Reviews of Lay Literature in Child-Care: What Parents Are Reading

[摘要] P. Mayle. What's Happening to Me? New York: Carol Publishing, 1975; list price $8.95 (No. 6 on the 1990 bestseller list of books on child care from Ingram Book Co., distributor of trade books).In need of prompt revision to address AIDS-era issues, this book, which is written for adolescents in puberty, is an odd, amusing, and aggravating mixture of goofy cartoons designed to appeal to young children, a reading level which varies from elementary to high school, and medical content which ranges from accurate to euphemistic and incorrect (especially about acne treatment, fertilization of eggs, sex hormones, and female external genitalia). The emphasis on normal variability in penis and breast size is helpful as is the guilt-free acceptance of masturbation and encouragement to achieve social and mental maturity before having children. Despite the drawbacks, the book may be useful for prepubescent children who need light exposure to the issues of puberty. Parental guidance is advised, at least until a revision is published.

[学科分类] 儿科学