Customer Reviews

Before You Were Born

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I ordered this book, along with several others, to help prepare my 2-year old daughter for the arrival of her new baby sister. While the illustrations are charming and the text is cute, this book is much better suited for the older child, of the amusement of adults. It simply does not hold my toddler's attention. ...

As a grandmother of many curious grandchildren, I often reach for this book to explain a subject that fascinates them: how they grew in their mom's belly. "Before You Were Born" is packed full of facts and is at the same time a fun read. Jennifer Davis's text will make you and your children giggle. And Laura Cornell, who also illustrates Jaime Lee Curtis' books, has kept the subject light and whimsical. You can take the story as far as you want. It is a book we read over and over.

As a mom to be, I plan to read to my child and encourage her to love learning. I know from my next door neighbor's children (ages 2 and 4) that they are very inquisitive about what is happening to me while my child grows inside me. This book really helped them understand about the new life that was on the way. It's written in terms children understand...they loved the little flaps, because it made it interactive for them!

The too-whimsical illustrations and awkward rhymes interfere with communication and enjoyment of what is (and should be) a fascinating topic for my four-year-old daughter (who is soon to become a big sister). For example, she found the green-faced morning sickness picture disturbing and the tea-cup / hiccough rhyme perplexing (as I did). Overall mediocre - it is chosen for bedtime reading very, very rarely. It skirts around the real questions of what's going on inside (hiding behind cutsie rhymes) - especially for the bright-sensitive type kids who are worried about the changes in mommy's pregnant body.

As a fertility counselor and co-author of Helping the Stork, I'm always on the lookout for books on reproduction appropriate for parents whose pregnancy began with great joy after tough times, and maybe even the help of an egg or sperm donor. This book, told from the mom's and baby's viewpoints, would be great for any singleton pregnancy. It is not ideal for mom-only families; dads may find the illustrations of their supporting role pretty funny - the whole book is!

Before You Were Born is a charming book. Although my child was only 13 months old when I bought it , I had to have it for the future! The illustrations are great and the content is cute and appropriate at the sametime. It brought a tear to my eye when I read it. A perfect choice for a child's "library".

I absolutely love this book! As a pregnant mother-to-be it brought tears to my eyes, which moved me to buy it. Then as my first-born has gotten older (2 1/2) I love to read it to her. Talking about her birth and when she was "in my tummy" is one of her favorite topics. Now that she has witnessed the pregnancy and subsequent arrival of her sister, Amanda is even more intrigued with this book. I love how it can be geared to a young child and more involved for an older child. On each page is a little "factoid" that would be very interesting to an older child (and many adults too.)

I highly recommend this book to families who are getting ready to welcome a new baby. It does a great job of covering the prenatal period. For the period after the birth, I highly recommend Baby Science: How Babies Really Work.

My daughter is only 2 1/2 years old and she loves to hear the story over and over. She points to my belly and says she was there and look at all she did. She may not quite get it all now but she loves the photos and if you ask here where she came from she'll respond with, "My Mommy's Belly". Personally it's a great way to explain birth without the gory details - instead just the fun and beauty of the moments you went through month by month.

This is a delicate way to answer my three year old's question of "Where did I come from?" This book is well illustrated and easy for young children to understand. I passed it around at work, and mothers and fathers of all ages want to add it to their children's libraries!