The Birds and the Bees

If your children, like most, are fascinated by animal behavior, this is a great way to approach reproduction. Topics include: Asexual Reproduction, Sexual Reproduction in Plants, Fertilization in Animals, Internal Fertilization, Development of Young Outside the Body, Attraction & Courtship, Competition, Gestation, Sexual Maturity, Diversity, Building a Home and Social Organization. The narration then moves to: Human Reproduction, Competition, Courtship, Love & Marriage, Building a Home, The Family and Society. The illustrations of the plants & animals in the first 3/4 of the book are wonderful--everything from anemone, grasshoppers and frogs to peacocks, giraffes and elephants. The illustrations of humans are disappointing and not nearly as good in quality as those of the animals. While all human male organs are labelled correctly and with detail in the diagrams, the clitoris is omitted! There was also a missed opportunity in that it would have been ideal to juxtapose an illustration of a variety of Human body types, skin tones and developmental stages along with the illustration of a variety of cats in the "Diversity" section. The book does get credit for its emphasis on the fact that mammals are intended to grow on their mother's milk. Note that this book does NOT describe the process of birth beyond briefly touching on length of gestation for a zebra and two illustrations of a zebra in utero and a recently born zebra foal. A similar title appropriate for a slightly younger crowd (and giving more information on the actual process of birth) is "How Babies Are Made" by Andrew Andry. Overall, this is a great little book!