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To make your child feel secure and enthusiastic about this stage, she needs the correct information. As a parent, you must provide a secure environment for your child to feel safe approaching you with her questions about puberty. And a suitable place for you to start would be selecting the right books on the topic. While this book may be a little too ‘woo-woo’ for some, if you are in any way spiritually inclined you will love it! Even if spirituality is not your thing, it is still a worthwhile read and will give you some solid tips for practicing cyclical awareness in every day life. Through stories and folklore, Dr Pinkola Estés outlines the many ways in which women can begin finding their voice, harnessing their power and reclaiming their inner ‘Wild Woman’.
I think the message in my book, and in a lot of these books too, is that all bodies matter. Material bodies matter. What’s on my mind lately—as we’re obsessing over AI and going to Mars—is that we have to take care of bodies. In this climate crisis, in this pandemic, we have completely forgotten that people have material bodies that are worth caring for. People have changes from day to day in their health and in how they feel, in their disability status and more, and it matters to take care of them. It is an act of justice and of care for our whole world when we put time into thinking about how to care for actual human bodies. Note: This book doesn’t focus solely on the menstrual cycle, so if you’re after cycle or period education specifically this book may not be for you. The Bleeding Thunder project is borne out of our desire for complexity, community, and validation as trans & nonbinary menstruators. Menstruation can be an initiation, but queer, trans, & liminal people are often left out of mainstream menstruation and rites of passage narratives that adhere to static gender binaries.” bleedingthunder.com, 2022 This book has a very clear goal: let’s talk about periods as a normal part of life, y’all. It eloquently combines Okamoto’s personal experiences with practices and beliefs in society surrounding menstruation that prove to be unfair. Along with the problems, she offers solutions, starting with: let’s all have a conversation about periods. Hence the title of the book. Wild Power: Discover the Magic of Your Menstrual Cycle and Awaken the Feminine Path to Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer
Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement by Nadya Okamoto, illustrated by Rebecca Elfast
Wild Power takes a holistic approach to menstrual cycle education, with particular focus on the emotional and spiritual aspects. In addition, it breaks down the cycle in a way that is relatable and easy to understand, by pairing each phase with an Inner Season. First thing first: No shame. No fear. Let’s get educated and help educate the rest of the world for menstrual equality. Because, hey, half-ish of the population gets their period, and it’s the most basic bodily function, and it shouldn’t be kept a secret anymore. So you’ve chosen this book because you like the approach, rather than because it has a menstruation angle per se?
I assigned them the first chapter of both Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit and Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin. One of my students said, ‘I started the readings you assigned, and neither of them is about science. Why did you assign them?’ I replied, ‘It’s because they give you a roadmap towards how you could live a different life as a scientist. Hope in the Dark is all about learning from history, realizing that you can have principled optimism and produce change and make a different future for yourself and that pessimism is lazy. Viral Justice shows that small changes in your local community can have big effects in the world, and that you shouldn’t believe that pulling on one little thread isn’t going to do something big. And since your final paper is on imagining futures, those are the things I want you to be thinking about as you’re writing it.’ Similarly, when I was thinking about what books to choose for you, I thought, ‘What were the approaches that really changed my thinking as I was writing my book?’ Susan's Growing Up" is a picture book about periods that has been specially developed for people with learning disabilities. It's from the Books Beyond Words series from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.Bleeding Thunder is filled with honest and moving stories, poetry and art from genderqueer menstruators, artists and writers. The Zine explores the nuanced and often misunderstood relationship between periods and the trans and non-binary communities. There they are: 17 of the best middle grade books about periods and puberty! I’m sure tweens will love these stories. Which of these books have you read? Which ones did I miss? More Book Lists Allow questions and keep an open mind to conversations that could be had whilst discussing menstruation. Most girls start their periods when they're about 12, but they can start as early as 8, so it's important to talk to girls from an early age to make sure they're prepared.
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