Product Description

On a winter night, in a cottage far away from the town, Mum's baby is ready to be born. The midwife arrives and the whole family prepare for the home birth. In this honest and moving portrayal, Jenni Overend and Julie Vivas celebrate the birth of a baby at home with warmth and joy. This is a book for the whole family to share in preparation for a home birth or the arrival of a new baby.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72051 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Review
This book is a godsend for any family hoping to have a baby at home, and I only wish it had been around in time for my own son to read before the home birth of our second child. A book to treasure; I can't recommend it highly enough." --Inis - The Children's Books Ireland Magazine

About the Author
Jenni Overend is a teacher and writer. She lives in the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia with her husband and four children. She avoids writing and housework at all costs by gardening, riding a yellow bicycle, and observing big trees and small dogs. Julie Vivas is the illustrator of many superb picture books. She lives in Victoria, Australia.

Customer Reviews

Hello Hello Baby
This is a wonderful book, which was recommended to me by a friend and midwife.
It tells the story of the home birth of a baby through the eyes of the youngest child in the family.
The text and illustrations are beautifully done, gentle yet accurate.
I would recommend this book to anyone, especially if you have children and are planning a home birth. It has really helped us to explain what will happen to our 3 yr old daughter, and has helped her articulate her questions and excitement!

Beautiful book, with birth seen as a family event
I bought this book to prepare my children for the forthcoming homebirth of their new sibling. It is a truly beautiful book, with soft natural illustrations and appealing text. The homebirth of the new baby boy is described in a straightforward and comforting manner. Although there are pictures depicting the baby's head emerging and the placenta, they are not overly graphic and can easily be understood by young children. My three year old son was fascinated by the pictures, particularly the newborn illustration where the baby still has a cord attached.
This book is very useful for families who do not find books depicting birth as a medical procedure in hospital or babies being bottlefed relevant to their own birth choices.

talented illustrator -but explicit birthing picture
The illustrations are very warm, with coloured pencil & pastels, and well drawn.
The cute soflty rounded features and rosy details on these slightly larger than life characters make the pictures very child-friendly.

If you are planning a homebirth, or having children witness a birth, this is an excellent book to prepare them for the experience. The text makes the natural process of birth understandable for children, and exciting.
Overall though, read it first. I didn't realise this book would be as graphic as it is - if you haven't explained to your child about the exact process of childbirth, you will need to after this book. One of the illustrations shows the baby entering the world from mother.
It's not untasteful but I haven't explained to my 3yr old yet, & had to rather hastily closed the book midway.