How I Was Born

Sooner or later, every child wants to know where he or she came from--just the facts, please, and no beating around the bush. In this straightforward but sensitive book, Wabbes ( Little Rabbit's Garden ) focuses less on clinical details and more on the emotions involved in having a child--how a man and woman fall in love, marry, decide to have a baby and eagerly await its birth--though she also illustrates fetal development, complete with ovum and sperm. Her reassuring message lets readers know that a child who is the product of a loving relationship is special indeed. As an artist, Wabbes is a master of understatement: with just a few deft strokes and the barest minimum of color, she conveys all the tenderness and joy that accompany the birth of a baby. Ages 6-up. (Aug.)