Illustrated Book Helps Boys Cope with Puberty
Best known for her leadership on the public health dimensions of menstruation, Marni Sommer, DrPH ’08 , is also the author of more than a dozen books for young people to help them understand and cope with the often confusing changes that come with puberty. In 2021, after publishing books in Africa and Asia, she and her co-authors released a book for an American audience, A Girl’s Guide to Puberty and Periods. This summer, Sommer and collaborators are back with a follow-up, Bigger, Faster, Stronger, Hairier: A Book for Boys.
Puberty education for boys is needed more than ever before, according to Sommer, a professor of sociomedical sciences. When it comes to academic aptitude and self-control under stress, boys lag behind girls. And now, boys are often exposed to unhealthy notions about body image, something experts have been concerned about for girls for a long time. “I think everybody’s kind of concerned about boys right now,” she says.
Like all of Sommer’s puberty books, the book for boys is based on research conducted with young people and adults who know them, including coaches, youth nonprofit leaders, and teachers. Over two years, she and her team of collaborators collected insights from 59 adolescent boys in Cleveland, New York City, and the Bay Area. The aim was to capture their reflections on going through puberty and their advice for younger boys who will soon reach early adolescence. Writing anonymously, boys shared questions about their confusion around growing up, as well as their own stories about body changes, peer pressures, and other experiences. Later, a group of early-adolescent boys, the target audience for the book, provided feedback on a final draft version. In addition, the researchers solicited feedback from parents, teachers, and pediatricians.
As the book’s title suggests, Bigger, Faster, Stronger, Hairier is full of information on the biological changes boys undergo. More than just a list of facts, the book, written for boys ages 9–14, also provides practical advice on a variety of topics, including embarrassing questions like body odor or what to do when you get an erection when you’re in school. It also tackles social dimensions of puberty, including peer pressure, as well as the range of strong emotions puberty triggers.
“When we tested the book, the boys told us they liked our emotional content, and they wanted more. So we added a few more pages on managing your emotions, including a breathing exercise that boys could do if they are somewhere like the classroom where they cannot move around to work off emotions,” Sommer recalls.
Like A Girl’s Guide, Bigger, Faster, Stronger, Hairier is available for sale online at print cost, with no profit, to make the book as accessible as possible. Copies are also being donated to non-profits that work with boys in states across the U.S. Both books feature illustrations by Emily Scheffler, who inclusively depicts young people of diverse races, ethnicities, and body types. The book for boys was co-authored by Brian Villa, a research assistant with the Gender, Adolescent Transitions & Environment (GATE) Program—Sommer’s lab; Isabella Brocato, a former Columbia Mailman student who is now with the Oseola McCarty Youth Development Center; and Sarah Blake, a former MPH student at Columbia Mailman School and former research staff member of the GATE team.
Along with Grow & Know, a publisher of puberty books led by Sommer, support for the development of both puberty books was provided by the Sid and Helaine Lerner MHM [Menstrual Health Management] Faculty Support Fund. Before he died in 2021, Lerner, a fan of the puberty books Sommer had developed for girls, wrote to suggest that she follow up with one for boys. “When so many people said boys don’t need a book on puberty because they figure it out on their own, Sid knew otherwise,” she says.