Making a Baby

by Rachel Greener, Clare Owen (Illustrator)

Overview

This inclusive guide to how every family begins is an honest, cheerful tool for conversations between parents and their young ones.

To make a baby you need one egg, one sperm, and one womb. But every family starts in its own special way. This book answers the "Where did I come from?" question no matter who the reader is and how their life began. From all different kinds of conception through pregnancy to the birth itself, this candid and cozy guide is just right for the first conversations that parents will have with their children about how babies are made.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593324868
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/22/2021
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	783,614
Lexile:	AD680L (what's this?)
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rachel Greener is a children's books editor from London who has edited fiction, nonfiction and picture books about everything from the ancient Egyptians and ocean plastics to teenage detectives and zombie goldfish. She wrote this book because she thinks it is important that all children have a chance to see their family story reflected in a book about where babies come from.

Clare Owen graduated from art school in 2009 and has been working as a freelance illustrator ever since. She works on a big variety of fun projects, creating pictures and patterns for home products, stationery, picture books, magazines, and packaging--all influenced by her love of color, nature, and mid-century design. Originally from Cornwall, she now lives in Bristol with her boyfriend and two cats.

Editorial Reviews

A 2022 NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books List Selection

"This babymaking primer takes a decidedly inclusive approach to the topic, steering clear of rigidly gendered language and featuring a wide range of family members and configurations. Using a muted color palette, Owen's cleanly rendered art has a retro aesthetic and includes people of different races, genders, shapes, and abilities—happy-looking families all . . . An authentic and honest celebration of babies, families, and diversity." —Horn Book

"A book that really tells it like it is, from the sex act to birth, without shying away from topics such as male, female, and intersex genders, egg and sperm donations, and C-sections, this should be available in all public and school libraries." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2021

Gr 2–5—The gestation and eventual birth of a human baby is one of the true miracles; starting a family is an intimate, loving, and complicated experience. How much children are told about the process can vary widely, from the silly explanations involving cabbage patches and storks to the more frank and direct approach found in this book. It is biologically accurate, covering reproductive methods other than intercourse as well, e.g., artificial insemination and surrogacy. The illustrations are anatomically correct but not graphic; the descriptive language is straightforward and accurate in naming body parts. With all the right information, this book challenges educators to determine the audience: What age, what life experience, and what social and cultural issues does it address? Where will it do the most good? The subject and the relatively small illustrations limit its usefulness in story-hour sharing. It's perfect for reading in a one-on-one setting, but only by a caretaker who wants to answer a curious child's questions without sugarcoating or distorting the process. The imminent birth of a new sibling might inspire parents to seek out this information and then deliver it on a need-to-know basis. VERDICT A book that really tells it like it is, from the sex act to birth, without shying away from topics such as male, female, and intersex genders, egg and sperm donations, and C-sections, this should be available in all public and school libraries.—Joan Kindig, James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA

School Library Journal