Gal and Noa's daddies
by Shosh Pinkas
illus. by Julia Philipone-Erez
Language: English
CreateSpace, 2013
21 p. : col. ill. ; 22 x 22 cm.
ISBN: 1494442531; 9781494442538
My annotation: Gal and Noa are twins. When Gal wants to play daddies on the playground, she is derided by a little girl who tells her there is no such thing as a two-daddy family. Gal corrects her and says that “it’s just like our family.” Another child chimes in however and says that families can’t have more than one dad and that boys can’t marry boys. Then another child chimes in and says that her cousins have two moms. Now the kids on the playground are confused as they have never heard of such a thing. They have questions for Gal and Noa like who does what chores, and what do you call them? When they get home that night they ask their dads how they were born and their dads proceed to tell them how you need a “woman’s teeny egg and a man’s tiny seed” to make a baby, as well as a mommy’s tummy and because they didn’t have a mommy’s tummy, they needed a little help from doctors, an egg donor, and a surrogate. The doctors helped the egg meet the seed and a “nice lady” in India agreed to carry their babies. (Israel prohibits surrogacy for gay men so gay men must commission surrogates outside of Israel). This is the true story of two gay men in Israel who wanted to build their family via surrogacy. It is written by the grandmother of the twin girls who were conceived via surrogacy. Although this book serves as an introduction to surrogacy, it never introduces the term “surrogate,” nor are the words sperm or egg donor used. Rather, it is the story of how two men loved each other and wanted to have children. This book takes a family-building approach and employs the “helper” script. The story is told in a rhyme that works and is recommended for children ages 3-5.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Children of gay parents -- Juvenile fiction
- Gay fathers -- Juvenile fiction
- Conception -- Juvenile fiction
Available: https://www.createspace.com/4566217
Where the northwind blows
by Margaret P. Ritter
illus. by Karina Wacker
Language: English
Vienna : Bright Knight Books, 2013.
15 p. : col. ill. ; cm.
ISBN: 9783950342017
My annotation: This book is the first children’s book published out of Austria about donor conception. It is written as a fairy tale by a single mother for her daughter and is a warm, loving tribute to the miracle of her daughter’s very existence. It begins as her daughter Sunny, an impatient soul waits to be born, dying to be born, so that she may “let her light shine and … set free all her sparkling vitality on earth among the living.” But she must wait until the right person selects her so that she may be born. The book talks about how the souls of all children are meant to be no matter how they get here and that children must wait until they are “struck by … (the) shooting beam of (the) love” of their parents to be born into the “garden of life.” It hints that a man is needed in order to make a baby but also hints at immaculate conception as Sunny was conceived “without a man so much as touching” her mother. She was conceived in Denmark, the land “where the northwind blows” and the country to which her mother traveled from Austria where the use of sperm donation for single mothers and lesbians is rather liberal. It is an entirely personal story, written by this mother for this child and although it never uses the word “donor” or any of the usual terms associated with assisted conception, the book does however use big words like “bagatelle,” “pristine,” and “joi-de-vivre.” The book presents the “labor of love” script and takes both a family-building and a child-conception approach and ultimately counsels to both children and adults that we have the children we are meant to have. Although the concepts presented here are a bit abstract for younger children, the book was inspired by her three-year-old daughter's question, "Mama, where is my father?" For this reason it is recommended both for children ages 3-5 and 5-8. Simultaneously published in both German and English.
Available: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Northwind-Blows-Margaret-Ritter/dp/395034201X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391589987&sr=8-1&keywords=northwind+ritter
Chérubine et la poule qui ne pondait pas
by Sabine Debrus
illus. by Taylor Brandon
Language: French
CreateSpace, 2013
39 p. : col. ill. ; 16 x 22 cm.
ISBN: 1492796603; 9781492796602
Summary: This book, written for children, is the story of one woman’s fertility journey and of all of the methods of ART she tried until she finally decided to adopt. It conveys one woman’s determination to try absolutely everything to have her own child. The story is told in rhyme, and it is the story of Angelina, a chicken who was despondent because she could not lay any eggs. Along with her angel dog Chérubine, she travels the world for a cure but nothing she tries works for her. Even after failure after failure she does not give up. She is determined to lay her own egg, and one day she finally does, but the egg is cracked. It is therefore not a viable egg. At this point, she does decide to give up, until her chicken friend, Dee, overhears her sadness and decides to take one of the three eggs she is currently laying on and says, ‘Please don’t be blue. I can’t think of a hen who’d be a better mommy than you!” Angelina is overjoyed and hugs the egg to her heart. “Soon the egg hatched and Angelina’s heart filled with joy! For she had a little baby chick, a bouncing baby boy!” This book clearly can be used to begin a discussion of egg donation with a child, but it can be used by any mother who has tried any path to motherhood through any method of ART as the author tried all of them. The book takes a child-conception approach and employs “the helper” and the “labor of love” scripts. There are full-color cartoon drawings and the book is recommended for ages 3-5.
Available: https://www.createspace.com/4453674
God wanted me! God created me!
written and illus. by Teresa Adams
Language: English
Mustang, OK : Tate Publishing, 2009.
25 p. : col. ill. ; 15 x 23 cm.
ISBN: 9781607999577
My annotation: This book takes a deeply religious approach with a child conceived via sperm or egg donation. Assuming that the child has already been told about their donor conception, this book aims to comfort the child who may feel unsettled by the fact that they do not know their biological parent. Throughout, Bible quotes are strung together and meant to comfort a child by explaining how much God loves him or her and that although he or she may not know or even ever know their biological mother or father, it does not matter as much as knowing that they are God’s child. As the book says, “You will save yourself a lot of time by not being preoccupied with the past and searching for the person who released the egg or sperm that helped to form you.” The text soon ends with this quote from Psalms “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close.” (Psalms 27:10). The gist of the book is that you may want to search for your biological parents, but you are better off searching for God, for it was God who truly made you. The book ends with this prayer to God “Today, I choose my future with you and I trust that you will deliver me from feelings of loneliness, incompleteness, anger, rejection, and hurt regarding my biological mother/father.” This book is suitable for both donor-conceived as well as adopted children. There are full color illustrations and the book is recommended for children ages 5-8.
Available: https://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-60799-957-7
Hope & Will have a baby: the gift of sperm donation
by Iréné Celcer
illus. by Horacio Gatto
Language: English
Niskayuna, N.Y. : Graphite, ©2006.
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 21 x 26 cm.
ISBN: 9780975581032; 0975581031
My annotation: Matthew loves to hear his “family’s special fairy tale.” It is the story of what his parents went through in order to bring him into the world. It begins with a brief introduction to human reproduction, not the sex part, but how babies grow in uteruses and start out as embryos. After many months of trying to have a baby, Hope and Will, Matthew’s mom and dad, visit a doctor who eventually tells them “that they were not going to be able to make a baby together.” This is heartbreaking news. Although the book does not explain the nature of the couple’s infertility, the doctor tells them they can however try donor insemination, at this point introducing children to the term “sperm donor.” The book also introduces children to other big words like “sonogram,” “uterus,” “embryo,” and “sperm” in addition to the term "donor." In addition to the big words, the book also introduces children to big concepts like patience and sadness and shows how painful, frustrating, and difficult the process of trying to have a baby can be, as well as the depression that can set in when trying so hard is not working. In the end though, Matthew’s parents “were very proud of each other and their sperm donor. And “thanks to their combined efforts and his kindness” they became a family. The book takes a child-conception and a family-building approach and employs the “nuts & bolts,” "the helper," and the "labor of love" scripts. The full-color illustrations are appealing and professionally rendered. Recommended for children ages 5-8.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Infertility -- Fictional works
- Fertilization in Vitro -- Fictional works
- Infertility -- Fiction
Available: http://graphitepress.com/bookstore/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=31
Author's Web site: http://www.hopeandwill.com/pages/main/synopsis.php
618.178
RG134 .G75 2004
Before you were born : our wish for a baby
by Janice Grimes
illustrations by Mary Moye-Rowley
Language: English
Webster, Iowa : X, Y, and Me, ©2004.
1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill. ; 22 cm.
ISBN: 0975502883; 9780975502884
My annotation: “Please tell me the story of your wish for a baby,” the little bear boy asks his father at the beginning of the book. This is not the first time he has heard the story but he absolutely loves to hear how much his parents wanted him. When his parents wish for a baby did not come true at first, they go to the hospital to see a “special doctor,” who tells them that Daddy does not have the “special cell” needed to make a baby. There was however, a “nice man” called a "donor" who was willing to give one of his special cells. When the time was right, the special cells were placed inside Mommy and a baby started to grow and “That baby was you! Before we could see you, before we could touch you, we knew that we loved you.” This is a simple and tender story that conveys to a child just how much they were wished for and wanted. It is unusual in that it is the father telling the story and not the mother, as nearly all of the other children’s books about ART are narrated by a female voice. This is one in a series of stories written by a registered nurse who works in an IVF clinic. It takes a family-building approach and a child-conception approach and employs the “spare parts,” the “labor of love,” and “the helper” scripts. Very cute illustrations, professionally rendered, depict a father and son bear family, but the mother is not present. The book does not introduce children to the words, “sperm” and “egg” but it does introduce the word “donor.” Recommended for children ages 3-5.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Artificial insemination, Human -- Juvenile literature
- Artificial insemination, Human
Available: http://www.xyandme.com/XYMe-Books.htm
The story of our family : a book for lesbian families with children conceived by donor insemination
by Petra Thorn and Lisa Green
illus. by Tiziana Rinaldi
Language: English
Mörfelden : FamART-Verlag, 2013.
15 p. : col. ill. ; 21 cm. x 21 cm.
ISBN: 9783981141030
My annotation: This is the story of a Mommy and Mama who loved each other very much and wanted to have a baby, so the women go to see a doctor who helps couples have children. At this point, there are two page 8's, one describing self-insemination with a known donor (“They knew a man who was happy to give them sperm.”) and one describing insemination with an unknown donor (“The doctor put the sperm from a nice man into Mommy’s tummy.”) You can skip over one or the other depending on your own insemination experience. This book is written by two Ph.D’s, with a combined experience of over forty years working as family therapists, one of whom is a lesbian mother herself via DI. It is a simple story which, when read to your child, provides room for you to tell your own family story. The book also introduces children to the words, “sperm,” and “egg” (“Babies grow when the egg from a woman and a sperm from a man come together.”). This book takes a family-building approach and employs the “labor of love” and “the helper” scripts. Full-color professional illustrations render a very happy couple, a doctor, and a donor even though the word “donor” is not introduced. Recommended for children ages 3-5.
Available: http://www.famart.de/kinderbuecher/
Mom, Mama, and Me... and How I Came to Be!
by Tina Rella
illus. by Monica Meza
Language: English
CreateSpace, 2010.
26 p. : col. ill. ; 20 x 25 cm.
ISBN: 9781452875668; 1452875669
My annotation: Told in both the first and third person, this is the story of Jonathan and his two moms. When one day at school, someone asks him what his parents do for a living, he tells them what his moms do. “But where’s your dad?” the other child asks, and Jonathan does not know what to say. At home he asks, “Do I have a Daddy?” to which his moms reply: “...love makes a family, yes it’s true/Love makes a family - me and you/There’s nothing better we could have done/We always knew that you were the one!” The next page features the “Family Fertility Center” about which his parents begin to explain how a “nice young man … donated his sperm,” which a doctor mixed with “our eggs.” Although the book introduces the terms, “sperm,” “egg,” “embryo,” and “donate,” the part about mixing the sperm with “our eggs” might have to be explained as the book’s attempt at rhyme is confusing in parts: “The doctor mixed our eggs with the sperm/Which stayed in a dish for a very short term.” Still, this is an introduction to sperm donation and in vitro fertilization for young children with two mothers. This book takes a family-building approach and employs the “families are made differently” and a little bit of “the helper” script. Full -color illustrations depict a multi-racial lesbian couple. Recommended for ages 3-5.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Children of gay parents -- Pictorial works -- Juvenile fiction
- Lesbian mothers -- Pictorial works -- Juvenile fiction
- Conception -- Pictorial works -- Juvenile fiction
Available: https://www.createspace.com/3454840
Our story (sperm donation for solo mums)
by Nicola Baxter; Donor Conception Network
Language: English
Nottingham : Donor Conception Network, ©2002.
24 p. : col. ill. ; 20 x 21 cm.
ISBN: 0954399501
My annotation: A little boy begins to ask his mum if he has a dad like the other children at school. His mum replies that there are several different types of families, including the one like theirs where it is “just us.” The boy then asks, “But did I ever have a dad?” to which his mum begins to tell him how much she really wanted him but that she just did not “meet the right person to be a dad.” She begins to tell him how a sperm from a man and an egg from a woman are necessary to make a baby but that “some very kind men gave some of their sperm so that women like me could have babies.” The little boy then asks if they know anything about “the man who helped you to make me?” to which the mum replies that she just knows a few things like the colour of his eyes, the colour of his hair, and how tall he is. She also adds that “there are lots of lucky families like us,” assuring her son that he is not the only one who was brought into the world this way. This book is an introduction to anonymous sperm donation for children, although it does not introduce children to the term “donor.” It takes a family-building approach and employs the “families are made differently” and “the helper” scripts. It is in full-color and hand-drawn by various children who depict people of all colors and sizes. Recommended for children ages 3-5.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Artificial insemination, Human -- Pictorial works -- Juvenile fiction
Available: http://www.dcnetwork.org/products/product/our-story-sperm-donation-solo-mums
Our story (sperm donation for lesbian couples)
by Nicola Baxter; Donor Conception Network
Language: English
Nottingham : Donor Conception Network, ©2002.
24 p. : col. ill. ; 20 x 21 cm.
ISBN: 095439951X
My annotation: Told by the child, this is the story of a little boy who lives with his two mums. The story begins when he asks the question, “Do I have a dad?” Without answering the question, the mums explain that there are many different kinds of families; some with a mum and a dad, some with just a mum, and some with just a dad. Not quite satisfied with this explanation, the child asks a second question, “...did I ever have a dad?” That’s when his mums feel compelled to explain to him how much they really wanted a baby and begin to tell him how babies are made with sperm from a man and eggs from a woman. Although the mums do not mention how exactly babies are made with these two things, they tell their son that they had to go to the hospital to get some help and that “some very kind men gave some of their sperm so that women like us could have babies.” When the little boy asks if they know anything about the man who helped to make him and if he will ever get a chance to meet him, they explain that although he won’t be a part of their lives, it is important to know that he was “kind” and “generous.” Although the word “donor” is not used, this book introduces children to the concept of anonymous sperm donation. This book is in full color and illustrated by several different children who depict the adults and children in all shapes and colors. This book takes a family-building approach and employs the “families are made differently,” “the helper,” and a little bit of the “nuts and bolts” scripts. Recommended for ages 3-5.
Library of Congress Subject Headings:
- Artificial insemination, Human -- Pictorial works -- Juvenile fiction
Available: http://www.dcnetwork.org/products/product/our-story-sperm-donation-lesbian-couples
.jpeg)
