American Medical Association Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen [Paperback]

American Medical Association (Author), Kate Gruenwald Pfeifer (Author), Amy B. Middleman (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–These accessible guides are nearly identical in the treatment of several subjects, such as healthy eating, exercise, and skin care, and the chapters on feelings, relationships, and sex. The information is presented in a straightforward manner without judgment, which may be comforting to preteens who are finding the road to adulthood a somewhat frightening path. The focus is on physical changes and some of the accompanying feelings. Sexual activity is mentioned, but readers are encouraged to wait until they are older, and contraception is not discussed in detail. Good, sound primers.–Elaine Baran Black, Gwinnett County Public Library, Lawrenceville, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. Published in conjunction with the American Medical Association, this guide addresses puberty's changes clearly, and many of the seemingly male-oriented topics covered here could also interest girls: weight-lifting, for example, and handling arguments that escalate into physical fights. Cartoon drawings of too-perfect teens illustrate, but as in Girl's Guide to Becoming a Teen (2006) by the same author, the text's approach is straightforward, accessible, and nonjudgmental, whether the topic is same-sex attraction or divorcing parents. The volume closes with an extensive resource section, including hotlines. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (May 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787983438
• ISBN-13: 978-0787983437
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #13,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #25 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Boys & Men
  #8 in	Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Health > Maturing
  #9 in	Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Anatomy & Physiology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

130 of 131 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for younger pre-teen boys!, January 8, 2007

By	Jennifer D. O'guin (Hardwick, VT. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: American Medical Association Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen (Paperback)

I bought this book as part of a three book set, including "The Teenage Guy's Survival Guide" by Daldry and "The Guy Book, An Owner's Manual" by Jukes, to explain growing up to my son (see my other reviews).

This book is by far the lower level book of those three. It appears to be at about a 4th - 5th grade reading level, and is printed in a larger font, making it an easy read for even a younger or reading disabled pre-teen boy.
The illustrations are numerous and cartoonish, and should make it more attractive to younger readers.

This book is very basic, and is geared more towards a basic understanding of what is happening to the boy's body. It includes short, easy to read sections on physical changes (both sexual and general body growth and development, with good illustrations of growing male anatomy, with genital self-exams and health concerns explained very well, this may be the ONLY puberty book for boys that does that!), physical health, diet, mental health (depression, changing emotions, coping with death of a loved one, and parental divorce), feelings, social changes, and, at the last chapter, sex. The sex chapter delves into the areas of changing feelings towards girls, crushes, dating, peer pressure (including bullying and pressure to have sex), and STDs (very brief, very vague). It also has a special two page section on sexual harrassment and what's OK and NOT OK. Very cool! This book has two VERY SHORT paragraphs on "having a crush on another boy", but doesn't explain it at all, except to say that it can be complicated to figure out who you are attracted to, and that these feelings may change many times throughout your life. It advocates discussing these feelings with an adult, and gives no references to hotlines or resources. I think I can safely say it glazes over the topic and makes it go away. Which is probably good for very young pre-teens that are not ready to experiment that way yet (or for children being raised by parents who don't support it).

This book has an excellent terminology dictionary in the back!

This book appears to have been written much like anyone would expect a medical reference book for pre-teens to have been written, and functions much like one would assume a "health class" in school would. It is very wide in it's scope, but not detailed in anything. It promotes health and healthy choices. It reads like a reference book, which may be good or not, depending on the boy and how he was raised. The lack of commentary and story-telling may bring a sense of comfort to boys not ready to delve into these topics comfortably on a casual level.

I highly recommend it as the very first book to introduce puberty to young pre-teen boys (say ages 10 or 11) or older boys with learning disabilities or ADD as it is easy to read and not overwhelming (I say this from experience as my son has both). A great first book on the topic!

I also think this would be a good book for young girls who are curious about puberty in boys, as it shows male anatomy in a non-threatening way, and most of the health and social topics are also fitting for a girl of the same age, and would show a girl that boys face many of the same social challeneges they also face, but from the boy's perspective.

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, June 29, 2006

By	C. Ford (South Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Medical Association Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen (Paperback)

I purchased this book for my twin 10-year-old son's (who will be starting 5th grade in August) to read. They had started to ask me questions about different things they had heard at school from their friends, etc., and I decided to look for books they could read that would give them some correct, age appropriate information.
This book is a great. It describes a variety of physical changes to boy's bodies, the importance of personal hygiene, as well as how a boys voice will begin to change and why. It discusses changes in boys' feelings, hormones (and describes what they are), and it also touches a little bit on girls/dating at the end.
It is not graphic, does not discuss sex; it is age appropriate and well written.
It is also a great "conversation starter" for Mom's like me who have no brothers and did not grow up around boys!

64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! An appropriate book for a 'tween, September 21, 2006

By	Mapmaker11 (Mechanicsville, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Medical Association Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen (Paperback)

After going through several books with this topic, I found one that discusses the issues important to a pre-teen without being graphic, immoral and too informative.
It tells what needs to be known without all the details. As his parent, I can decide which details he should know and how to explain them to him. This is a book that he can read alone and I feel comfortable with giving him that privacy. The book is very easy to read. It addresses the topics of concern to boys starting puberty. Yes, it goes over body changes and disspells myths. It briefly discusses sex. But, it isn't a "how to" book. I really like that it also pays a lot of attention to how boys/teens feel in social settings, their body images, peer pressure, substance abuse and emotions. These topics are just as important to a pre-teen than knowing all there is to know about sex.
I felt completely at ease handing this book over to my son and then discussing sections with him.