Why This Topic?

Why I Wrote Celebrating Me
I wrote the book for young girls to read, but I realise it will be parents or other adults that will purchase the book, so my comments here are addressed primarily to them.

There is a growing realisation of the need for adults and children to better understand their bodies, their bodily functions and ultimately, responsibility for one's own health. Preparing our girls to understand themselves and to make informed choices later in life can often take adults into unchartered waters, so a book like Celebrating Me intends to help fill a gap.

Periods are a major phase of puberty in girls, and can be quite confusing for some, or exciting for others, as they anatomically ‘transition’ from girls into women. Many girls have insufficient or even conflicting information about a woman’s reproductive system and what happens during the menstrual cycle. Myths and taboos further add to the fear and confusion. One of their major sources of information, adults, often feel uncomfortable discussing intimate ‘private body functions’.

I wrote Celebrating Me to introduce the menstruation phase of puberty to young girls in an appealing story, within a broader context of the lives and perspectives of four young girls. Each girl is an individual, with bodies maturing in slightly different ways and times.

Young girls will likely identify with the different characters, perhaps even seeing something of themselves or people they know in the story, the different ways the friends relate to one other, as well as recognising some of the dilemmas and emotions they experience.

The story acknowledges the changes as a cause for celebration, the first steps into a wonderful and challenging world of womanhood.

Parents and caregivers can choose to discuss the story and its topics with the girls in their care, but it can also be useful for facilitated group discussion. (See Discussion Topics).

- Colleen

While intercourse is simply explained in the book, it is within the context of pregnancy and the development of a fetus etc. Contraception is NOT introduced in the story because the intention is for the young female reader to develop not only a better understanding of her own body, but also to engender a stronger sense of self. It has also been found that youngsters who have a better understanding of their body, who have greater self-esteem and recognise their sexuality and right of choice, are less likely to enter into casual sexual relationships and /or become teenage parents. Contraception and/or sexuality can be introduced and more readily understood within the girl's own cultural and social environment.