| 1. Engage stakeholders and obtain formal approvals | Objective: To generate buy-in from the government and identify appropriate data collection sites, usually 1 urban and 1 rural site in each country.
Activities:
Examine existing puberty resources in the select country, including meeting with key government stakeholders (e.g., ministry of education, ministry of health) to determine if a gap in puberty education exists and that a book would serve as a useful contribution. Capture inputs from additional actors, such as youth-serving NGOs, local researchers, and advocates knowledgeable about youth issues.
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| 2. Conduct participatory research | Objectives: To capture adolescent stories about growing up, questions about puberty, and recommendations for what other girls and boys need to know as they reach puberty; to capture adults’ perspectives on beliefs and issues of importance.
Activities:
Conduct participatory activities with adolescent girls and/or boys (aged 15–19 years) in and out of school. Interview adults (e.g., parents, teachers, health workers, and religious leaders) who interact in young peoples’ lives in the local context.
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| 3. Draft book content | Objective: To include content that combines basic puberty guidance grounded in local education curricula, a selection of written stories directly authored by girls and boys, and a series of questions and facts.
Activities:
Draft written content. Local stakeholders review draft and provide inputs. A local illustrator, translator, and publisher develop an illustrated draft of the book for field-testing.Note: In many countries, the books are dual language, with the languages being taught in schools on the same page to enable improved comprehension. The language selection for the book is carefully determined by the local government. Hiring of local talent supports investment in the local economy and ensures that the content is socially and culturally appropriate to the context.
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| 4. Field-test and finalize | Objectives: To ensure the book content is appropriate and meaningful to youth and acceptable to the adults in their lives, including parents, government, and key stakeholders; and to ensure the literacy level is correct for the average reader and that youth feel that the images align with the words on each page.
Activities:
Field-test with girls or boys aged 10–14 years; significant time is spent reviewing each page for the illustration and text used. Youth-recommended edits are prioritized when finalizing the book content in each context. Field-test with primary school teachers, parents or caregivers, health and education members of government, and other relevant stakeholders.
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| 5. Distribute and review | Objective: To disseminate the book.
Activities:
In many countries, 10,000–15,000 pilot book copies were distributed to local stakeholders that supported the book development process, along with other youth actors (e.g., schools and youth centers that participated in the data collection, youth-serving NGOs, UN agencies, and government champions). Submit the book for review by government education bodies as a supplementary reader in schools. In some countries, after approval has been received, additional translations of the book(s) are created, usually by government request.Note: In terms of their usage, the books are designed for young people to receive and read on their own, ideally taking them home to share with siblings, parents, or family members or youth who are out of school. However, in some contexts, NGOs or schools have opted to incorporate the books into clubs or programming, with teachers or peer educators interacting with youth as they read.
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