Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up

by Heather Corinna, Luke Howard (Editor), Isabella Rotman

Overview

From Heather Corinna, founder and director of Scarleteen.com, and Isabella Rotman, cartoonist and sex educator, comes a graphic novel guide that covers essential topics for preteens and young teens about their changing bodies and feelings.

Join friends Malia, Rico, Max, Sam and Alexis as they talk about all the weird and exciting parts of growing up! This supportive group of friends are guides for some tricky subjects. Using comics, activities and examples, they give encouragement and context for new and confusing feelings and experiences.

Inclusive of different kinds of genders, sexualities, and other identities, they talk about important topics like:

- Bodies, including puberty, body parts and body image
- Sexual and gender identity
- Gender roles and stereotypes
- Crushes, relationships, and sexual feelings
- Boundaries and consent
- The media and cultural messages, specifically around bodies and sex
- How to be sensitive, kind, accepting, and mature
- Where to look for more information, support and help

A fun and easy-to-read guide from expert sex educators that gives readers a good basis and an age-appropriate start with sex, bodies and relationships education! The perfect complement to any school curriculum.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620106594
Publisher:	Limerence Press
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	100,133
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	9 - 14 Years

About the Author

For nearly 20 years, Heather Corinna has been widely recognized as a pioneer and leader in the field of sexuality information, education and support for young people. Previously a Montessori and unschooling early childhood educator, Heather founded and directs the international organization Scarleteen (http://www.scarleteen.com), one of the first sources of comprehensive sexuality and relationships education online, an organization and resource that stands alone in its tenure, approach, reach, inclusivity and scope. Heather has also been a sexuality, contraception and abortion educator and counselor for the Cedar River Clinics/Feminist Women's Health Center. They are the author of the popular S.E.X.:the All-You-Need-to-Know Sexuality Guide to Get You Through Your Teens and Twenties, a highly comprehensive and inclusive young adult sexuality, sexual health and relationships guide, now in its second edition. Their work has also appeared in publications such as Teen Vogue, The Guardian, RH Reality Check (now Rewire) Issues Magazine, Women's Studies; an interdisciplinary journal; in anthologies such as Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape, The Adventures of Food, and Zaftig: Well-Rounded Erotica . Heather was a contributing writer and editor to the most recent edition of Our Bodies, Ourselves. Heather has won numerous awards for their work, including The Champions of Sexual Literacy Award for Grassroots Activism; The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, Western Region's Public Service Award; the Our Bodies, Ourselves' Women's Health Heroes Award; the Joan Helmich Educator of the Year award; The Woodhull Foundation's Vicki Award; the Steinem-Waters Award and the Golden Brick Award.

Luke is an illustrator, cartoonist and printmaker living in beautiful, sleepy, swampy New Orleans, Louisiana. When he's not coloring graphic novels, he makes sci-fi comics about feelings, and an autobiographical zine called Abandon Ship. He's been screenprinting artwork for over 10 years, and spends way too much time fussing with ornery Risograph copiers and greasy offset presses. He loves self-publishing, and has helped organize the New Orleans Comics & Zine Fest (NOCAZ) since 2016. If he's not working, tinkering or organizing, he's probably playing D&D with his friends.

Isabella is a cartoonist and illustrator from Maine, living and drawing in Chicago. Her art is usually about the ocean, mermaids, crushing loneliness, people in the woods, or sex. Isabella is the author of You're So Sexy When You Aren't Transmitting STIs and Not On My Watch; The Bystanders’ Handbook for the Prevention of Sexual Violence. Isabella is the co-author and illustrator of Wait, What?; A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up. Isabella has been Artist in Residence at Scarleteen since 2013.

Editorial Reviews

Wait, What? is straightforward and clear, exactly what’s needed to help kids develop authentic awareness and conversation about bodies, relationships, feelings and sexuality.

Peggy Orenstein

"This dream team of creators came up with a book that is not only accessible but totally enjoyable to read! I'm so excited to see Wait, What? in every library, school and doctor's office in 2019!"

Archie Bongiovanni

It brings a loving, essential lens to matters of heart and soul, offering a roadmap not only to physical changes, but the complex social and emotional terrain of consent, crushes, and identity."

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

Wait, What? is a wonderful guide to topics adolescents are curious about, presenting information in relatable, gender-inclusive text and clever illustrations. This is the book adolescents—and their parents—have been looking for."

Melanie Davis

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, 2019 Best of the Best

THE ADVOCATE, Best LGBTQ Graphic Novels of 2019

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, Notable Children's Book by The Association for Library Service to Children

From the Publisher

Wait, What? is straightforward and clear, exactly what’s needed to help kids develop authentic awareness and conversation about bodies, relationships, feeling and sexuality.

Peggy Orenstein (Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape)

It offers more than just information about bodies, though—it brings a loving, essential lens to matters of heart and soul, offering a roadmap not only to physical changes, but the complex social and emotional terrain of consent, crushes, and identity."

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (Nurture the Wow)

"This dream team of creators came up with a book that is not only accessible but totally enjoyable to read! I'm so excited to see Wait, What? in every library, school and doctor's office in 2019!"

Archie Bongiovanni (A Quick & Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns)

10/07/2019

Gr 4 Up-Inclusive, respectful, accurate, and informative—books about sexuality and puberty are held to the highest nonfiction standards. In addition to meeting those marks, this short graphic novel is also forthright and attractive. Expert sex educators Corinna (founder of scarleteen.com and author of S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-To-Know-Sexuality Guide To Get You Through Your Teens and Twenties) and Rotman (You're So Sexy When You Aren't Transmitting STIs) are funny but never flippant when answering typical tween questions. Unlike other titles, this text won't force readers to scour the index for information on masturbation or gender. However, the authors are never confrontational, making room for all points of view. In the chapter on sexual identity, one character says, "I'm so tired of feeling like I have to label myself!" while another avers, "I like having shorthand I can use to describe myself." The authors also stress the importance of respecting crushes or dating partners, a topic rarely if ever addressed in similar texts. The book closes with advice on finding trusted friends and adults in whom to confide. Cartoon-realistic characters representing a variety of orientations, genders, body types, and interests will validate readers. VERDICT Research shows that the earlier children learn about consent and body autonomy, the better. All libraries serving middle school and upper elementary school students will want this warm, candid guide.-Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, MD

School Library Journal

★ 2019-07-28
A graphic-novel guide to puberty, sexuality, and growing up.

Groundbreaking sexuality educator Corinna, founder of the website Scarleteen, works with cartoonist Rotman to bring her knowledge and experience to this slim but mighty guide. In a fashion similar to Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth's Sex Is a Funny Word (2015), five friends (multiracial and multigendered) talk through complex questions with one another and with readers. This book consistently puts the needs of its readers first, meticulously working to emphasize gender diversity, individuality, and the messiness of adolescence. Preteens and teens who might be "worried [their] genitals look weird" are informed that "genitals ARE weird, but that's okay." Puberty is treated as the confusing, unpredictable process that it is, with the reassurance that "puberty doesn't mean you're grown up or mature" and that "emotional maturity" is more important. Body parts are intentionally ungendered, sexual orientations are shown as fluid and joyful, and there is a constant emphasis on the importance of friendships and mutual support. While brief, this guide manages to cover crucial topics thoroughly and humorously, reassuring readers that while all of this is a big deal, it's something they can handle. The cartoony illustrations are appealing and fun, the book includes interactive activities such as word searches and crossword puzzles, and there's a fairly thorough glossary in the back.

This extremely modern guide to growing up excels in its field. (further reading) (Graphic nonfiction. 10-18)

Kirkus Reviews