev. 1/00), celebrates our bodies and our sexuality. Each book includes frank and nonjudgmental discussion of a wide range of topics illustrated with anatomically correct cartoon drawings. The new twentieth (Normal) and fifteenth (Amazing) anniversary editions of these invaluable resources are Harris and Emberley's laudable attempt to keep the content "as up-to-date and accurate as possible." Both books include updated text and art, a broader definition of the term gender, and expanded information about using the internet, while the fourth edition of Normal also includes new and updated information about contraception, abortion, sexual abuse, and the prevention and treatment of STDs, including HIV/AIDS. cynthia k. ritter (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Harris and Emberley fill the gap between their picture book, Happy Birth Day (1996), and the instant-classic It's Perfectly Normal (1994) with this equally sensitive, good-humored take on love and sex, puberty, genetics, pregnancy, and related topics, from sibling rivalry to HIV. Emberley supplies side (and snide) commentary from an eager bird and a reluctant bee to go along with cartoon depictions of anatomical details, human figures in a marvelous variety of ages, shapes, and skin colors, and a dramatic sequence covering fetal development from one month to nine in actual size. Never talking down to readers, Harris takes wide-angled views of sexual preferences, birth control, and the meaning of ``family,'' while making the terminology less forbidding by mixing it with familiar comparisons: ``The epididymis is a long, twisty, coiled tube. It is shaped somewhat like a telephone receiver, but smaller.'' The collaborators expertly walk the line between frankness and bluntness, keeping the actual sex act under the covers, and nimbly explaining how abuse differs from normal human contact and affection. Closing on a cheery note with a look at new baby customs in several parts of the world, this provides sensible, reassuring answers to readers' questions and concerns, and interrupts the rain of information with occasional silliness. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Chapter One MEET THE BIRD AND THE BEE Do You Know What I Read? (1) CURIOUS? EMBARRASSED? CONFUSED? So How Do Babies Really Begin? Have you ever looked at your baby pictures? Have you ever wondered where babies come from -- or how babies are made -- or where you came from -- or how you really began? Everyone -- grandparents, parents, sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, and even teachers, firefighters, librarians, gymnasts, astronauts, dentists, scientists, cooks, nurses, shopkeepers, doctors, bus drivers, pilots, police officers, hockey players, mayors, and rock stars -- every person in the whole wide world was a baby once. The arrival of a new baby is so amazing! Most kids -- but not all -- are curious about how such an amazing and wonderful thing could possibly happen. You may think that by now you already know -- or that you should know -- exactly how a baby is made. But even if your mom or dad has talked to you about this, or even if you and your friends have talked about it -- it's still perfectly normal to have questions about where babies come from. Talking with a parent, a doctor, a nurse, or a teacher is a good way to find out answers to your questions. Sometimes you may feel very private about your questions and thoughts and feelings about how babies begin. Or it may feel embarrassing or hard to ask questions about making babies. Feeling curious about this, or embarrassed, or private, or even confused, is perfectly normal. And having lots of questions about where babies come from is also perfectly normal. Since the beginning of time, people young and old have tried to figure out where babies come from and how a baby is made. But how a baby is made is not a simple thing. That's why learning about it can be interesting and even fun -- no matter how old you are. (2) EGG + SPERM = BABY Reproduction When a new baby animal or plant is made, scientists call that "reproduction." To reproduce means "to make again" -- to make the same thing again. Reproduction is how plants and animals make new plants and animals like themselves. One fact about making a human baby is quite simple. It takes a sperm and an egg to make a baby. Sperm and eggs are cells. In fact, all plants and animals -- including humans -- are made up of cells. And the human body is made up of millions and millions and millions of cells. Sperm and eggs are the cells that can make a baby. The beginning cells of many animals -- but not all -- start to grow when an egg cell joins together with a sperm cell. This is the way humans make new babies. In fact, the beginning cells of a human baby can start to grow only when a sperm cell and an egg cell have joined together. (3) SAME AND DIFFERENT Male -- Female Another fact that's quite simple is that human babies -- like most other animals -- are born female or male. Girls and women are female. Boys and men are male. Most parts of our bodies -- our toes, our fingers, our noses, our legs, our arms, our eyes, our hearts, our lungs, our stomachs, our buttocks -- are the same and look quite the same whether we are female or male. The parts that are different are the parts that make each of us a female or a male. Some of these parts are on the outside of our bodies. Some are inside our bodies. Some are also the parts -- when a person's body grows up -- that can make a baby. A male's sperm is needed to make a baby. Sperm are made in the male parts called "testicles." When a boy's body grows up, his two testicles will make an amazing amount of sperm -- about one hundred million to three hundred million each day. A female's egg is needed to make a baby. Eggs are stored inside the female parts called "ovaries." When a baby girl is born, her two ovaries have all the eggs -- about one million to two million -- she will ever need to make a baby. Although every boy is born with the parts that will make millions of sperm, and every girl is born with the parts that store millions of eggs, those parts cannot make a baby until a child's body has grown up. And that time is called "puberty." Copyright © 1999 BEE Productions, Inc.. All rights reserved.

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