Do you want to hear about even more great books and contests? Sign up for the 5 Minutes for Books newsletter.
It’s that time again. In October of each year the color is pink and we think about our girls a lot more than we usually do.
Because I have a pre-pubescent tween daughter in my house, I’ve actually been thinking a lot more about them in general. This summer we shopped for bras. They are much less bra-like than I remember my training bras being (Does anyone else remember those triangles covered with the lace mesh type material with the pink rosette in the middle?). They are really just like a smaller more bra-like cami. She needed these for an extra layer of coverage and for the social necessity of changing for gym in her new intermediate school, but it’s becoming increasingly obvious that before too long, we might be moving towards cups.
I say that to say that when I got a copy of Taking Care of Your Girls: A Guide to Breast Health for Girls, Teens, and In-Betweens, I was interested. I wanted to learn about what I should tell her, what she might want to know, and honestly, I thought that I might learn some stuff about breast health, too, which is more on my mind as I near forty.
It didn’t really teach me much that I need to know at my age. It’s not that kind of book. This book is formatted in the way that I believe is best for non-fiction books for or about tweens and teens: It is full of quotes and questions from the target group, and it is written by a mother-daughter team — breast-health doctor Marisa C. Weiss and her college daughter Isabel Friedman. It’s the perfect combination. Weiss gives the facts straight and Weiss fills them in with a real girl’s reaction to the facts by sharing her own stories, those of her younger cousin, or those of the many girls who were interviewed for this book.
Topics covered include
- breast development
- breast size and shape (diagrams included!)
- noticing and checking from breast changes
- stretch marks, breakouts, and rashes
- self-image and teasing
- bras
- dress to express
- and even padded bras and surgery to change your size
In reading this book, you won’t learn about the best diet to ward off breast cancer (although a general diet and lifestyle facts that reduce the risk), or when exactly you should get that baseline mammogram, but if you have a daughter from age eight or nine on up through young adult, you will find out what she is wondering about her breasts. After reading it yourself, you can pass it on to her to read, or share with her in bits and chunks.
We have 5 copies of Taking Care of Your Girls, to give away to U.S. or Canadian residents. Leave a comment here to enter. I’ll announce the winners in next week’s column.
The winners of last week’s book The Vegan Lunch Box are #45 Mia J. and #55 Diane G.
And since the Harry Potter 10th anniversary giveaway is now over, I can announce those winners as well:
The grand prize winner of a complete set of the Harry Potter books in hardcover along with the 10th anniversary edition of the Sorcerer’s Stone is #11 Darla Kidder.
And the four winners of the 10th anniversary edition of the Sorcerer’s Stone are
#160 Cythia Mccoy
#199 Mama Zen
#243 Sylvia
#32 Debbie
I HAVE TWO GRANDDAUGHTERS, THIS WOULD BE GREAT
I want to take care of my girls. I hope I win. Thanks for the contest.
Please enter me into the contest. Thanks!
Please, count me in.
awesome book
Great book! My niece’s great grandmother, grandmother, and aunt are all breast cancer survivors!
My ten year old daughter and I need all the help we can get!
Being the mom/stepmom of 4 girls ages, this book would be a way to ease into talks with the stepdaughters.
A great resource.
Great prize. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
What a great book! I would love to win a copy for my daughter – no “girls” yet, but time goes so quickly…
I am a breast cancer survivor. I have 4 girls.
Erin – fresh – 1/2 pound palm container candle
I’ve got 5 wonderful girls ranging in ages from 15 yrs to 5 weeks and this would be a great book to share with each of them. I actually had a guy come up to me the other day while I was sitting on a bench nursing the 5 week old and I swear his eyes never made it past the boobs. He stopped just briefly, said “Nice girls” and walked away! In today’s day and age, nothing surprises me anymore but this stunned me at first and then absolutely made me laugh.
Looks like a great book for all the “girls” in my family.
I have 2 daughter this would be great!
I keep coming back more and more to this site..keep up the great work.
PLEASE COUNT ME IN ON THIS AWESOME GIVEAWAY 🙂
I would love to win this book. I have a granddaughter who is at this age.
please enter me – my girls’ grandmother (dad’s side) died from breast cancer – what a great book!
This is a book that every woman needs to read!
Thanks for the fab contest…girls will be girls.
My daughter is only 5, but I don’t think it will be long. YIKES!
My daughter’s “girls” snuck up on her this year. I’m sure she could use this book.
Please enter me.
Great review for what looks like a really helpful book for my and my tween.
This would be a great thing for my daughter. Poor thing. I hope she doesn’t take after ‘my girls.’
Happy weekend!
This is great!
I would love to win this for my son and DIL who have two girls. I only raised boys but we raised them to ask any and all questions no matter if they thought it was a dumb question or not because no question is dumb.
Thanks for the great contest.
I’d love to win. With 3 girls right in a row I am a little worried about how to get this all out in the open comfortably.
I have a fifteen-year-old daughter. My wife and I really could use the help in talking to her about these things. Glad I discovered this book! Great prize!!!
This would be great to have.
I hope I win.
This is such a good idea for a book! Kudos to the authors — and to you (the owners of the site) for pointing it out. Breasts are an integral part of growing up, and it is so important that our young girls know how to take care of them. I have two girls myself, and sometimes it is better for “someone else” (a book) to tell them the details that they may be too shy to ask about, or details that us moms may not think to include.
I would love to win this.
This would be helpful!
I’ve got a daughter just at that age, so I’d love to get an idea of what’s going through her mind about these body changes. She’s not sharing when I ask!
I would love to win this, and pass it on to all the girlfriends when I was done.
This is a great resource!
This is a great book for everyone, I would love it and then I would pass it on. thanks
I only have one daughter but i could really use this!
As a mother of 3 girls, this will be rather helpful.
What a great prize this would be for my daughter!
What a wonderful prize!
THANK YOU GOD BLESS
I have two tween girls so..
What a great book would love to read it
would be a great tool for my nieces entering this phase in their lives
This would be a great book to read with my oldest daughter. Great giveaway – thanks for offering!
~Tanya
the4moyers(at)msn(dot)com
Sounds like an interesting book to share with my daughter! 🙂
Gotta love that title! I would love to win this.
pretty cool
I could so use this for my daughter.
We have the breast cancer gene in our family-would love this for my granddaughters
Living in a house of three girls this book will be very welcome.
i would love to win this! thanks for the contest!
I would have loved this book a few years ago. I am sad to say that she has caught up with my cup size already at 13! That’s just my luck!
Wow what a great book for girls! Thank you for the chance to win such a great prize!
well ok
I lost my mom to breast cancer at 38. I am hoping not do do this to my kids.
I am a subscriber.
Mother of three girls. Grandmother of four girls. This sounds great.
This would be great. I have 4 girls, but only one right now who is going through those most wonderful changes, (oozing sarcasm) Thanks for the chance.
This book will be great for my two girls.
This sounds like a great book for my 8 yr old daughter.
I have two daugthers who I think would benefit from this!
Great prize. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
This would be a great resource for our church “Day of Beauty” (inside & out) for tween and teen girls.
Thanks!
Great blog and website. Thank you for all your great reviews.
My 11 year old niece has started developing-I would love to give her this book!
I’d love to win this for my tween daughter.
:::sigh::: the timing of this one couldn’t be more appropriate for us. We’ve entered the stage where the girls are emerging. Where has the time gone?
This would be a good book for my teenage daughter.
great prize
My DD just turned 10, and it will be “that time” all too soon – count me in!
my girls could DEFINITELY use some care 🙂
Would love to win this book. Sounds very informative.
very needed book
I’d love to win!
This book would be great for my daughter
nice book
great book count me in
Hi! Fabulous idea for a book. I could use all the helpful information possible… I have two daughters. My 8 YO is just beginning to ask more questions about bras. I’ve still got a bit of time with my 3 YO though!
Thanks!
Ciao
I know a preteen that could use this. Thanks for the giveaway.
I have lots of daughters I could share this with!
I would love to win this for my niece!
As the mother of 2 girls this would be perfect for me (and them!). 🙂
Sounds like a great resource!
I’d love to read this.
My daughter is 11 and this sounds like a perfect book for us!
Laura
I’d like to share this book with my daughters
I would love to give this book to my teen daughter. I think it’ll be good for her to read for herself and for her beginning knowledge for her preparation as a pediatrician… she’ll have something to recommend to her patients! 🙂
Since I have seven daughters/step-daughters, this would be a welcome addition to our home library. Thanks in advance! 😉
a very good idea for a book! I’d love to win.
This would be a great book for my mom. My sister just started hitting that stage.
This looks like a great book. Excellent giveaway!
This sounds like a great book!
My daughter is nine, and I’ve noticed many of her other friends are already developing. I know she won’t be far behind. EEKS!
This looks like a great for my 2 oldest and I to read together and discuss.
hope I win 🙂
monica
A great resource – I’m a Mommy of two beautiful girls 🙂