Born

In this meditative ode to childbirth by Sobol (Friend or Foe?), a fetus is on the verge of being born, “floating cozily in her mother’s womb,” the “thump-thump of her mother’s heartbeat keep[ing] her company, always.” Flush with oceanic metaphors, watercolor and digital collage spreads by Derby (Outside In) evoke a dreamily surreal womb-scape: fish, whales, and a ship all float alongside the developing fetus. The quarters are tight but mostly comfortable (“a deep calm, safe at/ home”), and in one spread, the womb is reimagined as a seedpod, the fetus snugly curled within it (“a small sprouting seed”). Everything changes as birth begins—“strong currents lift her up/ and away”—and suddenly, the newborn babe is in the world, with its “new noises,” “cool air,” and “warm hands.” The illustrations capture the tender delicacy of an infant’s first moments as the baby takes her first breath and rests on her mother’s chest, a gentleness echoed in whispers, “scruffy softness,” and “fuzzy shapes.” The book’s lack of informational context doesn’t speak to the realities of birth, but it provides an interesting thought experiment that may interest younger readers: imagining what being born feels like. Ages 3–7. [em](May) [/em]