American Girl's Hugely Successful Body Book For Girls Now Has a Male Counterpart

Earlier this year, American Girl went viral following its announcement of Logan Everett, the first-ever male American Girl doll. Although both girls and boys alike couldn't wait to get their hands on Logan, American Girl has taken a further stab at reaching a male audience in particular with a new book — based on the highly successful The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book For Girls — called Guy Stuff: The Body Book For Boys.

The book, which is available in stores and online Aug. 8, seeks to help boys ages 8 and up prepare for the changes their bodies will go through — acne, pubic and facial hair, voice cracking — and gives them tips, pointers, and insight into handling everything from body odor and emotions to peer pressure and bullying in an age-appropriate and practical manner. Guy Stuff aims to empower young boys to take control over their health in having open conversations with their parents and other trusted adults, something that was very important to the book's author, Dr. Cara Natterson.

"Parents have written to me for years, asking for the boy version of The Care and Keeping of You," said Natterson, the author of Guy Stuff and mom to a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. "And while we've done a good job of educating girls on puberty and their changing bodies, boys have been left behind on this topic — and that's simply not fair. Boys go through puberty, too, and they deserve the same information that girls get about how to grow up in a safe and healthy way. It's time we change the social norms and start including boys in discussions about puberty, health, and wellness, beyond what may or may not be taught in the classroom once or twice a year."

Natterson hopes that Guy Stuff will be a starting point in beginning important conversations between parents and their sons because health and wellness is such a huge topic. "The goal of The Care and Keeping of You and Guy Stuff is to provide good, basic information that kids and parents can use to engage in great conversations. By the way, there is no such thing as 'The Talk.' If you plan to only discuss puberty once through 'The Talk,' your kids are unlikely to hear it. Parents should aim to have many conversations over several years, slowly covering a lot of ground. And the silver lining is that it takes the pressure off parents who stress about one big 'Talk.'"

When asked how Guy Stuff differs from The Care and Keeping of You, Natterson said though the tone and voice in this latest release are a bit more unique, so much of the content is the same. "Boys and girls both inhabit growing bodies that need to be cared for in similar ways," she said. "The physical management of life during puberty isn't a boy thing or a girl thing; it's a human thing . . . by and large, much of the information is similar because kids deserve this information regardless of their gender."

Ahead, see a sneak peek at some of the book's pages, and pick up a copy of your own on Aug. 8.