Customer Reviews

How You Were Born

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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?"!

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.

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.

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!

Joanna Cole has done so much for children's literature in her lifetime that it is difficult to speak of noteworthy non-fiction titles for kids without bringing up her name. She's the genius behind the simultaneously fun and factual, "Magic School Bus" series. She has tackled "issue" topics, such as children having to deal with more siblings. She's even collected jump rope rhymes, potty trained our youngsters, written comprehensive books full of recommended folktales, and much much more. One of her greatest accomplishments, however, was the creation of the go-to sex-ed book for tots, "How You Were Born". Though not a perfect source, the book is extraordinarily careful to avoid confusion or factual misinformation. For children too old for such beginning texts as "Where Willy Went" by Nicholas Allan or "Mommy Laid An Egg" by Babette Cole, "How You Were Born" is the most sophisticated and comprehensive of these three. It is also the most reliable.

The book begins with a Note to Parents. In this note, Ms. Cole explains that while misunderstandings about birth and conception may seem charming in little children, it doesn't do them a heckuva lot of good in the long run. As an author, Cole urges parents to speak frankly with their children about where babies come from. In her most insightful sentence, Cole reminds parents that, "When parents establish this kind of open, caring relationship from an early age, children will have a reliable source of information and guidance to turn to as they grow". Be honest early on and reap the dividends when your children get hit by the puberty stick (and require "It's Perfectly Normal" by Robie H. Harris). Using photographs to convey real-life answers for children, Cole shows what it's like for babies in the womb. She then talks somewhat about the different physical make-up of men and women and mentions that when sperm and egg join together, they create a cell that becomes a baby. There is no discussion of the sexual act itself. We see cells divide, and a 5 week old baby in the process of growing. Moms get large and eventually birth takes place. Badda bing, badda boom.

It's interesting to note that while Cole is explicit in explaining some things (she has a photograph of a woman giving birth, thereby leaving NO guessing on that matter) she never once talks about the sexual act itself. In the original 1984 version (but NOT the more recent reissue of the book) we see that men have penises and women have vaginas, but in all the talk of sperm joining with egg.... well, it's left just a touch shaky. When you consider that books like "Mommy Laid An Egg" have zippo qualms about explaining (nay, showing) the act, it's all the odder that Ms. Cole avoids talking about it.

There are several different versions of "How You Were Born" that you should know about, prior to checking out this title. If you go to your local library to borrow it, you may find yourself with the original 1984 edition. While factually correct, parents may find it especially funny. There are a lot of moustaches, tube socks, and 80's fashions to wade through in this book (not to mention the pencil drawings of men and women circa 1952). If you go out and purchase the updated 1994 edition of "How You Were Born", you'll have far better photos, but some interesting changes. Gone are the dry pictures of vaginas and penises. The Note to Parents is still there, but it changes words, phrases, and sentence structures around for no particular reason. Instead of children now sometimes worrying that if the baby is in the "tummy" it will be showered with "chunks of pizza or hot coffee", now the child is worried that the baby will be showered with "chunks of pizza or hot soup". Apparently "coffee" was too violent an image to contend with in 1994. Odd. Other changes abound, but the essential structure of the book is the same and just as useful as it was back in the age of leg warmers and Mary Lou Retton.

"How You Were Born" remains the go-to sex-ed guide for small children today. It's a pity that it remains so lacking in the sexual-act-department, but at least it's chock full of enough educational know-how and professional expertise to guarantee it a permanent spot in every family's home. A wonderful book that should not be relied on solely for this kind of information but rather incorporated with other books of its kind.

I got this book when I was pregnant with my 3rd child. My oldest was at the age where he wanted to know what was going on. He asked THE question. I was looking through books at the bookstore and was shocked at all the kids books on this subject that go into explicit detail of how conceptions occur. I was not ready to tell my 5 yr old what his penis is for. I found this one and was relieved to find a book that doesnt go that into detail (the other had pictures of "the act"!!). I sat down with him and my 2 yr old daughter and ready through the book. They were very interested in this. They loved the pictures of the developing babies (and so did I), the text was easy to read, and easy to follow. It explained just what they needed to know at this stage. I recommend this book for those who have kids asking where babies come from, or how the doctor gets the baby out (as my son asked).

Bought this book for my 5 1/2 yr old to help with visual pics. of the new baby coming into the family. Great book all around ... did raise some interesting questions though with the pictures of sperm getting into the egg!!! she wanted to know how it got there ....

One of the best books on this subject I've seen. It has accurate, interesting, information.