Cleverly revealing the basics of reproduction in an age-appropriate way, award-winning Sophie Blackall has created a beautiful picture book full of playful details to amuse and engage readers.
Sooner or later, every child will ask, Where do babies come from? Answering this question has never been this easy or entertaining! Join a curious little boy who asks everyone from his babysitter to the mailman, getting all sorts of funny answers along the way, before his parents gently set him straight.
WINNER New York Times Notable Book of the Year
* “Blackall once again excels at portraying a thoughtful child with a rich inner life, as her hero/narrator finds his world upended when his parents announce the arrival of a new baby. . . . Gently evasive half-answers enable Blackall to unleash her special brand of elegant, pokerfaced surrealism. . . . Blackall also admires her hero’s inquisitiveness, and the way he squares his parents’ eventual, more scientific explanation with what he’s heard throughout the day makes for a lovely tribute to the blossoming mind. An afterword offers helpful narratives for grownups facing a similar line of inquiry.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
* “A delightfully age-appropriate way to give young children the facts about conception and birth. . . . Illustrations are beautifully crafted. . . . Each page is adorned with soft colors and crisp, clear pictures that enhance the story.” — School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
* “Blackall’s text is straightforward, calm, and reassuring without being clinical. . . . Watercolor illustrations make the most of the narrator’s imaginative flights of fancy, and the cherubic, rosy-cheeked babies of different ethnicities are cute as a button. . . . An appended page provides suggestions for adults about addressing the ‘where do babies come from?’ question.” — The Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW
“Engaging illustrations. . . . Each response to the question stimulates the boy’s imagination as revealed in the pictures. . . . ‘Answering the Question “Where Do Babies Come From?”’ concludes the book and contains age-appropriate responses. An appealing book for children preparing to welcome a new baby or who are simply curious.” — Booklist
“Honest and accurate language combines with a rueful acknowledgment of the varied takes on the topic to make this a sound introduction to the “Where do babies come from?” question. The text remains kid-focused; the tone is steadily inquisitive, never pedantic, and the boy is particularly endearing in his curiosity. Blackall’s line and watercolor illustrations are winsome without being saccharine, and there’s considerable humor in their depiction of the various evasive explana- tions. . . . Effectively finds the sweet spot between practical and pleasant in this lovely new addition to the sex education shelf.” — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Sophie Blackall has illustrated more than twenty books for children, including Big Red Lollipop, which was a New York Times Top Ten Picture Book, and the ongoing Ivy and Bean series, which has over a million copies in print. She won her first Randolph Caldecott Medal for illustrating Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear and her second for Hello Lighthouse. If You Come to Earth, her most recently published children’s book, has received wide acclaim. Her first book for adults was Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found. She has created highly coveted limited edition holiday cards for the Museum of Modern Art, and her editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Town & Country, and other publications.
View titles by Sophie Blackall
Cleverly revealing the basics of reproduction in an age-appropriate way, award-winning Sophie Blackall has created a beautiful picture book full of playful details to amuse and engage readers.
Sooner or later, every child will ask, Where do babies come from? Answering this question has never been this easy or entertaining! Join a curious little boy who asks everyone from his babysitter to the mailman, getting all sorts of funny answers along the way, before his parents gently set him straight.
Awards
WINNER New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Praise
* “Blackall once again excels at portraying a thoughtful child with a rich inner life, as her hero/narrator finds his world upended when his parents announce the arrival of a new baby. . . . Gently evasive half-answers enable Blackall to unleash her special brand of elegant, pokerfaced surrealism. . . . Blackall also admires her hero’s inquisitiveness, and the way he squares his parents’ eventual, more scientific explanation with what he’s heard throughout the day makes for a lovely tribute to the blossoming mind. An afterword offers helpful narratives for grownups facing a similar line of inquiry.” — Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
* “A delightfully age-appropriate way to give young children the facts about conception and birth. . . . Illustrations are beautifully crafted. . . . Each page is adorned with soft colors and crisp, clear pictures that enhance the story.” — School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW
* “Blackall’s text is straightforward, calm, and reassuring without being clinical. . . . Watercolor illustrations make the most of the narrator’s imaginative flights of fancy, and the cherubic, rosy-cheeked babies of different ethnicities are cute as a button. . . . An appended page provides suggestions for adults about addressing the ‘where do babies come from?’ question.” — The Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW
“Engaging illustrations. . . . Each response to the question stimulates the boy’s imagination as revealed in the pictures. . . . ‘Answering the Question “Where Do Babies Come From?”’ concludes the book and contains age-appropriate responses. An appealing book for children preparing to welcome a new baby or who are simply curious.” — Booklist
“Honest and accurate language combines with a rueful acknowledgment of the varied takes on the topic to make this a sound introduction to the “Where do babies come from?” question. The text remains kid-focused; the tone is steadily inquisitive, never pedantic, and the boy is particularly endearing in his curiosity. Blackall’s line and watercolor illustrations are winsome without being saccharine, and there’s considerable humor in their depiction of the various evasive explana- tions. . . . Effectively finds the sweet spot between practical and pleasant in this lovely new addition to the sex education shelf.” — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Author
Sophie Blackall has illustrated more than twenty books for children, including Big Red Lollipop, which was a New York Times Top Ten Picture Book, and the ongoing Ivy and Bean series, which has over a million copies in print. She won her first Randolph Caldecott Medal for illustrating Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear and her second for Hello Lighthouse. If You Come to Earth, her most recently published children’s book, has received wide acclaim. Her first book for adults was Missed Connections: Love, Lost and Found. She has created highly coveted limited edition holiday cards for the Museum of Modern Art, and her editorial illustrations have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Town & Country, and other publications.
View titles by Sophie Blackall
