You were meant to be!

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