April 2019 – Erin N Castelloe MD

April 26, 2019June 28, 2022

Book Review: George

Alex Gino’s timely — and unique — novel, written for children in grades 4-6, deserves a much wider audience. The New York Times agrees as is evident in its positive review. However, because the title character, George, is a transgender girl, the novel made the American Library Association’s (ALA’s) top ten challenged books list three years running, reaching the #1 spot in 2018. I voraciously read the book in a single day, tears frequently stinging my eyes. Join me in purchasing the book here and gifting it often.

April 26, 2019June 28, 2022

Book Review: Hair in Funny Places: A Book About Puberty

For about six months, my 9-year-old son read this book obsessively, giggling the whole time, and even my ultra-cool 5th- and 6th-grade students crack smiles when they see Mr. and Mrs. Hormone and their mischievous dog. Though this book is hetero-normative in its portrayal of romance (i.e., the romance of the main character’s parents), its light-hearted introduction of puberty secures it a permanent home on my book shelf. After all, shouldn’t every discussion of puberty begin with a smile or a laugh?!? The book can be purchased here.

April 25, 2019June 28, 2022

Book Review: What Makes a Baby: A Book for Every Kind of Family and Every Kind of Kid

Fiona Smyth’s rainbow of gender-spectrum characters pair perfectly with Cory Silverberg’s magical explanation of human conception, pregnancy, and childbirth. As the text does not specify how the egg and sperm come together, this book offers a unique opportunity for families formed through adoption, surrogacy, intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization, or plain, old penis-vagina intercourse to fill in the gaps to match each child’s unique life story. The book can be purchased here.

April 24, 2019June 28, 2022

Book Review: Project Parent: Preparing Yourself for Your Child’s Sex Education

This 2017 release is a unique addition to the comprehensive sexuality education literature. Dr. Jovanovic succinctly tailors the book Values Clarification for parents who want and/or need to define and understand their own sexual values before diving into sexuality education for their children. The text provides exercises that parents can complete alone and/or with a co-parent and detailed lists of additional resources. The book can be purchased here.

April 24, 2019June 28, 2022

Book Review: Everyone’s Got a Bottom

This wonderful little book for children of all ages introduces the concepts of body boundaries, self-care, and privacy, provides simple illustrations of typical male and female external genitals, and accurately names the genitals. It emphasizes the importance of children being able to talk openly with adults they trust about these concepts and their bodies and includes additional information for parents regarding prevention and detection of sexual abuse. The book is only available for purchase from the Australian distributor, Lighthouse Resources.