BORN

In dreamy poetry and paintings, this gentle book is a lyrical and loving tribute to an unborn child as she waits to be introduced to the world.

A baby, “floating cozily in her mother’s womb,” hears the “thump-thump” of her mother’s heart, feels the calm safety of floating, and kicks “the edge of her world.” Accompanying this soothing text are images of a baby floating in a wash of colors, surrounded by peaceful but surreal imagery: some flamingos in the distance, a deep blue whale underwater, or the babe herself encased in a translucent chrysalis or seedpod. “Inside this beautiful world she is a vast universe, a small sprouting seed.” But then, something starts happening! The currents lift her toward something exciting, and now there are new noises, new feelings, and new colors. Out in the world, the baby’s outlines gain definition; she cries out and then takes a breath. Finally baby is united with mother on the page and welcomed into the world. “For she is born.” It’s undeniably a lovely book but perhaps more suited for mothers-to-be and new mothers than actual children. Its loving intent is clear, but it carries neither the informational heft of such books as Miranda Paul and Jason Chin’s Nine Months (2019) nor a new-sibling narrative for expectant older sibs.

(This book releases first as a digital edition, with print release currently scheduled for Aug. 4, 2020.)

Poetic text and evocative images infused with love and warmth welcome a new baby.