Hair in Funny Places

Rating:
Summary: Terrific book
Review: A children's librarian recommended this book for my 7 yr old foster daughter (who was curious about all those subjects we wish they'd wait a few more years to ask about). My foster daughter loved this book. She chose it for her bedtime story for months, we had to keep renewing it until finally the dire day came when someone else put a hold on it and we had to return it to the library. I generally avoid actually buying books, preferring to check them out for free from the library, but this is one that is worth having our own copy of.

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: Babette Cole is a great writer for kids and goes straight for the topics they need to know and which their parents freak out over. The reviews before this sound like a bunch of uptight Fundamentalists who better stay cloistered lest they read something really randy. The book is perfectly appropriate, a fun read,
non threatening and far as the person who said it raises more questions than it answers, well isn't that the point of learning?
What a bunch of losers.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely Inapprobriate for Young Children!
Review: Hair in Funny Places tells the story of puberty. Typical of most young children, a little girl asks her teddy bear when she will become a 'grown-up.' The teddy bear tells her what happens when Mr. and Mrs. Hormone, tiny creatures who live inside everyone, mix the potions that turn kids into 'grown ups.' By using the girl's parents as an example, the teddy bear goes through the various physical and emotional changes that each respectively went through to become adults. The teddy bear then tells the girl about the "wildest potion of all" - love potion, which brought her parents together. The story ends when the girl assures her teddy bear that even when she is grown up she will always love him. While Cole's objectives may have been to present puberty playfully and comfortably with her fun pictures and light-hearted tone, her story is a gross misrepresentation of the truth about puberty and could give children many wrong impressions. First of all, the girl learns about puberty from her teddy bear - not her parents, who should be the ones to teach her. Because she depends on a stuffed animal to tell her the facts of life, this could discourage children from feeling comfortable confiding in their parents. Cole's portrayal of Mr. and Mrs. Hormone adds to the unnecessary mystery and intrigue of puberty. Mr. and Mrs. Hormone are hairy, pimply characters with horns - kind of a combination between a porcupine, bug, and mad scientist. It seems that these mischievous, insidious looking creatures have nothing better to do than plot to thwart a child's life with potion. Mr. and Mrs. Hormone could cause further confusion for children when they create their crazy love potion. The picture at this point shows the girl's mother and father running wildly at each other, as if being driven by an uncontrollable force. This idea cheapens the idea of love by insinuating that it is simply a byproduct of our hormones. Finally, the story's ending further separates children from discussing these issues with their parents when the young girl exclaims, "On no, Ted, you are so wise, I will always love you." There is so much potential to encourage children/parent relationships at this point, but instead Cole chooses to end the story in the world of make believe where wise stuffed animals take the place of loving parents.

Rating:
Summary: Silly Prudery
Review: Heaven forbid, this book has actually got naked bodies in it! *How terrible...*. But wait, don't we all have a body like that? And isn't it a responsible thing to do to prepare your children for what is going to happen to their body?
This is a great book! We need to be open with our children - or we'll end up with a teenage pregnancy on our hands. Here is a fun, non-threatening way to introduce the subject of puberty to your children. Read it with them, and YOU are in control of how you talk about it, and just how much you want to tell them. Honestly, the easiest way to deal with it is just to tell them what the 'sticky stuff' is when they ask. Done and over with, they won't ask again, or try to find out from *really* inappropriate sources! ... or else, find out when it's too late!
This book is one great way of bringing up the subject of puberty.

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: This is a book which takes a lighthearted, but nevertheless informative, view on puberty. If you have not chosen to be open with sex information for your children, you had better not read this book (see previous reviews.)If, however, you want to introduce your child to this scary time in their lives in a fun and open way, this IS the book for you. It is not a book for very young children unless you are comfortable with the questions about subjects such as nocturnal emissions. I believe that the objections to this book are cultural and very indicative of North American prudery. It is very interesting to compare these comments with those on Amazon.uk

Rating:
Summary: Causes more questions than answers
Review: While shopping in a book store with my mother today, we came across Hair in Funny Places in the kids section. The story is extremely inappropriate for children. Being a teenager myself, I can assure you that this book would have made me very uncomfortable. The book only hints at the effects of puberty and would make the child more curious than before. The book tries to make puberty into a cute little story and bridge the gap between preteens and adults, but instead it widens the gap. If my parents had bought this book for me as an early teen, I can assure you I would have been insulted. This book insinuates that someone entering into puberty is not capable of learning about puberty and its "side-effects" in a mature and adult manner. To try to simplify such a complex thing as puberty is to take away the growth and maturity associated with becoming a man or a woman. Both my young teen brother and I were apalled to see such a book in the childrens section. Little children will not understand this and some will be too afraid to ask what really happens. This story will confuse rather than clarify. The book is geared towards children, but it quite obviously should not be. If the issue of puberty needs to be addressed, it should be done in a way that is closer to actuallity. In order for it to seem like its not a bad thing, it should be addressed in a more scientific way that shows that it happens to anyone. This book is highly inappropriate for the age group it is directed towards, and it angered me to see such a book presented in such a way. If I were allowed to give negative stars, you can be assured I would have.