About What Makes a Baby:

What Makes a Baby is a book for every kind of family and every kind of kid. It is a 21st century children’s picture book about where babies come from that reflects the reality of our modern time by being inclusive of all kinds of kids, adults, and families, however they came to be.

Geared to readers from pre-school to 8 years old, it teaches curious kids about conception, gestation, and birth in a way that works regardless of whether or not the kid in question was adopted, conceived using reproductive technologies, at home or in a clinic, through surrogacy, or the old fashioned way, and regardless of how many people were involved, their orientation, gender and other identity, or family composition. Just as important, the story doesn’t gender people or body parts, so most parents and families will find that it leaves room for them to educate their child without having to erase their own experience.

Most books about where babies come from leave many of us out. They tell a nice story (mommy + daddy + intercourse = you!) but the truth is that more and more of us are acknowledging the help we get to bring children into our lives. That help might be a doctor, fertility clinic, adoption or foster agency; it might be a turkey baster and a friend; it might be a sperm donor or a surrogate. What Makes a Baby helps parents tell children a story about where they came from that isn’t just true for them, but true for everyone.

What Makes a Baby began as a self-published book funded through Kickstarter. It was the most funded picture book Kickstarter had at the time, raising over $65,000 in 30 days. After the initial print run, the book was published by Seven Stories Press.

Buy it from your favourite US independent bookseller, Canadian independent bookseller, or online everywhere.

Reviews + Praise:

"What Makes a Baby is extraordinary! Cory is a Dr. Spock for the 21st century". — Susie Bright

"Designed for all kinds of children in all kinds of families, this will be particularly welcome in adoptive and non-traditional families but is, uniquely, an appealing and informative complement to early sex-education discussions with any child." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Imaginative and inclusive, What Makes a Baby is a modern-day, queer, colorful reimagining of Peter Mayle’s 1987 classic Where Did I Come From.” — Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

“What Makes A Baby fully delivers…a perfect primer for all families, as it strips the story of birth down to its universal essentials without stripping away any of the joy or magic from the event.” — Michelle Tea, Mutha Magazine

“A truly inclusive way to answer the question 'Where do babies come from?': The new book What Makes a Baby offers an origin story for all children, no matter what their families look like." —The Atlantic

“While this book is valuable for its factual accuracy, what sets it apart is its truly inclusive nature…At a time when what makes a family and what makes a baby are as varied as they've ever been, this book simply and powerfully can spark conversations about family history in all its unique beauty. — Common Sense Media

“What Makes a Baby is the book all parents have been waiting for!” — Mamás Latinas

“Our family needed this book. Your family needs this book. In fact, I can’t think of a family that doesn't."— Philadelphia Family Pride

"A where do babies come from book that doesn’t suck! What Makes a Baby aims to be just about the most inclusive sex ed book for kids you've ever come across.”— Jezebel

Free Reader's Guide:

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