by Kátia Maria Straube
illustrated by Eliane Cassia Ramos
Language: Portuguese
Curitiba: Expoente, 2013
24 p. : col. illus. ; 23 cm.
ISBN: 9788591588909
My annotation: This is the second book in the “LAB” series by author Kátia Maria Straube, a psychologist and psychotherapist who works in the area of assisted human reproduction in Brazil. It is the story of a planet called “LAB” where there are very few children, it is presumed due to a high rate of infertility among the residents, until the scientists on the planet discover ways to make babies and form families using alternative methods. The book describes sperm donation, egg donation, embryo donation, and IVF, and also mentions adoption, surrogacy, and single mothers by choice, although these three methods are only mentioned and not discussed to the extent that sperm and egg donation are. The book also represents both straight and gay and lesbian couples and takes both a family-building approach and a child-conception approach, as well as employs the "families are formed differently" and "the helper" scripts. The concept of forming families in so many ways is mentioned throughout the book but so is a description of how these many families are formed through various methods of assisted conception. The book introduces the terms “sperm,” “semen,” “egg,” "embryo," and “borrowed belly” for surrogacy. There is no description of sex and instead just says that some families are formed “naturally” and no depiction of nudity in the book. Full color illustrations are professionally rendered and depict families of all kinds and colors. The book is in Portuguese and not available in English. Recommended for children ages 3-5, but I can see children 5-8 appreciating the book as well. As the many illustrations are just as descriptive and clarifying as the text, I can see children growing with this book.
Contact the author through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lab-O-Planeta-que-fabricava-beb%C3%AAs/226813834029296
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