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Sophie Blackall (www.sophieblackall.com) is the illustrator of several award-winning picture books, including Meet Wild Boars by Meg Rosoff, Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson, Big Red Lollipop (by Rukhsana Khan), and the Ivy and Bean books by Annie Barrows. Her many honors include a BCCB Blue Ribbon, Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award, Society of Illustrators Founders Award, Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book, Book Sense 76 Pick, and New York Times Top Ten Picture Book. Her artwork has also appeared in murals as part of the New York City MTA's Arts for Transit program. Previously she has had jobs in a shoe shop and a robot factory. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
* Blackall once again excels at portraying a thoughtful child with a rich inner life, as her hero/narrator finds his world upended when his parents announce the arrival of a new baby. . . . Gently evasive half-answers enable Blackall to unleash her special brand of elegant, pokerfaced surrealism. . . . Blackall also admires her hero s inquisitiveness, and the way he squares his parents eventual, more scientific explanation with what he s heard throughout the day makes for a lovely tribute to the blossoming mind. An afterword offers helpful narratives for grownups facing a similar line of inquiry. Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW * A delightfully age-appropriate way to give young children the facts about conception and birth. . . . Illustrations are beautifully crafted. . . . Each page is adorned with soft colors and crisp, clear pictures that enhance the story. School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW * Blackall s text is straightforward, calm, and reassuring without being clinical. . . . Watercolor illustrations make the most of the narrator s imaginative flights of fancy, and the cherubic, rosy-cheeked babies of different ethnicities are cute as a button. . . . An appended page provides suggestions for adults about addressing the where do babies come from? question. The Horn Book, STARRED REVIEW Engaging illustrations. . . . Each response to the question stimulates the boy s imagination as revealed in the pictures. . . . Answering the Question Where Do Babies Come From? concludes the book and contains age-appropriate responses. An appealing book for children preparing to welcome a new baby or who are simply curious. Booklist Honest and accurate language combines with a rueful acknowledgment of the varied takes on the topic to make this a sound introduction to the Where do babies come from? question. The text remains kid-focused; the tone is steadily inquisitive, never pedantic, and the boy is particularly endearing in his curiosity. Blackall s line and watercolor illustrations are winsome without being saccharine, and there s considerable humor in their depiction of the various evasive explana- tions. . . . Effectively finds the sweet spot between practical and pleasant in this lovely new addition to the sex education shelf. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
