Reviews (3)

Good for younger kids too!
I bought this book to help me explain my growing belly to my 2 year old son. Most of it is beyond him, but he enjoys the flaps that show different versions of the same scene. His favourites are (1) Mum with a big belly on the outside and flip for the baby inside, (2) happy baby and flip for crying baby, (3) awake baby and flip for sleeping baby. So he now points to my belly and says "baby". I don't know how I would have got the idea across to a 2 year old otherwise. A handy-dandy book to help prepare an only child for the twins that are coming soon!

Not bad, but there are better titles. . .
If you are considering purchasing this, some points to consider are: Cartoon-ish illustrations with talking eggs and sperm. Text refers to the uterus as a "womb", umbilical cord as a "tube" and navel as a "belly-button" without giving accurate labels. Also uses terminology such as "pees" and "poops." Describes the mother as being uncomfortable and "ready for the baby to come out" along with an illustration of an unhappy, 7-months-pregnant woman. Text also states the baby comes out of the "opening between the mother's legs" again, without giving proper name. Presumes presence of Doctor and Nurse at birth, and alludes to labor and birth process but does not illustrate or detail. To its credit, the book does a fair job of explaining role of sperm in determining gender, and that eggs come from the woman and sperm from the man. Does not address intercourse in any way, but shows fertilization with talking eggs/sperm. Illustrations are colorful and bright. Creative description of amniotic sac (without calling it such!) and comparison to a goldfish in a bag of water. Describes what baby might experience in utero. Shows breastfeeding mother but then shows bottles as well. Illustrations of fetal development are accompanied by "real-size" outlines. Not a bad choice if your interest is in explaining fetal development (consider Nilsson's "How Was I Born?" for photographs), but not a good choice if you want to discuss intercourse and birth. May be great for some families, but we prefer Joanna Cole's "How You Were Born" and "How Babies Are Made" by Andrew Andry.

Very Informational
I thought that this book provided very good insight to a question, that is often raised by children at a young age. This book answered many questions regarding where babies do come from. Most pre-school children think that they come from mommy's stomach. I would reccommend this book for early-childhood educators,as well as parents of young children who are expecting again. ... Read more

Book Description

"The best book we've seen on the subject."--Parents Magazine. This classic book on the birth of a baby has been completely revised and expanded for today's families. With irresistible full-color photographs and a clear, straightforward text. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Great Beginning for the That Difficult Talk
Every parent dreads that moment. You know the one I mean- that moment when your child begins to ask about S-E-X. This book is a wonderful aid to help you through it.

Most experts suggest only giving as much information as a child is ready for, and answering the questions as they come up. This book is wonderful for the beginning stages of this process when your child wants to know where babies come from, but is neither ready for nor interested in the details of conception. This book has beautiful pictures of babies in utero in various stages of development and gently discusses the development of the fetus, the birth of the baby (in a non-graphic but honest way), and the excitement of welcoming a new life into the world.

I bought this for my eight year old, but it is gentle and non-graphic enough that my 3 year old loves it, as well. In fact, I wish I'd had this book when I was pregnant with my younger child. This would be a wonderful book for expectant mothers to share with their older children as they prepare for a new sibling.

There are other books out there that will answer more advanced questions in a more graphic way. This book is not going to answer everything, but it is the perfect book to use for beginning the journey of educating your children about reproduction, and it is written in such a way that parents can easily discuss their own beliefs with their children.

Fun, factual and reverent... what more could a mommy want?
This book is a fun, low-key, high-quality way to introduce kids to the miracles of development and birth. Mine (6 and 7) were less interested in the pictures of actual babies as they were in those of the developing fetuses, and their long looks over each page allowed plenty of time for my narration -- about how much each of them was wanted, about how amazing it is that a real baby can be so tiny, and so on.

My daughter seemed a little uncomfortable with one of the pictures, which depicts a woman "giving birth" -- you do see the side of her hip exposed, in a fairly realistic position, but there's not much more skin visible here than you might see on a beach. I think overall, the pluses here -- especially allowing kids to see the developing fetus as an actual baby -- outweigh any possible drawbacks (the very slight nudity).

As "facts of life" books go, this one is full of fascinating facts, doesn't dodge any tricky issues, and can help instill a much-needed sense of reverence around the whole process.

NOTE: There is nothing in this book about how babies get made in the first place. If that's what you're looking for -- and in my case, it was, in part -- you will need other books to cover THAT information.

My kids kept saying "WOW"!
This book focuses mainly on fetal development and childbirth. My 5 year old daughter, who always wants to hear stories about her birth, loved it and kept saying "Wow!" and "Awesome" througout the book. It had beautiful pictures and lots of factual information. It was great!

Relax and have fun with the tough questions!
I first bought this book when I was pregnant for my second child. My daughter was about three at the time and I wanted to make sure she had an understanding of the "miracle of childbirth". This book took away the pressure! Great photographs and a clear and factual explanation of how babies are conceived and develop. I loaned this book out to one of my friends and unfortuantley never got it back. My daughter is now 9 and will still mention how she loved that book and wishes she had it back! This is a must for anyone with a new baby on the way or to handle that tough question of, "Where do babies come from?"! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Excellent book and unique in it's genre...
This was a very good book for my son. The material was presented in a way that was more *interactive* and he responded very well to that. I didn't find the drawings to be very compelling but perhaps the simplicity and *toned downed* nature of them was a good thing becuase some of the material presented was quite frank. I think there are probably many parents that would find the material too frank especially at the younger end of the age recommendations.

I have purchased quite a bit of information for my son on this subject in the hopes that if he was too embarrassed to ask me or someone else he would go to these books. I have found in the past that material that he was not ready for he tended to just pass over. Literally, he would just turn the page on things that seemed beyond him... So in his case I feel comfortable presenting information that might not want to read right than, but know where to find it when he wants to seek it out.

This was a very good book for my son at 10 years old. For some parents and children they might want to wait a few more years and I am sure for some, this material would be too frank to ever be considered.

Much Too Explicit for Young Children
I'm not sure if the previous reviewers are parents of young childen, but I must say there is absolutely no chance that I will show my 8 year old this book. I must agree that this book does present sex in a very liberating way, but these are not the values I want my children to have. I encourage my daughter to ask questions about her body, sex and sexuality, and I have been more than open and honest about the entire subject. This book just goes too far for this age group. For example, I don't think a 6-9 year old needs to know what 'coming' is, or needs to fantasize about who they want to have sex with when they are adults. This book should have been broken up into two parts. The content on exploration, I feel, might be okay for a younger child, but the latter part of the book presents subjects that I didn't even think about until puberty. I am well aware that children are maturing earlier(I know I did), but I think this book is much too explicit for children under 10. I do believe that these issues will eventually surface with my children, but for right now I'm happy explaining from where babies come.

Interactive workbook for kids 5-12. Refreshingly different!
Now _this_ is a sexuality education book for younger children different from any other I have seen. A breath of fresh air! 56 pages, black & white, line illustrations throughout.

The book designed for pre-pubescent children who are old enough to read (maybe age 5 to 12). The style of the book is quite like a school workbook, though I don't think that's a turn-off in this case. The text of the book talks directly to the reader, not speaking abstractly. It's a workbook since on almost every page there is space for the reader to draw a picture, write a response on the line provided, or tick the box that best describes what they think or feel. The illustrations invite coloring in.

The content of the book specifically does not talk much about how babies are made or born, but rather about other aspects of sexuality, specifically how the reader feels about themself. The reader might want to just read the book, or fill it in and keep it secret, or show someone what they have done.

I personally don't like Marcia Quackenbush's illustrations that much, though others disagree. (She also illustrated "Period" in the same style).

This is a unique book (as far as I know), and I recommend it as something a bit more interactive than simple information books. I think it'd be interesting to give a copy of the book to a child multiple times as they grow up, documenting their growing maturity about what they think and feel.

Most excellent!
Children's sexuality is a part of the human experience which in today's world we mostly encounter in negative, semi-paranoid terms. This book, a veritable Playbook in all true senses of the word, is an agent of consciousness, helping to usher in the coming age of a sensuous tenderness, of an understanding of sexual pleasure without guilt, of a joyous sharing of delight without cruelty, bigotry, exploitation, discrimination; it's a "hands-on!" guide to exploration and a companion to pleasure, Humanity's birthright.

The children of the world are the ones who will actualize this birthright to a Natural sensuality in their own lives, within their own experiences as children now, and as adults in the near future. The Playbook is an aid, a guide, a friend who will help bring about a world in which it will be unknown, weird - pathological! - to deprive any person of their enjoynment of sexual pleasure, or to exploit another's needs and desires, or worse, to sexually impose one's self on another being.

Without mentioning any theory, the Playbook draws on the brilliant and insightful work of Dr. Wilhelm Reich, ("Children of the Future"; "The Sexual Revolution"). Without going into political sloganeering, the Playbook is an embodiment of straightforward Feminist perceptions of power, gender, race and sexuality. Without getting legalistic, or falling into any clinical, pseudo-scientific argumentations, the Playbook takes the victories of the Gay Rights Movement into a whole new sphere: it helps the future adult's sense of reality be formed by assuming right from the start that it's Natural to have a freedom of choice in sexual identity! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Not Everything you need to know.....
While I appreciated the simple format, and agree their is a need for a precise book that speaks directly to teens about this important topic, I would NOT recommend this particular book to anyone! Among other faults, it minimized the importance of breastfeeding and the magnatude of abortion. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Dating and Sex: - Misses the Mark!
This book totally misses the mark, particularly given that it is geared towards youth and young adults, and yet does not fully incorporate the risk of sexually transmitted disease. Folks should know the statistics of contracting STD's and the implications for girls in particular. The high level of cervical cancer and infertility today are directly related to STD's and our kids are not hearing it. This book ignores it as well. There are over 40 STD's many of which are viral and cannot ever be cured. What a shame!

It treats sexuality strictly as a biological experience ... Read more