Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2016 is a weekly celebration of imaginative children’s nonfiction materials hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy.
Oh, the million-dollar question that can give adults everywhere anxiety attacks – “where do babies come from?” Many picture books on the subject of reproduction talk about sex, which is a very important topic to discuss with children, but which isn’t always a factor in the baby-making process. Babies are the result of a collision between sperm and egg, and this miraculous collision can occur with or without sexual intercourse between a male and a female. Some children are born to a biological mother and father with the help of IVF, while other babies are conceived to same-sex families through donor eggs or sperm, IVF and/or or surrogates. Just as families come in a variety of shapes, sizes and forms, babies are created in many different ways.
Brought to you by the same team behind the inclusive, sex-positive sex ed book Sex is a Funny Word, What Makes a Baby is “a book for every kind of FAMILY and every kind of KID”. It’s a great starting point for discussions on reproduction, sex, and childbirth, providing the basic framework of information, and allowing caregivers to customize their discussions. Just as in Sex is a Funny Word, the characters in What Makes a Baby come in a variety of candy colours, and are largely externally without gender, making for a truly diverse and inclusive text.
This is a particularly helpful picture book for same-sex families, as it gives their conception stories the same weight, worth and importance as those of other families, and doesn’t make their stories feel like exceptions to the any rule, uncommon, or unusual. Conception is the same process, no matter how the egg and sperm end up meeting, or how they are introduced.
What Makes a Baby? is a fantastic starting point for discussions of conception and birth, and is a worthwhile addition to any collection.
The book is much needed. Because I have adopted children, I know I would have loved this book years ago, and now, explaining to the grandchildren about all kinds of families is important to their parents. I’ll be sure to find it! Thanks, Jane.
Great to hear that, Linda! 🙂
I recently heard about this book, looks like a good one to have. I love that it includes all families. Thanks for sharing it!
Yes, it’s definitely a great discussion starter, and it can be used by all sorts of different families, which is nice.
This is definitely a family positive book. It’s particularly helpful in showing that children are born through one biological process, but that there are many family configurations and none of them are more imporant than the others.
I love how you summed that up, it’s so true!
I’ve been wanting to check Cory’s books out since lot of our customers have raved about Sex is a Funny Word.
Definitely worth checking out – Sex is a Funny Word is a fantastic, inclusive, sex-positive resource.