Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
It's the mystery of mysteries-what's going on inside a pregnant woman's belly? That's what Jennifer Davis's older children wanted to know while she was expecting the younger. So to explain, she wrote BEFORE YOU WERE BORN, now with 102,000 copies in print, a joyful lift-the-flap book that tells the parallel story of mother and baby during the nine months of pregnancy.
Illustrated with full-color whimsy by Laura Cornell, whose delightful work is familiar to readers of Jamie Lee Curtis's Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born and When I Was Little, BEFORE YOU WERE BORN is a month-by-month countdown written in rhyming verse.
Each page shows what's happening to the mother on the outside and then, under the flap, in the mother's belly to the baby on the inside. Children learn how Mommy is feeling and how the baby is developing, about hiccups, kicks, and umbilical cords, a first heartbeat, and the contractions that mark the beginning of labor.
For expectant mothers and curious little kids, and especially for kids with siblings on the way, it is an interactive storybook that delivers delight and information and reassurance, too.
A lift-the-flap book showing milestones in a baby's development during pregnancy and the mother's experiences as it grows.
Synopsis
Share the pleasure. Unveil the mystery. This joyous, innovative book about pregnancy tells the parallel story of mother and baby, from hearing the thumpity-thump of baby's heartbeat to that unforgettable first meeting.
Children's Literature
This lift-the-flap book describes the monthly progress of a mother's pregnancy with simple rhymes and amusing illustrations. The author explains what happens to a mother as a baby develops in her womb. The child-friendly text and pictures reveal biology on a very basic level. A child will learn when her skeleton began forming, when she started to smile and frown, and when she could suck her thumb in utero. Morning sickness, weight gain, and contractions are also discussed. This a great way to teach children about the way they were before birth and to teach older siblings about the changes that pregnancy brings.