Erzsi Deak

Girlfriend.
Aunt Flo.
DoÑa Rosa.
That time of the month.
Being on the rag.
The curse.
Monthlies.
Womanly time.
George.

You might have a different name for it, but all of these words mean the same thing: your period. And the number of nicknames you can make up for your period is nothing compared to the number of ways you can feel about it.

You may wonder if you're the only girl you know who doesn't have her period. Or you may feel excited about growing up. Are you confused about what's happening inside your body? Or do you feel silly as you giggle with your mom or friends about the pamphlets you're given in school?

In these frank and often poignant new short stories, twelve stellar authors explore the anxiety and excitement of "becoming a woman." Engaging, empowering, and sometimes hilarious, these stories show us girls who couldn't be more different -- and yet ultimately reveal that, in many ways, we are all the same.

From Publishers Weekly
A baker's dozen short stories, Period Pieces: Stories for Girls, ed. by Erzsi Deak and Kristin Embry Litchman, focuses on-you guessed it-the facts, the fears and, sometimes, the sheer embarrassment of menstruation. Contributors include Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park ("White Pants"); Dian Curtis Regan ("Living on Chocolate"); and Rita Williams-Garcia ("Making Do").
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-Aptly titled, these 13 stories describe girls' first experiences with either getting their periods or learning about them. Though there are myriad books about menstruation, few, if any, fiction collections mark this rite of passage. Among the contributors are Johanna Hurwitz, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jane Kurtz. Though the selections share a common theme, they reflect a multitude of settings, cultures, families, and circumstances. In "I Don't Wanna Hear It," Litchman describes one girl's initial disgust and denial upon learning about menstruation. In Linda Sue Park's "White Pants," a seventh grader describes the humiliating tell-tale stain on her pants that announces her first menses to the entire student body. The next day she shares her surprise, relief, and, finally, disappointment at how quickly the incident is forgotten. Three generations of Indian girls become dooram (with period) in Uma Krishnaswami's "The Gift," which begins in a partitioned India in 1947 and ends 52 years later in Baltimore. By far the funniest piece is Bobbi Katz's "Betrayal," in which an evasive mother tells her curious daughter that her sanitary napkins are for "when you are unwell." The youngster later surprises an unsuspecting insurance agent when she answers the door with a pad around her neck, nursing a sore throat. An honest, touching, sometimes hilarious collection.
Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Gr. 4-8. As these 13 culturally diverse selections prove, the arrival of a first period makes a great story, whether it happened at school, while wearing favorite white pants, surrounded by nosy siblings. In each of the stories, which were written mostly by familiar authors, including Johanna Hurwitz and Rita Garcia-Williams, the narrator experiences her own combination of fear, pain, excruciating embarrassment, and the occasional pride of finally belonging to a new "secret club." Some characters, such as those in Uma Krishnaswami's "The Gift," celebrate the event with generations of women, presents, and ceremonies. For others, as in Jane Kurtz's bittersweet "Family Sandwich," it's a sorrowful, lonely reminder that a mother is missing. Readers will be amused, and perhaps confused, by the range of equipment used by the characters, from rags in the nineteenth century to tampons today. Whether or not they have experienced the arrival of their first "George," "Auntie," or "Dona Rosa," girls will enjoy these stories--funny and self-deprecating, frank and reassuring--which may encourage them to shed embarrassment and take ownership of their bodies. Gillian Engberg
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