A little while ago I read a book Screaming Hairy Armadillos from the publisher Workman. While, not usually a fan, I know they have some goodies. Therefore, when I got a chance to get a copy of So Embarrassing: Awkward Moments and How to Get Through Them by Charise Mericle Harper, I jumped at the chance. Okay, gold was not found twice.
But perhaps it is bronze instead. Harper’s non-fiction book is a fun way to learn how to deal with your embarrassment. They combine not as much obvious humor, but humorous moments and facts and mix them together to make the bare bones come to life.
The graphic novel format makes it look less daunting than a textbook. Sometimes, however, I did not always feel like there were helpful tips. Other times, the adult me said, “I am going to have to use that the next time I am embarrassed.” The strongest part was showing that adults know what you are going through as they have gone through it, too, and obviously survived to tell the tale. The second strongest part was about PIP: Parents in Public and the most mortifying things they have, can and will do to us. And I feel for these kids as yes, even in my adult years, my father is a PIP. (I was looking for the A/UIP: Aunt/Uncle In Public) chapter, but it does probably fall under the PIP).
Several chapters are broken into types of embarrassment with facts on how to deal with them. I personally was a fan of the Fart Chapter as it had some interesting facts (such as how many times we fart during the day, which ones have scent and so on).
I would think that this is best for the classroom health setting. Ages eight to 13 might be the best audience as well. It could be for the individual child dealing with certain situations (called a teacher mom, had a water accident, stepped in poop…) or even for the children who might have not done the best response to one or more of the above scenarios for a fellow student and/or friend.