Everything on the list was ticked. The backpack was sorted.
Or so Bailee thought…
Backpack Sorted is a warm and friendly first period story for girls and boys aged 8 and up.
Join the waitlist to receive pre-sale access on Friday 30 October.
Written with Robin Adolphs, children's author and former Deputy Principal.
Secure your copy before launch day.
Limited print run available.
Buy it before everyone else
Be on the waitlist before Friday 30 October and you can buy Backpack Sorted first, before it opens to everyone on Sunday 1 November.
Only a limited number are printed
We're only printing a limited number of books, so you can be one of the first in Australia to get yours.
Three extras included
When you join the waitlist, you'll get a specialised camp packing list for periods, a period tracker sheet and Robin's education notes.
Giving back
$1 from every book goes to Share the Dignity.
We're donating $1 from every copy of Backpack Sorted sold to Share the Dignity, an Australian charity getting period products to women, girls and anyone who menstruates who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, domestic violence or poverty.
Because every girl deserves to feel sorted.
Three friends, one camp,
and the one thing that wasn't on the list…
Bailee, Willow and Mitch have known each other since kindy, practically their whole lives. She's got two besties and a new period pack ready to go. So when she gets her period for the first time on a school camp, it's not a big deal. She's sorted, not stressed.
Not another period guide. It's a story that lands where a lecture doesn't. No graphic diagrams, no formal voice, nothing that feels like homework or a video she's been told to watch.
And this is the age for it. At around eight, periods aren't embarrassing yet, they're just interesting. It's the perfect time to start the conversation, gently, informally, more like a story than a lesson.
All we ask is that you don't wait to have this conversation. As the research shows, help her feel confident with the right information before she's caught out.
It's not the period. It's not knowing what to do.
Not knowing what's happening is what makes girls feel anxious or embarrassed, or worse, when it happens, not knowing what to do, or feeling like they can't tell mum or dad. A girl who's got her pack and knows what's in it isn't carrying that worry around all day.
That's the whole idea behind Backpack Sorted and Fanzy Pantz too. The quiet heart of both. Bailee feels okay because she's sorted.
That's the way we want every girl to feel.
Written by
A children's author and the founder of an Australian first period kit brand.
For Bailee, and for every girl growing up. You've got this.
Why we made this book
Girls are getting their first periods younger than ever, some as young as eight, yet almost everything out there is written for teens and adults. The tweens, the ones who need it first, are the ones left out.
I asked Robin Adolphs, a brilliant children's author and my mother-in-law, to help turn that into a story, the kind Bailee and her mates would actually want to read, with a laugh at the bits Mitch gets wrong along the way. That's why Mitch is in it too. Periods aren't a girls-only secret, and giving dads, brothers and teachers an easy way in is how we stop it being something nobody says out loud.
Amanda, Fanzy Pantz
Who it's for
Parents, carers, teachers and anyone helping a kid feel ready instead of caught out.
You don't have to be good at this conversation
Here's a story you can read with your daughter, or let her read it herself, so you can start answering the questions she might have.
A story you can read to the whole class
No medical tone, nothing that feels like a lesson. Works as a read-aloud or a library pick. Ordering for a class, library, club or wellness group? Ask about bulk copies.
An easy way to help without the awkward bit
Give it as a gift, or keep a copy on hand. It starts the conversation so you don't have to find the words first.
What parents are saying
The kind of thing we hear once the pack lands in their hands.
"My girls will have these beautiful packs and resources to be ready when their time comes. I had nothing when I was young."
"I'll definitely have this ready for my girl. Thanks for making it."
"I've been talking about this with my eight year old and we've put a pack together."
"It's so good to be informed beforehand rather than after the fact."
"I'm really open with both my kids, my son too, about it."
"I wish I'd had this, the pack and the information, given to me when I was little. All I was given was a pad and told to wear it to school. I was so embarrassed and always worried about leaking."
Questions people ask us
Why would you tell an 8 year old about periods?
Because the alternative is her finding out alone, with no warning. She isn't being sat down for a lecture, she's reading a story about a girl she likes, at camp, with her mates, and puts it down when she's had enough.
Will it scare her?
No. It's a funny story about a girl at camp with her mates. Bailee starts out knowing nothing about periods, her friends fill her in on the way to camp, and by the end she's sorted. Reading it early means your daughter starts out already knowing what Bailee had to learn on the spot.
Is there anything graphic in it?
No. No diagrams, no anatomy lessons. It's an illustrated story about three kids at camp, pitched for 8 and up.
Why is there a boy in it?
So a teacher can read it to a mixed class and a dad has an easy way in. Mitch already knows some of it, gets it a bit wrong at first, and learns. Leaving boys out is how you end up with men who can't say the word.
When can I get it?
Pre-sale opens Friday 30 October for the waitlist. It opens to everyone on Sunday 1 November.
Schools, homeschoolers and groups
Ordering for a class, a homeschool group, a library, a club, a wellness group or another organisation? Tell us a bit about you and we'll email you about bulk pricing.
Get in before the playground does.
Join the waitlist and get pre-sale access on Friday 30 October, before everyone else. Limited first print run.
By Robin Adolphs and Amanda Adolphs. Published under the Butternut imprint.
robinadolphs.com
fanzypantz.com.au
