From 4: “The funny feeling” by Hans-Christian Schmidt
Hans-Christian Schmidt: The strange feeling. With illustrations by Andreas Német. Klett children’s book, Leipzig 2022. 40 pages, 15 euros. From 4 years.
(Photo: Klett children’s book)
“The funny feeling” isn’t so much about sexuality as it is about the fact that it’s good and important to say “No!” to say when your gut tells you: something is wrong here – also and maybe especially as a child. Hans-Christian Schmidt describes various situations that can be uncomfortable for children: You walk down a dark stairwell, a grandma asks too many questions on the playground, a trainer watches the shower for too long, mum or dad plays too wildly in the bathtub. The pages on which these situations can be seen do not cover the entire width of the book, so that one large page at the end always shines bright yellow and saves the day. There you can see what has to be done: A child who resolutely calls out: “No! I don’t want that. Stop it! Let it go!” Kathleen Hildebrand
From 10: “Yunus, zocken, Liebeszeugs” by Laura Marie Berling
Laura Marie Berling: Yunus, gamble, love stuff. With illustrations by Hannah Rödel. Leykam, Graz 2023. 149 pages, 18 euros. From 10 years on.
(Photo: Leykam)
Yunus can never really decide if he’s one of the cool or not-so-cool in the class. Although he’s actually better at talking to the less cool. Although talking about things is embarrassing anyway. At the age of 12 everything is embarrassing: parents, puberty, pimples. And then Yunus also gets anonymous love text messages, which he urgently wants to get to the bottom of in the ski camp. “Yunus, zocken, Liebeszeugs” is a clever enlightenment novel for everyone, but especially for boys. The author Laura Marie Berling attaches great importance to diversity and explains important terms such as sexism, racism and bisexuality. But the book does not become an encyclopedia. The terms are cleverly intertwined with the story and punctuated with illustrated pages of tips to ease puberty: heartbreak, pimples or hiding erections. Johanna Mueller
From 11: “Sex in Echt” by Nadine Beck and Rosa Schilling
A book between encyclopedia, guide and exercise book on self-love. “Sex in Echt” has been nominated for the German Youth Literature Prize and is as modern as it is relaxed. The authors have collected questions and short testimonials from young people and cleverly interwoven them with explanations, glossaries and illustrations. The Tenor: You are okay the way you are. And everyone else is too, as long as they accept your limits, don’t overstep the consensus. “Sex in real” goes into detail about the menstrual cycle, sexually transmitted diseases, inter- and transsexuality and leaves nothing out. There are also sites about porn (“Do I have to do what they do in porn? – Nope!”) and sex toys that don’t moralize or covertly, but always do one thing: provide very good information. Kathleen Hildebrand