An invisible period, 1981 / S., New York, NY -- Good-bye green thumb, 1942 / Thelma Kandel, New York, NY -- Burning secret, 1966 / Suzan Shutan, East Haven, CT -- Fear of fourteen, 1991 / Erica Jong, New York, NY -- The lie, 1948 / Shalom Victor, Santa Cruz, CA -- Germany, 1942 / Nina Bassman, Queens, NY -- The artist, 1968 / Nina Bentley, Westport, CT -- Bloody Bat Mitzvah, 2002 / Sarah Rosen, New Haven, CT -- Going to x-tremes, 1982 / Michele Jaffe, Los Angeles, CA -- Blood relative, 1976 / Sondra Freundlich-Hall, San Francisco, CA -- Too wet, 1994 / Rafia -- Guatemala : advice from a cheesemaker, 1953 / Flori, Chicago, IL -- Mehn-su, 1992 / Amy H. Lee, Berkeley, CA -- Can I just skip this period? 1971 / Patty Marx, New York, NY -- Silence, 1930s / Elizabeth Sicilliano, Cleveland, OH -- A jealous Vajayjay, 1981 / Nancy L. Caruso, Cardiff, CA -- Into the woods, 1964 / Sharon Gerhard, Novato, CA -- Loss and gain of responsibility, 1969 / Zannette Lewis, Richmond, VA -- The Ming period, 1999 / Aliza Shvarts, Los Angeles, CA -- Andy Roddick's serve, 2003 / Jen Bashian, Los Angeles, CA -- An invisible period, 1981 / S., New York, NY -- An excerpt from "Letters" / Maxine Kumin, New Hampshire -- The blusher, 2002 / Elli Foster, Lancaster, PA -- Hot dog on a string, 1993 / Ellen Devine, Wallingford, CT -- Chairman Mao's period, 1967 / Xiao Ling Ma, Nanjing, China -- LOL {.}, 2005 / Zoe Kauder Nalebuff, New Haven, CT -- Blood on the tracks, 1972 / Patricia E. Boyd, Pittsburgh, PA -- Ink blots and milk spots, 1987 / Krista Madsen, Brooklyn, NY -- Glamorous, but not for long, 1981 / Jennifer Baumgardner, New York, NY -- I know you are not there, God. It's me, Kate, 1990 / Kate Zieman, Toronto, Canada -- The curse, 1939 / Lola Gerhard -- The simple vase : part I, 1997 / Laura Wexler, New Haven, CT -- The simple vase : part II, 1997 / Rebecca Wexler, New York, NY -- Let down, 2007 / Tatum Travers, Chicago, IL -- Desperately delayed, 1970 / Judy Nicholson Asselin, Westtown, PA -- Proper disposal, 1993 / Catherine Conant, Middletown, CT -- Mattress pad, 1990 / Yulia, New York -- No gushing for me, please, 1970 / Monica Wesolowska, Berkeley, CA -- The slap, 1972 / Ilene Lainer, New York, NY -- Rescued by a refugee, 1941 / Pearl Stein Selinsky, Sacramento, CA -- The wrath of the gods, 1970 / Jill Bialosky, Cleveland, OH -- Locked in a room with Dosai, 1962 / Shobha Sharma, Chennai, India -- Simple as salt, 1967 and 2008 / Jacquelyn Mitchard, Madison, WI -- Senoria, 1980 / Kica Matos, New Haven, CT -- Can I sit on his lap? 1916 / Henrietta Wittenberg, New York, NY -- Barbies and biology, 1996 / Aysegul Altintas, Istanbul, Turkey -- An excerpt from "Letters" / Maxine Kumin, New Hampshire -- Progressive parenting, 1993 / Nancy Gruver and Joe Kelly, Duluth, MN -- Jaws, 2004 / Lily Gottchalk, Wallingford, CT -- Dying in the land of Dionysus, 1972 / Mary Hu, New Haven, CT -- Step toward womanhood, but with stepmom, 1983 / Lisa Selin Davis, Brooklyn, NY -- Yodelay uh-oh, 1982 / Cecily von Ziegesar, Brooklyn, NY -- The white dress, 1971 / Kathi Kovacic, Cleveland, OH -- Up at the chalkboard, 1979 / Emilia Arthur, Accra, Ghana -- If men could menstruate / Gloria Steinem, New York, NY -- A puddle, 1991 / Laura Madeline Wiseman, Arizona -- Out of the closet, 1968 / Joyce Maynardd, Mill Valley, CA -- Staining the Ciroen, 1970 / Catherine Johnson-Roehr, Bloomington, IN -- Cranberry sauce, 1993 / Barclay Rachael Gang, Miami, FL -- Tsihabuhkai, 1962 / Juanita Pahdopony, Lawton, OK -- The dream, 1994 / Annie Sherman, Chico, CA -- Operation menstruation! 1998 / Jennifer Asanin Dean, Hamilton, Canada -- Crushed leaves in Kenya, 2006 / Thatcher Mweu, Nairobi, Kenya -- Where's my belt? 1979 / Meg Cabot, Bloomington, IN -- My second first period, 1977 / Bernadette Murphy, Los Angeles, CA -- Memory : day 1, 1973 / M. Eliza Hamilton Abegunde, Evanston, IL -- A coup at the napkin dispenser, 1960 / Linda Lindroth, New Haven, CT -- Downward dog, 2004 / Marian Firke, Chicago, IL -- The harness, 1961 / Deo Robbins, Santa Cruz, CA -- The Von Trapps and me / Debby Dodds, Los Angeles, CA -- Dress appropriately, 1974 / Bita Moghaddam, Pittsburgh, PA -- The earache, 1975 / Dr. Miriam nelson, Medford, MA -- Progressive parenting, 1993 / Nancy Gruver and Joe Kelly, Duluth, MN -- Do more. Carla Cohen, Washington, DC -- No longer in little league, 1993 / Moira Kathleen Ray, Portland, OR -- Euro Disney, 1992 / Jessy Schuster, Miami, FL -- On horseback, 1960s / Margaret Whitton, Martha's Vineyard, MA -- Not getting it, 1980 / Rachel Vail, New York, NY -- The mermaid, 1974 / Sara Hickman, Austin, TX -- When you phoned home from California to tell me it had started / Penelope Scambly Schott, Portland, OR -- Peanut butter and chocolate milk, 1959 / Kathrine Switzer, New Zealand and New York, NY -- Tamora Pierce saves the day, 2006 / Madeleine, New York, NY -- Slippery in the stairwell, 1965 / Tamora Pierce, New York -- Down under, 1983 / Jenni Deslandes, Sydney, Australia -- Time for prayer, 2006 / Fatema Maswood, Cromwell, CT -- The right place at the right time, 1952 / Leigh Bienen, Evanston, IL -- Blood month, 1979 / Sandra Guy, Paris, France -- Late bloomer, 1998 / Emily Hagenmaier, Los Angeles, Ca -- History sometimes repeats itself, 1970 / Marianne Bernstein, Philadelphia, PA -- Twelve-step program, 1946 / Marcia Nalebuff, Newton, MA -- Flow, 1983 / Tonya Hurley, New York, NY -- You always remember your first / Carla Cohen, Washington, DC -- Euphemisms and code words -- Learn more -- Do more.
Summary:
My Little Red Book is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. The accounts range from lighthearted (the editor got hers while waterskiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart-stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip-searched by the Nazis). The contributors include well-known women writers (Meg Cabot, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Cecily von Ziegesar), alongside today's teens. Ultimately, My Little Red Book is more than a collection of stories. It is a call for a change in attitude. By revealing what it feels like to undergo this experience firsthand and giving women the chance to explain their feelings in their own words. My Little Red Book aims to provide support, entertainment, and a starting point for discussion for mothers and daughters everywhere.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.