> Skip to content

Article  •  28 September 2016

 

A letter from Kaz to the parents of pre-teen girls

A letter from Kaz Cooke.

Hello there,

Girl Stuff 8–12 (Your Real Guide to the Pre-Teen Years), my new book, is now available. It’s the ‘little sister’ of my award-winning (ooh la) book for teenaged girls, Girl Stuff: Your Full-on Guide to the Teen Years.

Parents often worry that their girls enter puberty ‘too soon’. Girls wonder if they’re ‘normal’ and what to expect. Girl Stuff 8–12 has fun cartoons and a friendly style, and tells girls all they need to know about first periods, body hair, moods and other changes, as well as dealing with friendship groups and bullies. It has lots of helpful info on confidence, body image, staying healthy, phones & social media and family harmony.

Girl Stuff 8–12 gives girls their own pages for notes and daydreams, and has curated lists of good movies, TV shows, books and heroines for girls. (It doesn’t have the chapters on sex, alcohol drugs, and other important info for older girls that’s in the big sister Girl Stuff.) Girl Stuff 8–12 has age-appropriate info that’s properly researched with medical and other consultants.

As girls are bombarded with inappropriate messages and hard-sell commercialism, please help provide them with independent, inclusive, practical and kind information with their best interests at heart. You can help spread us the word on social media (#preteengirlstuff). And please let your favourite pre-teen girl know that she now has her very own new book to put under her pillow!

Thank you,

Kaz Cooke
Author of Up the Duff: The Real Guide to Pregnancy, Kidwrangling: Looking After Babies, Toddlers and Preschoolers, and Girl Stuff, Your Full-on Guide to the Teen Years, among other best-selling books.

Here’s a sample of Girl Stuff 8–12.

Feature Title

Girl Stuff 8–12

The essential younger girl's guide to puberty and the pre-teen years. Fully revised and updated.

Read more

More features

See all
Article
Bold, wise and funny girls

The best books for educators to share on International Women’s Day 2021

Article
Kids and self-confidence

The bestselling author and cartoonist on how to feel more confident.

Article
Kaz on research

The 4000 voices of Girl Stuff 8–12, Your Real Guide to the Pre-Teen Years.

Article
Beating the bullies

Change the feelings caused by bullying.

Article
Being online

Tips for parents and kids. 

Article
Award-winning and shortlisted books of 2026

Discover some of the best Penguin Random House books of 2026 with this list of award-winning and shortlisted titles this year.

Article
14 of the best vampire books to add to your TBR

Discover some of the best vampire books – from paranormal to gothic and beyond.

Article
2026 Penguin Literary Prize Shortlist

Penguin Random House Australia (PRH AU) is thrilled to announce the shortlist for the 2026 Penguin Literary Prize.

Article
CBCA Book of the Year Notables 2026

We're thrilled to share that ten books have been named CBCA Notables this year. Learn more about them here.

Article
10 debut authors share where the ideas for their first novels came from

Learn about the inspiration behind debut authors’ first novels.

Article
DK Catalogue 2026

Bold. Creative. Global.

Article
You'll Always Be My Baby

The perfect bedtime picture book gift for parents and grandparents

Looking for more articles?

See all articles