Book Review: The Breast Book by Emma Pickett

AIMS Journal, 2019, Vol 31, No 4

Reviewed for AIMS by Clara Hubbard, age 12

The Breast Book: A puberty guide with a difference - it's the when, why and how of breasts By Emma Pickett Pinter and Martin, 2019 176 pages £8.99 ISBN 978-1-78066-475-0 Find this book on Amazon

The Breast Book is certainly a very interesting book! As it states on the front cover, it is ‘a puberty guide with a difference’. Whether you’re 10, 15 or 40 years old, this book will be a great and unique read; I guarantee you won’t get bored!

Emma Pickett is an amazing and funny author. She has the ability to explain things so that you can understand them but also relate to them. It is almost as if she has designed the book specifically for you, as it is easy to read, and could have you reading it in one whole go!

I think everyone should read The Breast Book, no matter who they are; pretty much all questions are answered in this book. It literally tells you the when, what, why, where and who of breasts! The parts I most enjoyed in The Breast Book are the real-life stories about other people’s experiences. I like finding out about other people, who are actually alive, rather than the science behind things. In my mind, it’s important to know what’s going on in the world around you, otherwise you’re just living in a shell. But all opinions will vary from one person to another a lot! The Breast Book will reassure you about any burning questions that you may have, that you are too embarrassed to talk about. Reading it is almost like you are talking to someone. Some people might feel that they can mention breasts to anyone; however, for slightly shyer people, this book is perfect.

I recommend that everyone reading this review reads The Breast Book. Simple! It would make an ideal present for teens.

Book Review Editor comment:

It’s great to hear about this book from Clara, as she is certainly part of Emma Pickett’s target audience. I was interested that Clara was not so keen on the ‘science’: I found those sections of the book amazing and I was very pleased to read them. I have had to attend many conferences and read widely to access that information, and I felt that Emma has done a great job in this book of making the science around birth and breastfeeding wonderfully accessible to young women. It is possible, of course, that more of the science sunk in than Clara appreciates right now.

My other reflection on reading the book was to think that young men need to be reading much of this book too - especially the science bit. I’m not aware of other books on the market that meet this need, and so I would dearly love to see Emma adapt the material and produce a companion book aimed at teenage boys.