The Little Black Book for Girlz: A Book on Healthy Sexuality.

Anne Hutchings is a public-school teacher and librarian in Ajax,
Ontario.

Anything further removed from the traditional sex education publications of the past is hard to imagine. A project of St. Stephen’s Community House, The Little Black Book for Girlz was written by and for young women. It contains their own questions (and sometimes answers), personal thoughts and experiences, artwork, and poetry. To ensure accuracy, professionals such as doctors and social workers were interviewed and asked to provide the factual information included. Finally, the completed text was reviewed and vetted by a team of experts whose names and qualifications are given at the end of the book.

The book is very explicit and pulls no punches. Topics such as relationships, STDs/AIDS, sexual assault, masturbation, pregnancy, birth control, and safe sex, among others, are dealt with openly and objectively. The message to young women in all of these discussions is loud and clear: Do what is right for you! Don’t let yourself be pressured into anything! For topics beyond the scope of this book, such as childhood sexual abuse, an extensive list of resources, websites, and telephone numbers is provided. Illustrated with black and white photos and diagrams, the book concludes with a glossary and an index.

The Little Black Book for Girlz is to be highly recommended, a first choice purchase (perhaps even of multiple copies) for home, school, and community libraries and health care professionals. That said, it will, no doubt, be most useful at the secondary level. Parents of students at the elementary level, such as those who objected to Degrassi Junior High books and even Katherine Paterson’s Lyddie because one of the characters was an unwed mother, are unlikely to tolerate or endorse this book for their daughters. Highly recommended.