This book for preteens and teens focuses on puberty,
providing clear and straightforward information about the bodily changes
associated with the onset of sexual maturity. 
The chapters are

1. Puberty

Beginning
Changes and the States of Puberty

An
Owner’s Guide to the Sex Organs: What’s Normal? What’s Not?

The
Puberty Growth Spurt

Pimples,
Perspiration, Body Hair, Shaving and Other Changes

Changes
in the Male Reproductive Organs: Erections, Sperm, and Ejaculations

Spontaneous
Erections, Orgasms, Masturbation, and Wet Dreams

Girls
and Puberty

Romantic
and Sexual Feelings

It
has many black and white illustrations dealing with all sorts of concerns from
body hair to penis size. It explains
some facts about sex and dating, but it’s primary concern is on the development
of an individual. The final chapter
does address briefly some of the concerns boys often have about crushes,
homosexual feelings, dating, love and sex, and the book offers positive and
non-judgmental advice. The What’s
Happening to My Body? Book for Boys will be useful for boys wanting to
understand the changes they are experiencing. 
It should reassure the many boys who fear that they are not normal that
in fact their development is not at all unusual. The book has very little to say about the emotional changes that
often accompany puberty, which can be just as confusing, but then it never pretends
to address all the issues faced by adolescents. Judged for what it aims to do, it could be an excellent resource
for parents and their sons.

© 2002 Christian Perring. All rights reserved.

Christian
Perring, Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College,
Long Island. He is editor of Metapsychology Online Review. His main research
is on philosophical issues in psychiatry. He is especially interested in
exploring how philosophers can play a greater role in public life, and he is
keen to help foster communication between philosophers, mental health
professionals, and the general public.

Categories: SelfHelp, ChildhoodDisorders, Sexuality