Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume-176 pages

I wanted to read this with the movie coming out soon. Also, I wanted to read it for myself since it's been challenged a lot over the years. It's a coming-of-age story about Margaret Simon, a pre-teen who moves from New York to New Jersey. She has a good relationship with her grandmother on her father's side. They hang out a lot together and her grandmother makes her special sweaters. Margaret makes friends and joins a secret club with her new friends, Nancy, Janie, and Gretchen. They all want to increase their bust and get their period. Normal things for growing young women to think about. Margaret talks to God often, even though she doesn't practice any religion. She does, however, experiment with different religions during the school year for a personal school project. She goes to a Methodist church service and Jewish Synagogue/Temple service with her grandmother. Also, she goes to a Catholic confession but doesn't know what to say. I enjoyed reading this book and didn't find anything objectionable in it. 

Boying Up: How to be Brave, Bold, and Brillant by Mayim Bialik, PhD

Boying Up: How to be Brave, Bold, and Brillant by Mayim Bialik, PhD,
200 pages

Most people know Mayim Bialik from the Big Bang Theory for playing Amy Farrah Fowler.  She is also a New York Times Bestselling Author.  She also wrote the book Girling Up for young girls.  Boying Up is much like her book Girling Up except it is written for boys.  This book contains so much information for young boys and she also includes some informative illustraions.  I highly recommend this book if you are raising young boys, and they should read it too.

Girling Up: How To Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular by Mayim Bialik, Ph.D.

Girling Up: How To Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular, by Mayim Bialik, Ph.D., 176 pages

You may know Mayim Bialik as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler from the hit television show Big Bang Theory.  Not only is Mayim an actress, she is also a mother, an author, and a neuroscientist. So, who better to write a book about growing up female than a real life scientist.  I would say if you are raising a girl approaching her teen years, this book is nice to have around. Not only does she include scientific facts about growing up, Mayim also includes personal anecdotes and illustrated drawings.