Just Ask Elsie
This voice-y and unforgettable middle grade novel stars 11-year-old Elsie Parker, who is determined to spread the truth about puberty - even if it means going against her school principal.

Elsie Parker is just your average, completely normal 5th grader.

Except for the afterschool puberty class she’s taking. And the super-fancy middle school she’s attending next year (which her parents are being super weird about). Not to mention the fact that she can't seem to work up the courage to talk to her crush, Nadia Hadid.

Other than that, completely normal.

When the kids at school find out about her puberty class, things get majorly embarrassing. Trying to turn things around, Elsie decides to hang a whiteboard on her locker where she debunks puberty myths and answers her classmates’ questions. What’s so weird about puberty anyway?

The school administration does not like Elsie’s whiteboard. And they really don’t like it when she starts to write about the Big Acronym: LGBTQIAP2S+.

But Elsie’s not backing down, even if her parents want her to. Kids deserve to know about puberty, and if she can’t use her whiteboard, she’ll just have to find another way to speak up.

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Just Ask Elsie
This voice-y and unforgettable middle grade novel stars 11-year-old Elsie Parker, who is determined to spread the truth about puberty - even if it means going against her school principal.

Elsie Parker is just your average, completely normal 5th grader.

Except for the afterschool puberty class she’s taking. And the super-fancy middle school she’s attending next year (which her parents are being super weird about). Not to mention the fact that she can't seem to work up the courage to talk to her crush, Nadia Hadid.

Other than that, completely normal.

When the kids at school find out about her puberty class, things get majorly embarrassing. Trying to turn things around, Elsie decides to hang a whiteboard on her locker where she debunks puberty myths and answers her classmates’ questions. What’s so weird about puberty anyway?

The school administration does not like Elsie’s whiteboard. And they really don’t like it when she starts to write about the Big Acronym: LGBTQIAP2S+.

But Elsie’s not backing down, even if her parents want her to. Kids deserve to know about puberty, and if she can’t use her whiteboard, she’ll just have to find another way to speak up.

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Just Ask Elsie

Just Ask Elsie

by Ari Koontz
Just Ask Elsie

Just Ask Elsie

by Ari Koontz

Hardcover

$18.99 
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Overview

This voice-y and unforgettable middle grade novel stars 11-year-old Elsie Parker, who is determined to spread the truth about puberty - even if it means going against her school principal.

Elsie Parker is just your average, completely normal 5th grader.

Except for the afterschool puberty class she’s taking. And the super-fancy middle school she’s attending next year (which her parents are being super weird about). Not to mention the fact that she can't seem to work up the courage to talk to her crush, Nadia Hadid.

Other than that, completely normal.

When the kids at school find out about her puberty class, things get majorly embarrassing. Trying to turn things around, Elsie decides to hang a whiteboard on her locker where she debunks puberty myths and answers her classmates’ questions. What’s so weird about puberty anyway?

The school administration does not like Elsie’s whiteboard. And they really don’t like it when she starts to write about the Big Acronym: LGBTQIAP2S+.

But Elsie’s not backing down, even if her parents want her to. Kids deserve to know about puberty, and if she can’t use her whiteboard, she’ll just have to find another way to speak up.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781250410986
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: 06/16/2026
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 5.38(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range: 10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Ari Koontz is a queer nonbinary writer and educator with an MFA in creative writing from Northern Michigan University. They’re dedicated to telling full-hearted stories of bravery and whimsy in every possible genre, centering the beautiful complexities of queer identity and community, and supporting their local public library. A born-and-raised Midwestern UU, Ari lives close to where the water meets the woods and loves to take long walks when they should be writing. Just Ask Elsie is their debut novel.
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