In this story parents are preparing to tell their children where babies come from. They come up with many different ways in which children are made; girls are sugar and spice and everything nice, and boys are slugs and snails and puppy dog tails. Then they create stories about how they are brought to the parents; some are delivered by dinosaur, made from gingerbread, the stork, and in the case of these children..mommy laid an egg. After hearing all of this from their parents the children laugh and begin to "educate" their parents.
I thought this book was really funny and also very true! It seems that parents are very uncomfortable talking to their children about where babies come from but most of the time, children already have a pretty good idea of what actually happens. I thought this book did an excellent job of showing that kids know more than we think and that by trying to "shelter" them and avoid awkward topics it makes it more awkward when they begin informing you. This book is controversial, I would say, mainly because of the illustrations. There are full pictures of the a male and female and it discusses the ways they "fit" together. I can definitely see why this would be controversial and I would be very concerned about having it in a classroom but I think that parents could really benefit from this book. I'm sure that many children would giggle and snicker (I know I did when I was reading it) but there is not reason they can't laugh about it. I think that this book would help parents present the topic in a way that the children could understand and by being able to laugh about it it would be a lot easier to talk. The end of the book does a great job of illustrating the idea that EVERYONE knows how babies are made by having a herd of animals come into the house. This book shows that it is a natural process and that it is okay to laugh about it.
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This book sounds like it would be great for teaching children about where babies come from! I remember asking my parents about this when I was younger before my sisters were born and I remember them giving me a "sugar-coated" explanation of where they come from. I think this book is a great discussion starter! I liked how you included quotes in your blog as well!
ReplyDeleteI do think this is a great starter for parents to teach their own children and should not be used in the elementary classroom. I believe when first telling children about how babies are born the parents should do this, not a teacher. I personally think if the teacher does do this first the parents will have problems. The one part of the book I really disliked and would be hesitant to show are the pictures that say "insert here," or this goes there. It was not the type of pictures I was expecting.
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