Thursday, May 31, 2012

Coline : souvenirs d'une fécondation in vitro

Coline : souvenirs d'une fécondation in vitro
by Lia Singh
illuatrated by Carine
Language: French
Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Fertilität, Sterilität und Familienplanung. [Genève] : Serono ; [Kehrsatz (Postfach 125, 3122)] : [Société suisse de fertilité, stérilité et de planning familial], cop. 1997.
41 p. : ill. ; 31 cm.
ISBN: 2970016206; 9782970016205
Summary: Cet album, distribué en Suisse par les Laboratoires Pharmaceutiques Sérono, traite de la fécondation in vitro, sujet exceptionnellement abordé en BD! On y découvre Coline, petite fille de 4 ans, dont c'est l'anniversaire. C'est l'occasion pour sa mère de se rappeler les circonstances de sa conception. Le long parcours de la fécondation in vitro, les résultats d'examens négatifs, les consultations sans fin, les entretiens avec le psychologue, les amies enceintes chaque année que l'on se met à détester, l'évitement des écoles, des anciens amis et leurs enfants, l'adoption envisagée après tant d'échecs, les répercussions sur le travail, le moral...Et enfin, un jour, après des années de désespoirs, la grossesse et la naissance tant désirée. Avec un graphisme très réaliste, magnifique, l'auteur nous convie à partager une histoire pleine d'émotion et très didactique. Quelques pages de texte explicatif complètent cette BD. Une réussite!
More information: http://www.bdmedicales.com/descriptif/colinesouvenirsdunefecondationinvitro.htm

Dans notre histoire, il y a ... une graine magique!

Dans notre histoire, il y a ... une graine magique!
Illustré par Nicolas Hunerblaes
Language: French
Association MAIA, 2008
1 vol. (non paginé [26] p.) : ill. en coul., couv. ill. en coul. ; 20 cm.
ISBN: 9782952797719; 2952797714
Reading level: 3-6
My annotation: In our story, there is a magic seed! is a very simple and straightforward story of an infertile couple who love each other very much and have been trying for a long time to have a baby but have not been successful. The book explains to children that it takes a “seed” from the dad and an “egg” from the mom to have a baby, so when they go to see a doctor who tells them that it is the husband’s “seed” that is the problem, this makes the couple very sad. But the good news, the doctor tells them, is that there are men who "donate" their seeds so that people like them can have babies. Mom goes to the hospital where she is inseminated, becomes pregnant and “(a)fter several months, our long-awaited baby was born! And that baby was you!” The book takes a family-building approach and employs “the helper” script. Recommended for ages 3-5 and only available in French.
Available: http://www.maia-asso.org/
Available: http://www.amazon.fr/Dans-notre-histoire-graine-magique/dp/2952797714/ref=pd_cp_b_3

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I felt you flutter in my heart

I felt you flutter in my heart
written and created by Choice Moms and Choice Kids
Language: English
Blurb, 2012
20 p. : col. ill. ; 17 x 17 cm.
My annotation: This is the very tender story that a single mom begins to tell her daughter of how much she felt her life “would not feel complete until you were here with me.” Teased by the new boy at the park for not having a daddy, Isabella no longer wants to go back. When her mommy asks her what’s wrong, Isabella asks her mommy for the first time, “That new boy at the park said everyone has a daddy. Why don’t I?” That’s when her mommy tells her the story of how she had always known that she wanted to be a mother but that she had never met the “perfect daddy.” Her mom tells her that she had to go to a doctor to get help but she does not explain the nuts and bolts of human reproduction or mention anything about a donor. She goes on to tell her it will always be okay for her to ask questions, to be sad about not having a daddy, and even mad, because daddies are indeed “very special people.” This book reads autobiographically and the love the mom has for her daughter is tangible. It would be an excellent springboard for all single mothers to begin the conversation with their children about why they don’t have a father in their lives and why they made the choice to have a child without a daddy. This book takes a family-building approach and employs the “labor of love” script. The full-color illustrations are drawn by various children and the book is recommended for ages 3-5. 
Available: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2974967

A Bun in the Oven: The Story of Conception Via Donor Egg

A bun in the oven: the story of conception via donor egg
by Anita Stokes
illustrated by Red
Language: English
[Hamilton, N.Z.] : A. Stokes, 2011.
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 21 cm.
ISBN: 9780473190002; 0473190001
$16.99
Available directly from author: paulstokes@slingshot.co.nz

Mommy, did I grow in your tummy? Where many babies come from

Mommy, did I grow in your tummy? Where many babies come from
by Elaine R. Gordon, Ph.D.
illustrated by Kathy O'Malley
Language: English
Santa Monica, CA : EM Greenberg Press, Inc., 2011.
28 p. : col. ill. ; 22 x 28 cm.
ISBN: 9780615402888; 0615402887
$16.95 
My annotation: A little girl asks her mommy, “Did I grow in your tummy?” and the mommy tells her that she’s asked a very important question and takes that as a good time to read her little girl a story. It is the story of Sandy and Bob who really wanted a baby. They “read all the books on how to make a baby, but no matter how hard they tried, no baby was made.” So they visit a doctor who tells them that there are “all kinds of reasons why” some people can’t make babies, but that there are other ways and that Sandy and Bob have to pick the best way for them, "They have to think very hard and make a very important decision." The book then goes on to explain five different methods for having a baby: sperm donation, egg donation, surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, and adoption. These methods, all introduced with the proper vocabulary, are all explained in a way that a child could understand them. For egg donation for example, “A mom might not have an egg to join with the dad’s sperm. But she can still grow a baby in her body. When this happens, another woman, called an egg donor, can help by donating or giving her egg to meet and join with the dad’s sperm.” Suitable for young children, the book does not go into detail about how sperm and egg get together under normal circumstances, except to say that "a dad puts his sperm into the mom and a baby starts to grow." At the end of the story, Sandy and Bob get the baby they so desired (the book doesn’t say by what method), but adds, “but it really doesn't matter because Bob and Sandy ended up with their dream come true - a wonderful, wonderful baby.” This is the second edition of this 1992 publication, which was one of the first five books of its kind ever written or published. Unlike the first edition, the terms GIFT and ZIFT are not mentioned, which is fine because they were not explained in the first edition. The book takes a family-building approach and a child-conception approach and employs the “all families are made differently” and “the helper” scripts. There are full color illustrations and it is recommended for children ages 3-5. 
Available: http://www.elainegordon.com/Elaine_R._Gordon,_Ph.D./Books.html

Mom and dad and the journey they had

Mom and dad and the journey they had
by Molly Summer
illustrated by Monica Meza
Language: English
CreateSpace, c2010
28 pp.
ISBN: 9781452827032; 1452827036  
$16.00
Summary: The Thompson home is bustling with excitement because soon they will be welcoming a new baby into their family and Patrick will be a big brother for the very first time! As they are preparing the house, Patrick asks his parents to tell him about when he was a baby. They tell him about the incredible journey they took to have him, with the help of an egg donor and gestational surrogate.  
Available: http://www.amazon.com/Mom-Dad-Journey-They-Had/dp/1452827036/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281455654&sr=8-5#reader_1452827036
Available: http://lovemakesafamilybooks.com/books-assisted-reproduction.html

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The baby about to be born: a story of spirit for adoptive and A.R.T. families

The baby about to be born: a story of spirit for adoptive and A.R.T. families
by Karen Daniels
illustrated by Marla Thirsk
Language: English
CreateSpace, 2011
38 p. : col. ill. ; 22 x 22 cm.
ISBN: 0615469531; 9780615469539  
My annotation: Baybo is a spirit who goes to "Earth planning classes" and resides on the planet Stobb, which stands for “soon to be born.” Each spirit gets to choose who their parents will be on Earth but Baybo is stuck. He does not know who he wants his parents to be. All he does know is that he wants to be a little boy and that he wants to do something "really special." As little spirit after little spirit leaves the classroom to be born on Earth, Baybo is starting to feel bad that he does not know who he wants to be born to yet. He finally asks Fornax, his teacher, what he should do and Fornax shows him a beautiful but sad room "that holds the love and wishes of parents who long for children but have not yet been able to have them." These parents he tells Baybo, are especially deserving of children because they want them so badly, and "have to take unusual paths to find their babies." Baybo realizes that this is exactly who he wants to be born to, as they "only allow very special spirits to go to these people." This book is suitable for both families who have adopted as well as families built through ART. Although the author herself went through IVF, the book does not introduce any vocabulary to the reader. It is simply a story about a spirit that is about to be born on Earth. This book takes a child-conception and a family-building approach and employs the “labor of love” script. Full color illustrations on every other page depict a spirit world different from our Earthly world. Recommended for ages 5-8 because of the heady, spirituous concepts introduced.
Available: https://www.createspace.com/3586347

Jhwee and Jhwah

Jhwee and Jhwah
by Nancy Lee Andrie
illustrated by Ryan Goodman
Language: English
CreateSpace, 2012
40 pp.
ISBN: 9781470029913; 147002991X
$12.00 
Summary: A children's story about In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Available: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/147002991X/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Heather has two mommies

Heather has two mommies
by Lesléa Newman
illus. by Diana Souza
Language: English
Boston, Mass. : Alyson Wonderland, ©1989.
[36] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.
ISBN: 155583180X; 9781555831806  
My annotation: First published in 1989 and now out of print, this was the first book published in the United States for children that not only introduced a lesbian family but also introduced the concept of artificial insemination. Although the book mentions artificial insemination, as well as the words “womb,” “sperm,” “egg,” and “vagina,” it does not go into any further explanation about why artificial insemination would be needed in order to make a baby. Nor does it go into any explanation about what artificial insemination is. “Kate and Jane went to see a special doctor together. After the doctor examined Jane to make sure that she was healthy, she put some sperm into Jane’s vagina. The sperm swam up into Jane’s womb. If there was an egg waiting there, the sperm and the egg would meet and the baby would start to grow.” Because of public challenges to this part of the book, not to mention the depiction of a lesbian family, the 10th and 20th anniversary editions of the book did away with the pages devoted to Mama Jane’s undergoing of artificial insemination and in an email with the author, even in these times with even more same-sex households with children, there is no intention to return those pages of the book to subsequent editions. This book takes a family-building approach because it shows that Mama Jane and Mama Kate wanted to build a family, and employs the “all families are made differently” script when Heather goes to play group and meets children who come from all different sorts of families. Heather turns out not to be the only child with same-sex parents. There are black and white drawings and the book is recommended for children ages 3-5. This edition of the book would only be available from bookstores which specialize in out of print books.
Author's Web site: http://www.lesleakids.com/

Monday, May 28, 2012

Training Wheels: How Did I Get Here?

Training Wheels: How Did I Get Here?
by Chris E. Barrett and Sally B. Hunter
illustrated by Tyler Garrison
Language: English
National Embryo Donation Center, 2011
20 pp.
ISBN: 9780615560243; 0615560245
$15.59   
Summary: NEDC's Digital Media Manager Chris Barrett collaborated with University of Tennessee psychology professor, Dr. Sally B. Hunter to create a heartwarming book called "Training Wheels: How Did I Get Here?" The story is about five year old Miles and the new bike he gets for his birthday from his special friend, Mike in California. Miles' parents explain that Mike's mom and dad generously donated their remaining embryos and he was born as a result of their loving gift. The book is told in a delightful rhyming pattern, using words that are easy for preschoolers to understand and a storyline that will help to satisfy their curiosity about where they came from. Fun and colorful illustrations by Knoxville, TN artist, Tyler Garrison saturate the book and enhances it appeal to young children.  
Available: http://www.amazon.com/Training-Wheels-How-Did-Here/dp/0615560245/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1338203231&sr=1-1-catcorr  
More information here: http://www.embryodonation.org/index.php?content=trainingWheels

Daddy Dog and Papi Panda's rainbow family

Daddy Dog and Papi Panda's rainbow family
written and illus. by Anthony Hale
Language: English
CreateSpace, 2012.
33 pp. : col. ill. ; 22 x 22 cm.
ISBN: 9781475090888; 1475090889
My annotation: Daddy Dog and Papi Panda were just Mr. Dog and Mr. Panda until the day they received a call about a child monkey who was awaiting a family. Daddy Dog climbed aboard a plane and traveled very far in order to retrieve Mikey the Monkey and so the loving family - formally two - became a family of three. Then one day, Miss Cat announces that she’d like to carry a kitten for Daddy Dog and Papi Panda, but she did not have one kitten, or even two. She had three kittens and so their family of three expanded to a family of six. This is the story of how a two-dad family was built via adoption and surrogacy. It takes a family-building approach and employs the “helper” script. Recommended for children ages 3-5.  
Available: https://www.createspace.com/3833939

Under a rainbow

Under a rainbow
by Zera Walpole
Language: English
Blurb, 2012
18 p. : col. ill. ; 17 x 18 cm.
My annotation: Told in rhyme, this is the story of two women who wanted to expand their family of two. The story is written for their son and tells of how they needed sperm and an egg in order to make a baby. They do not explain to him however where the sperm comes from or where the egg comes from, just that they themselves did not have any sperm and that they would have to search for a “special man” who would give them some of his. Their other stipulation is that this “special man” also be a “great Daddy” too. This is a tall order but they are successful and this book thus introduces the child to the concept of a known donor, although the term “donor” is not used. How much this Daddy is a part of their family is hinted at here when the author says, “you have a Daddy, so kind and so true/Who loves you as much as a Daddy could do.” Since he has a name and was also present at the child’s birth, this is a unique kind of family not represented in other children’s books. This book takes a family-building approach and employs "the helper,” “labor of love,” and “families are made differently” scripts. Computer art drawings are in full color and depict two happy women and a happy “Daddy” throughout. Recommended for ages 3-5.
Available: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3245206

More than four

More than four
by Katie Carone
illustrated by Britt Hendrickson
Language: English
CreateSpace, 2011
44 pp.
ISBN: 9781467956123; 1467956120
$11.95  
Summary: The Four Family is happy being four until they hear that the King has a special Package of Two waiting to join their family. However, they can't find a way to get to the palace. How will they pick up their package so they can be More Than Four? This heart-warming tale takes the reader on an emotional journey with the Four Family as they encounter various obstacles on the road to the palace where their special package is waiting. "More Than Four" exemplifies the struggles and heartache of families and couples dealing with infertility, and the joy and hope that one family received. Even with the deeper meaning and allegorical theme set aside, this stand-alone tale of love and sacrifice is simple and sweet to appeal to all audiences.
Available: http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Four-Katie-Carone/dp/1467956120/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338199906&sr=1-7

A Very Special Lady: A Story about IVF, an Egg Donor and a Little Girl

A Very Special Lady: A Story about IVF, an Egg Donor and a Little Girl
by Nell Carswell
illustrated by Sarah Merrigan
Language: English
CreateSpace, 2012
24 pp.
ISBN: 9781475115895; 147511589X
$14.95
Summary: A delightfully simple story about ivf, an egg donor and the arrival of a baby girl. Fabulous pictures make it ideal for very young children and a simple story makes it perfect for older children to read. Without forgetting "the Very Special Lady" that made it possible. There is also an identical story about the arrival of a baby boy.
Available: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/147511589X/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Librarians at a Loss to Help Donor Offspring

I do research. It might be why I became a librarian. I love to look things up, and then I enjoy the thrill of finding what I am looking for. I also enjoy looking things up for other people. But one of my favorite things to do is to look up subjects that are hard to find. But first you have to find subjects that are hard to find, and then try to find them. Well, I stumbled upon one. It’s books for and about donor offspring. What are donor offspring? They are children conceived via sperm or egg donation.

In 2003, I read a book review in Booklist of the book, Donuthead, by Sue Stauffacher. In the review, it was mentioned that the main character’s mother had had her son via artificial insemination. Serendipitously, I mentioned this to a friend who had an interest in this topic and she said, can you find me other books like that? Excited to perform a search, I said, “sure.” (I actually consider searching a hobby). So of course the first thing I did was go to the Library of Congress. I was going to take a look at their subject headings and just follow them and it would lead me to similar books. Well not so fast. It didn’t happen that way at all. The subjects listed for Donuthead were:

Friendship
Courage
Fear
Self-actualization (Psychology)
Single-parent families
Mothers and sons 

Where were the subject headings telling me that the main character was donor-conceived? There were none. Okay. Dead end. I wasn’t expecting that. Where do I go next? I decided to broaden my search by doing a keyword search. Of course this was an option from the beginning, I just wasn’t happy about it. I thought this would be easy. I searched the term “donor offspring” as that is what adults conceived via gamete donor call themselves. A search for this term turned up one book, Experiences of donor conception : parents, offspring, and donors through the years by Caroline Lorbach. I looked at the subject headings and decided to use those to again narrow my search. I found as subject headings:

Human reproductive technology
Infertility – Treatment
Reproductive health

This was not helpful. I was looking for juvenile fiction similar to Donuthead in which the main character was a “donor offspring.” I wanted to impress my friend with my searching skills. Maybe there were no other books? Could be. Long story short, there were other books. The trick was to use so many different keywords to actually find them, but I did find some. But why no uniform subject headings for books that were essentially all about the same subject? I wrote to the Library of Congress about this myself. I gave them the list of all the books I had found that were written for children, and that were in their catalog, who were donor offspring and this is the response I got:
We have not had the need to establish a heading for the children of sperm donors, as we have not cataloged any items that specifically focus on that topic. The existing headings have been adequate for the items that we’ve cataloged. We establish new headings only as they are needed for cataloging new works being added to our collection.
Why were they not responsive? And from a librarian no less? A little reading on the Library of Congress turns out that they have a history of not being responsive to adding or changing their subject headings. Have you heard of Sanford Berman, Library of Congress gadfly? Turns out he’s been battling the Library of Congress to change its subject headings for years so that real people, not just librarians, can find what they are looking for. He actually cited me in an article I wrote so I decided to write to him, and I was happy to hear that he not only read my article in Children & Libraries, but employed his gadfly expertise to lobby them to add a new subject heading. I suggested “Children of sperm donors,” or “Children of egg donors,” or “Children of gamete donors.” Surely these children need representation in the Library of Congress as the Library of Congress subjects headings are the “de facto standard for libraries,” as Hope A. Olson states in her book, The Power to Name. Isn’t it in naming something that we acknowledge that something, someone exists? The existence of these children were not acknowledged by the Library of Congress. At the time I wrote to them, I had discovered thirteen children’s books that were written either for donor offspring children, or about donor offspring children. Thirteen! (And I have since found so many more). And maybe thirteen doesn’t sound like a lot, but did you know that the Library of Congress has just one book on the children of epileptics, yet this category of people gets its own subject heading? Same for the children of clergy in England, the children of coal miners in France, and the children of mentally ill mothers, to name a few. Just one book each! Yet I had identified so many more for the subject I was proposing be added, but the Library of Congress does not budge on these matters apparently. So where does this leave us? It leaves us with people like me who love to look for the hard-to-look-for. I have ended up having to use up to thirty different keywords to find books that could be found with just one subject heading: “donor offspring,” or, to follow Library of Congress conventions, “Children of gamete donors.” But I have managed. To date I have found about seventy-six books written for donor offspring children, and I have found about fifteen books written for young adults, and boy has it been fun searching for the unsearchable. I will continue to publish about this as nobody else is, and maybe the Library of Congress will eventually listen.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

What makes a baby

What makes a baby
by Cory Silverberg
illustrated by Fiona Smyth 
Language: English 
New York : Seven Stories Press, ©2012, 2013. 
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 24 cm. 
ISBN: 9781609804855; 1609804856
Annotation: The cover of this book states that this is “a book for every kind of family and every kind of kid” and it truly is. In the most general of ways, this book begins with the sperm and the egg but in a brilliant turn asserts what has not been asserted before in a children’s book, that some bodies have sperm, and some do not, and that some bodies have eggs, and others do not. This is so undeniable and obvious that one wonders why this hasn’t been stated in quite this same way before in a children’s book on human reproduction. While other books proclaim simply that sperm come from males and eggs come from females, this book admits that this is not always the case, again, without positively stating so. Think trans individuals for example. After introducing children to the terms sperm, egg, and uterus, Silverberg, a sexuality educator, asks, “Who helped bring together the sperm and the egg that made you?” Here the book clearly veers away from all other children’s books on reproduction by implying that not every sperm and egg come from a mommy and a daddy. In fact, the words mommy and daddy are completely absent from the book, conveying to children that not all families are made up of mommies and daddies. Although there are many other children’s books on assisted conception that state the same thing, this is one book that can be used for children conceived both with and without assisted technology. In fact it would be very useful in families where each sibling could possibly have been conceived in a different way. It provides absolutely no details about how the egg and sperm come together, whether through heterosexual intercourse or assisted conception, so the book clearly leaves the area wide open for parents to fill in these details, anticipating that the child will have lots of questions about how the sperm and egg get together in the first place in order to make babies. The rather sparse text is counterbalanced by the vibrant and vivid illustrations which convey a tremendous amount of information not specifically stated in the book, for the book’s aim is clearly to delineate the barest of facts about reproduction and leave the rest for the inevitable extended discussions and explanations that develop from a close reading between parent and child. For example, Silverberg writes, “Inside the egg are so many stories all about the body the egg came from.” Smyth’s illustrations then depict the inside of an egg with an open book, movie film, puppets, and a family tree. The egg is a very busy place! The same is done for the sperm with a look inside depicting family photos, a double helix, and another opened book. The book ends beautifully with the question, “Who was waiting for you to be born?” aptly letting children know that they are here because someone wanted them to be here. The brightly colored cartoon illustrations depict genderless bodies and no nudity. Recommended for children ages 3-5 and also 5-8. This is a book that children will want to go back to again and again with a parent as a reading partner to answer their evolving questions. This book comes with a highly recommended reader’s guide which can be downloaded from http://www.what-makes-a-baby.com/readers-guide/
Available: http://catalog.sevenstories.com/products/what-makes-a-baby
Interview with the author: http://whereisyourline.org/2011/08/badass-activist-friday-presents-cory-silverberg/ 

Friday, May 4, 2012

Once Upon a Surrogate: The Stork's Helpers

Once Upon a Surrogate: The Stork's Helpers
by Jill Hancock Reeder
illustrated by Tristan, Jessica, and Jill Reeder
Language: English
$16.95
Summary: Describes the process of surrogacy to the children of the surrogate, who are often overlooked in the process, Once Upon a Surrogate provides an excellent conversation starter for surrogates and their families.
Available: http://surrogacybooks.blogspot.com/

Sacha, the little bright shooting star

Sacha, the little bright shooting star
written and illustrated by Sofia Prezani
Language: English
ISBN: 9780957181007; 0957181000
46 pp.
$19.00
Available: http://www.childrensurrogacybook.com/
Available: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sacha-Little-Bright-Shooting-Star/dp/0957181000/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1338466980&sr=8-1

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Will I Ever Have a Daddy?

Will I Ever Have a Daddy?
by Tena Moore
Language: English
Lulu, 2008
16 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.
My annotation: This is a personal book, written by the author for her daughter in order to explain to her how she was conceived and why she does not have a daddy. The author tells her daughter that babies are made when the mommy and daddy are ready to create one. However, because she never met a “daddy” to have a baby with, she went to a “special doctor” who put a “piece” from a man inside her belly in order to make the baby she had wanted since she herself was a child. After a “little operation,” the author then prayed for a baby to form inside of her. Her prayers were answered and she explains to her daughter that even though she does not have a daddy, she does have a Heavenly Father and that with prayer, it’s possible that He will one day give her a daddy. Although this Christian-themed book describes sperm and egg as “pieces,” and also does not use the term “donor,” the story is lovingly told and can still be used by single mothers who went this route in order to build their families. This book takes a family-building approach and employs the “helper” and “labor of love” scripts. The book is in color but uses clip-art. Recommended for ages 3-5.
Available: http://www.lulu.com/shop/tena-moore/will-i-ever-have-a-daddy/hardcover/product-4059485.html