You were meant to be!
by Sherry Keen
illus. by Rosemarie Gillen
Language: English
Savannah, GA : Big Tent Books, 2013.
21 p. : col. ill. ; 27 cm.
ISBN: 1601311400; 9781601311405
My annotation: Told in the second person, this is not so much a story but introduces the concept of infertility to children. It begins by telling the child how “special and unique” they are, how they got here, and how things don’t always happen as they should between all the working “pieces” needed to make a baby. The book then begins to explain that sperm from a man and an egg from a woman are needed to make a baby. Sometimes however, “for many reasons, a man or a woman cannot have a baby,” that sometimes a “piece” is missing or does not work. The author then goes on to explain to her child that “we wanted you so much that we found a way to replace” those parts and that there are “kind and generous” people called “donors” who “want to help others make a family.” In the end, all that matters is that no matter how you got here, “you were meant to be!” It is a lovely message. This book takes a family-building and a child-conception approach and uses the “spare parts” and “the helper” scripts. The author also introduces the concept of anonymous donation. Full-color professionally rendered drawings depict happy children of all nationalities. Recommended for ages 3-5.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Fertilization in vitro, Human -- Juvenile literature
- Infertility -- Juvenile literature
- Human reproduction -- Juvenile literature
Available: http://www.amazon.com/You-Were-Meant-To-Be/dp/1601311400/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1364649106&sr=1-1
Ein Weltwunder (Ma-Ma)
by Mireille van Seggelen
illus. by Anouk Braakhuis; et al
Language: German
Budel [Netherlands] : MVS Creations, 2013.
34 p. : col. ill. ; 15 x 21 cm.
ISBN: 9789081114950
My annotation: This is one of a handful of books written in the second person. The book begins to explain sperm donation to children as young as three, yet does not use the words “sperm” or “donation.” The book explains how “seeds” from boys and eggs from girls are needed to make a baby. When they meet, “a baby starts to grow in Mummy’s tummy.” Sometimes however, there are no seeds that can meet with Mummy’s egg so a “kind man” is needed to “help” Mummy have a baby. Since this book is about sperm donation in which a woman does not have access to sperm, it is suitable for both single mothers by choice as well as lesbian women. It takes a child-conception approach and employs “the helper” script. Full-color cartoon drawings depict both women with partners and women without partners. Recommended for children ages 3-5.
Available: http://www.mvscreations.nl/ein-weltwunder.html
Onde está meu papai?: a história de Alice
by Helena Pradoo Lopes
illus. by Alessandra Tozi
Language: Portuguese
[Santa Cecilia, SP], Helena Prado Lopes, 2013
14 p. : col. ill. ; 22 x 22 cm.
ISBN: 97885XXXXXXXX
My annotation:Although we do not know her age at the beginning of the story, Alice, the daughter of a single mother, finally reaches the age when she asks her mother, “Where is my father?” At this point her mother begins to explain that sperm from a man and an egg from a woman are needed to make a baby. Her mother also begins to explain to Alice how very much she wanted a child but had no husband to have a child with. So she went to a “laboratory” where men’s sperm is kept so that she could have a child on her own. Her mother goes on to explain to her that this was the happiest day of her life - when she knew that a daughter was growing inside her tummy. After hearing the whole story, a curious Alice continues to ask, “Where is the father? In what part of this enormous world is he?” Her mother does not have an answer for her, but tells her that all you need is love to make a family and also that all families are different. Because Alice’s form of conception is explained to her earlier in the book, the book takes a child-conception approach, but also ends with a family-building approach as her mother explains to her that a family is a family, whether there is a mother and a father, or whether there is just a mother and a daughter. “The helper,” the “labor of love,” and the “families are made differently” scripts are all used. The illustrations are professionally rendered and the book is recommended for children ages 3-5. It has been simultaneously published in Spanish and Portuguese (not in English yet) and is available directly from the author.
Available directly from the author: helenaprado@globo.com
Um bebê para amar: história de um bebê que queria muito nascer...
by Helena Prado Lopes
illus. by Alessandra Tozi
Language: Portuguese
Rio de Janeiro : H. Prado Lopes, 2010.
20 p. : col. illus. ; 22 x 22 cm.
ISBN: 9788591098613
My annotation: This is the story of an infertile couple who very much want to have children. They want to have children to the point that it hurts to go to other people’s children’s birthday parties or even to take a walk in the park for they may see other parents pushing baby carriages. So after some time of trying, they visit a doctor to see what the problem is. The book does not specify what the problem is but after several months of trying and treatment, the couple become pregnant and are very happy. Finally they will be able to give their own parents a grandchild, and finally it will no longer hurt to go to birthday parties or to see parents pushing baby carriages in the park. The book suggests that it was IVF which helped this couple have their child for they wonder at one point whether their child will be “different” because he was conceived in a “laboratory.” When their child turns out to be just “like all the other babies,” they are relieved, and in the end, they are now a “family.” The book takes a family building approach and employs the “labor of love” and “families are made differently” scripts. This, along with one other book written by Kátia Maria Straube in the same year, was the first children’s book about ART published in Brazil in 2010. Currently the book is available only in Portuguese. Recommended for children ages 3-5.
Available directly from the author: helenaprado@globo.com
LAB: o planeta que fabricava bebês
by Kátia Maria Straube
illus. by Eliane Cássia Ramos
Language: Portuguese
Curitiba, Brazil: Expoente, 2010.
28 p. : col. ill.
ISBN: 9788598008462
My annotation: Lab: the planet that made babies was written by a psychologist and psychotherapist who works in the field of assisted human reproduction in Brazil. It was one of two children's books on ART published simultaneously in Brazil in 2010 and was one of the first to be published out of that country. It is the story of a planet in the “Test Tube Galaxy” where there are many unhappy couples because they cannot have children and so the population of the planet increases only slightly from year to year. Wondering what the problem is, the scientists on the planet begin to investigate exactly how babies are made and they discover that it is the cells of men and the cells of women that produce babies when they come together. (The way they come together naturally is not discussed). But why does it not work for some couples? The answer is complicated but they discover that they can invent ways for the cells to come together artificially. One way is through artificial insemination and the other is through in vitro fertilization. Thus these two methods are the ones discussed in the book (although egg donation is touched upon slightly later in the book). Because the term family is mentioned so many times, and because the conception of specific children in a specific family is not mentioned, this book takes a family-building approach and employs the “nuts and bolts” script. Even though the "nuts and bolts" of sex are not discussed, the "nuts and bolts" of these two methods of assisted reproduction are. Because this book is slightly less complicated than the second book in the series in that it mentions only two ART techniques, it is recommended for children ages 3-5. This is the first book in the “LAB” series by Kátia Maria Straube. The full-color cartoon illustrations are professionally rendered and it is currently only available in Portuguese.
Available: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lab-O-Planeta-que-fabricava-beb%C3%AAs/226813834029296
You were meant to be! 
