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The Amazing Life of Birds -- (The twenty-day puberty journal of Duane Homer Leech)

(2006, Fiction - Humor, Written by Gary Paulsen)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.
  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    Puberty isn't for wimps -- tweens and up.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Not an issue.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Not an issue.
  • Sex:

    For a book about puberty, surprisingly little, and what is referred to is delicately oblique. A mention of examining the reproductive organs of a dead cat in science class.
  • Language:

    One use of "ass," used to mean acting foolishly.
  • Consumerism:

    A fast food chain is mentioned.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Amazing Life of Birds -- (The twenty-day puberty journal of Duane Homer Leech)

Parents need to know that, for a book about puberty, this has surprisingly little problematic content, and the subject is handled with delicacy and humor.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the changes that your kids are, or soon will be, going through. Is this an accurate depiction of how you feel and what you're experiencing? Is the narrator's humor and fatalism realistic, or does it seem harder for you than for him? Are there ways it can be made easier?

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