Parents' Guide to

You Were Loved Before You Were Born

By Patricia Tauzer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 3+

Heart-tingling hug for kids, and new parents too.

Book Eve Bunting Picture Book 2008
You Were Loved Before You Were Born Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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What's the Story?

Written as if a mother were speaking to her child, this book goes through a litany of all the people who awaited the baby's birth and what they did to prepare. All is to say, the child was loved by so many people even before he/she was born. And is still loved by them today.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

Warm, simple, gentle text is set within colorful, yet subtle, illustrations, and both will pull all readers into repeated readings. Adults, more that kids, may appreciate the flat, one dimensional artwork, which is made to look like cut-paper collage against uniformly painted backgrounds. However, kids will want to cuddle up with one of the many people who love them to hear this story again and again.

Some say it takes a village to raise a child. This book shows that it also takes one to welcome a new child into the world. Parents, grandmothers and grandfathers, cousins, neighbors, and even the family dog anticipate the arrival of the baby, and each adds something to build the loving world that will surround the child when he/she comes. On one page the grandmother plants a rose, on another an aunt paints stars on the walls and ceiling, and on yet another an neighbor holds an amazing butterfly kite he has made. Each does something unique that not only anticipates the birth, but also promises a loving future together with the child.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about all the people who were excited about the baby's birth, and how they helped to get ready. Parents will want to share stories of what they did to make the world ready for their child. Who was involved? What did they do? Who is still special in the child's life, and what kinds of things do they continue to share with each other?

Book Details

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