Christo Zouves, M.D ; with Linda Attell and Holly Bea
illustrated by Sarah Fox.
Language: English
Daly City, CA. : Zouves Fertility Center, 2004.
27 p. : col. ill. ; 22 x 26 cm.
ISBN: 0976473801; 9780976473800
My Annotation: Written by a reproductive endocrinologist, this book aims to explain the basics of human reproduction as well as assisted reproduction when and why there might be a need for it. It introduces children to some very big words like “intracytoplasmic sperm injection” and “sperm chromatin structure assay,” as well as the more common terms found in children’s books on ART, like in vitro fertilization, egg donation, sperm donation, and surrogacy. Unlike other children’s books on ART, this book is narrated by several children who were all conceived in different ways. There is Michael, a twin, conceived via IVF. There is PJ, conceived via egg donation. There is Sophie, brought into the world via surrogacy. And there are Katie and Mei Lin, both conceived via IUI and donor insemination, Katie to a heterosexual couple, and Mei Lin to a lesbian couple. In these vignettes, all the children explain the reasons where and why that particular ART method was used to conceive them, for example, Michael’s mom’s eggs “couldn’t travel through her tubes” and his dad’s sperm “couldn’t swim to the egg” so mom’s eggs and dad’s sperm were put in a petri dish where they could join together to form an embryo. The book includes a glossary though it does not include the term IUI even though it is introduced in the book. The last few pages are devoted to spaces for family photos, the names of the doctors who helped bring them into the world, the names of the helpers, and a picture of the ultrasound, clearly acknowledging all the work that went into bringing them into the world and to “shift their focus from making a family to being a family.” Cartoon drawings resembling children’s drawings depict no nudity. Recommended for children ages 5-8.
Available: http://www.goivf.com
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