Just Ask Elsie by Koontz, Ari
Just Ask Elsie by Koontz, Ari

Just Ask Elsie

Elsie Parker is having a totally normal fifth grade year. Fractions and conjunctions--check.Stressing about middle school--check.Body-positive puberty...
$22.78 USD
$22.78 USD
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Author: Ari Koontz
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $22.78
Just Ask Elsie by Koontz, Ari

Just Ask Elsie

$22.78
Just Ask Elsie by Koontz, Ari

Just Ask Elsie

$22.78
Author: Ari Koontz
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description

Elsie Parker is having a totally normal fifth grade year.

Fractions and conjunctions--check.
Stressing about middle school--check.
Body-positive puberty class at church that also covers feelings and identities--check.

Okay, maybe that last one isn't so normal. It's a little weird (and awkward) to spend her Sundays talking periods, B.O., and pimples. But Elsie's also learning a lot more than she's heard in her public-school health class -- like the difference between sex and gender, and what consent is, and what it might mean that she can't stop blushing around a certain cute girl at her school.

When her puberty lessons become the school's latest gossip, Elsie's totally humiliated... until she finds an anonymous note in her locker from a classmate who wants to know more, and realizes that other kids might have embarrassing questions of their own.

Starting an underground advice board wasn't exactly in her plans, but Elsie won't pass up a chance to turn her reputation around -- or to share words and labels that have not-so-accidentally been left off their curriculum. But when the principal tries to shut down the unauthorized puberty talk, Elsie has to decide what she's willing to risk to tell the truth to kids who really need to hear it.

Author: Ari Koontz
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: 06/16/2026
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.50w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9781250410986
Audience: Ages 9-12


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/01/2026
School Library Journal 04/01/2026 pg. 71
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2026

About the Author
Ari Koontz is a queer nonbinary writer and educator with an MFA in creative writing from Northern Michigan University. They're dedicated to telling full-hearted stories of bravery and whimsy in every possible genre, centering the beautiful complexities of queer identity and community, and supporting their local public library. A born-and-raised Midwestern UU, Ari lives close to where the water meets the woods and loves to take long walks when they should be writing. Just Ask Elsie is their debut novel.
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