On the Day You Were Born (Harcourt Brace Big Books) [Paperback]

Debra Frasier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 1995 | Age Level: 4 and up | Series: Harcourt Brace Big Books

In simple words and radiant collages, Debra Frasier celebrates the natural miracles of the earth and extends an exuberant welcome to each member of our human family. Accompanied by a detailed glossary explaining such natural phenomena as gravity, tides, and migration, this is an unforgettable book. “A book filled with reverence for the natural order of the world and the place of the individual in it.”--School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"On the eve of your birth ... the Earth and her creatures with the Sun and the Moon all moved in their places, each ready to greet you the very first moment of the very first day you arrived."

Every child loves to hear the story of how he or she came into the world, but usually very little attention is paid to how the world was in that magical moment. For any family who feels a special connection to nature and the flow of life, On the Day You Were Born will help baby understand how each of us is received not just by our family, but by the universe and its gentle ways. The simple, bright pictures in Debra Frasier's book recall Matisse, and they won the book a Parents' Choice Award for illustration. In the final pages, each illustration and theme in the book (migrating animals, gravity, glowing moon, rising tide, etc.) is explained in simple and direct language that can be used to teach older children how nature works on our planet, and how Earth works in the universe.

This beautiful hardcover book is accompanied by a washable, soft rattle that has a donut-shaped yellow handle with "Welcome" embroidered on it in blue thread. The head of the rattle is a round, blue sky embroidered with yellow stars and a red figure of a child dancing. (From birth) --Katherine Ferguson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Inspired by her bestselling book of the same name, On the Day You Were Born: A Photo Journal by Debra Frasier supplies a sturdy cardboard frame on each of its eight spreads. The photographs then personalize and add meaning to the calming text, "On the day you were born a circle of people welcomed you with voices familiar and clear." On this page, in addition to the photo frame, a prompt asks youngsters (and parents) to write down the "people who welcomed you," while the facing illustration shows a woman holding a baby as friends and family gently dance around her.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Spiral-bound edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (March 27, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152002340
• ISBN-13: 978-0152002343
• Product Dimensions: 18 x 13.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (117 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,189,529 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DEBRA FRASIER is the author and illustrator of the picture book classic On the Day You Were Born. Her other books include Out of the Ocean, winner of the Southeast Booksellers Association Children's Book Award, and Miss Alaineus: A Vocabulary Disaster, an IRA Teachers' Choice and an IRA-CBC Children's Choice, A Birthday Cake is No Ordinary Cake, and a Fabulous Fair Alphabet, a CCBC Children's Concept Book Selection. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and offers an award winning website for teachers and families at www.debrafrasier.com.

While well known for her talks on book creation and creative process for adults and children, Debra's work does not stop with the last page of a book. Often entire community projects grow around her titles:

On the Day You Were Born is given in hospitals to newborns, murals cover birthing center hospital walls, and a symphony travels the country blending music, pictures, and text.

Miss Alaineus offers the astonishing Vocabulary Parade, so don't miss the short videos at her website showing the book's process and a sample parade in a school. Thousands of schools participate every year! Kids go wild with creativity and imagination in designing vocabulary words into costumes. (www.debrafrasier.com)

A Birthday Cake Is No Ordinary Cake has served as the inspiration for numerous community service projects where young people make "cake boxes" for the local food shelves.

And, most recently, A Fabulous Fair Alphabet offers a game to play at your local fair! OR consider hosting an Alphabet Fair at your local school or community center, directions on the website! Watch the invitation-to-play video, filmed at the Minnesota State Fair where Debra served as the Author in Residence in 2010, hosting a vocabulary booth for thousands of participants. (Watch a summary of this fair project at her website.) Also, a virtual fair tour on the website will introduce the fair to anyone who longs to see animals, rides, and fair foods!

It's all at: www.debrafrasier.com!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Radiant and moving, July 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: On the Day You Were Born Book-and-Rattle Set (Hardcover)

"On the day you were born a forest of tall trees collected the Sun's light in their leaves, where, in silent mystery, they made oxygen for you to breathe..." Radiant and moving, it doesn't get much better than this explaining what went on in the Universe the day your child was born. A book that I highly recommend. A child will feel and know that they are a significant part of Universe. A beautiful book to give as a gift.Although this book is recommended for the 4-8 group, a child of 12 months will be fascinated and held captive with this book and grow along with the book.This is a beautiful book celebrating the joy and wonder when a child is born. It describes how everyone, from animals to people to Earth itself, celebrated when 'you'were born. A child can't help but feel loved and very special when this book is read to them. And the parent, who is reading the book, can't help but realize how wonderful bring a new baby into the world really is. This is an ideal gift for a family when a child is born.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Quintessential Baby Gift, April 6, 2002

By 

Wendy Kaplan (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Day You Were Born (Hardcover)

I wish I had known about this book long before now, because it would have been the only gift I would have given to any new parent. It certainly will be so from now on.

In the most beautiful and spiritual wording imaginable, this book tells a child in no uncertain terms that his or her birth was a celebration--a cosmic event that changed the world for the better. Although it has some New Age aspects to it, it transcends any religion or dogma, and is, quite simply, completely beautiful.

I want to buy it now, for my two teenaged children to cherish and keep. I want them to know that even though I often want to wring their respective teenaged necks, this is what they mean to me--every single word in this glorious book. I have never felt so moved over a baby gift as I am over this one. It is truly a gift of the heart, not only for me, but for anyone who is, or who has just become, a parent.

Sometimes we forget just how much of a celebration the arrival of a new child can be. "On the Day You Were Born" is meant to remind us, and our children, now and forever. What a wonderful keepsake!!

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Birthday Tradition, June 17, 2000

By 

Barbsjemms (The Desert) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Day You Were Born Book-and-Rattle Set (Hardcover)

In my family, we have used this book to start a yearly b-day tradition. I read this book to each of my children the night of her birthday with the whole family in attendence. I have yet to get through a reading without crying. Am tearing up thinking about it now LOL A lovely, touching book and a wonderful way to communicate to your children how deeply they are loved.