Where You Came From

by Sara O'Leary, Julie Morstad (Illustrator)

Simply Read Books

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Art

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2008

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favourite of O'Leary's books. I love it right from the very first page that cleverly asks "Does one and one always make two? Never something more?"

Henry's question of "Where did I come from?" sparks an imaginative and witty dialogue between Mom and Dad both trying to out-do each other with stories of Henry's appearance in their lives. My favourite ones include finding Henry in a Sale Bin, and growing him in the garden.

This is a wonderful book that explores that question every child asks. It's no anatomy text, there is no birds and the bees ending here, but it is a very sweet and loving introduction to the the topic.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a little boy who asks where he came from. His parents give him silly answers and then finally a vague one. While the story is fun, it doesn't really ever answer the boy's question. I used it as a starting point to discuss with our girls where babies really come from although we're just at the basics at this point. We talked about which answer we thought was the silliest, and they enjoyed the story quite a bit. I thought it was a bit too long and got irritated at the repetitive narrative, but overall it was a pretty fun book to read aloud.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is not a single factual bit of information in this book, except maybe in the very last lines, so this is not the kind of book I would use to teach children how babies are really made. On the other hand, the whimsical illustrations and fantastical tall tales make this exactly the kind of book children will love, and adults will love reading to them.

[Hajnal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whimsical storytelling

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mot as good as When You Were Small. Somehow this one felt more like lying than teasing imagination.

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 4 out of 5]

A child keeps asking, "where did I come from?", and his mom and dad alternate with silly responses. I loved the fanciful replies and illustrations! I suspect though that parents may need to have their own response to the question when they share the book! (The last page comes somewhat near the truth and would be a good conversation starter.)

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry wants to know where he came from. His parents tell him several imaginative stories in answer, such as, a flock of crows brought him, he parachuted out of a spaceship, a red balloon floated him down from the sky, his father carved him out of wood. Lovely illustrations for this story.