Everything on the list was ticked. The backpack was sorted.
Or so Bailee thought…
Backpack Sorted is a warm and funny period story for girls and boys aged 8 and up.
Launches Sunday 1 November.
Written with Robin Adolphs, children's author and former Deputy Principal.
$24.95, limited first print run.
Example mockup only, not final cover art
Secure your copy before launch day.
Limited print run available.
Buy it before it opens to everyone
Your pre-sale window opens a couple of days before the public launch, so your copy is locked in first, so you don't miss out.
The camp packing list for girls
Everything to pack for camp, including the bits nobody else thinks to add. Free printout.
A period tracker sheet for girls
She marks her cycle with stickers, no app. Free download when you preorder.
Robin's education notes
From Robin, a former Deputy Principal, on using Backpack Sorted at home, in the classroom or with a group.
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. So when something new and unfamiliar comes up for Bailee, she's not working it out alone, she's got two mates ready to help her out, even if it is getting her period for the first time on a school camp.
Not another period guide. It's a story that lands where a lecture doesn't. No graphic diagrams, no formal nurse 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.
Bailee's never really heard about periods, until her friends get talking on the way to camp. Willow's already got hers, and talks about it like it's nothing. Mitch knows more than you'd expect, even if he gets it a bit wrong at first. So when it happens to Bailee, it's not the shock it could've been, because the three of them figure it out together.
No drama. By the end, she's sorted.
It's not the period. It's not knowing what to do.
The unknown is the hard part. 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 Fanzy Pantz, and the quiet heart of this book. Bailee feels okay because she's sorted.
That's the feeling we want for every girl.
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 turn that into a story instead, one she'd happily read about Bailee at camp with her mates, laughing at the bits Mitch gets wrong. 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
Some girls get their first period at eight. School often doesn't cover it until 10 to 12.
Years of gap, and the ones it happens to first are the ones who know the least.
Starts between 8 and 11
About one in eight Australian girls gets her first period between 8 and 11.
When school gets to it
Most kids aren't taught about periods at school until they're 10 to 12.
Had no education first time
64% of Australians who menstruate had no education before their first period, or wish they'd known more.
Have missed school over it
63% have missed school because of their period, 49% because they were worried about leaking.
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
Hand her the book, leave it on her bed, say nothing. Then be around. Works for dads too, which is the point, Mitch is your way in.
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.
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 does it arrive?
Sunday 1 November. The waitlist gets to buy a couple of days early, ahead of the public launch.
What the research says
Flinders University
Recommends the Australian curriculum introduce menstruation education by at least Year 3, and that schools advertise period product locations from Year 3.
Share the Dignity
Their own research found the same gap: kids can get their periods as young as eight but might not be taught about it at school until they're ten.
Not ready to join yet? Wondering if your daughter might be about to get her first period?
Do the quizGet in before the playground does.
Join the waitlist and buy Backpack Sorted before everyone else. Out Sunday 1 November.
By Robin Adolphs and Amanda Adolphs. Published under the Butternut imprint.
robinadolphs.com
