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Baby
The astonishing story of a baby's first two years. Renowned zoologist and scholar of human behavior Desmond Morris (The Naked Ape) reveals a baby's incredible powers of development and extraordinary growth patterns. Through informed text and stunning photographs and artworks, this insightful reference surveys the biology, physics, chemistry and other forces which drive the rapid changes that occur in a baby's body every day.
Growing: muscles and bones, hormones, sustenance, sleep and dreams
Staying healthy: powers of self-preservation, reflexes, immune system, hormones, self-repair
Movement: mastering movement- holding the head, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking
Communication: hard-wired crying, babbling, speaking, listening, body movement
Learning: intelligence, awareness and understanding, exploring
Emotions: personality, experiences, bonding, relationships
Becoming independent: why humans take so long do so -- longer than any other mammal.
Babies cannot distinguish between night and day until they are about ten weeks. Instead, they rely on their stomachs to regulate their day.
Within a few days of birth, a baby can distinguish between the touch of brush bristles that are of different diameters.
Within 45 hours of birth, a newborn knows his/her own mother by her smell.
Babies have about 10,000 taste buds, far more than adults do. These are not just on the tongue but on the side, back and roof of the mouth as well.
Amazing Baby is a discovery tour through a baby's first two years. The story progresses from the moment of conception through each phase of development in the womb and beyond as the baby is born and matures into a talking, walking individual with a unique personality. Chapters are organized by both stage and type of growth.
The book features 250 large and beautiful color photographs and illustrations in an innovative layout that invites both browsing and study. Full-color tracing paper overlays illustrate the many intricacies of infant anatomy. Throughout the book, retrospective glimpses of life in the womb remind the reader of the profound influence of those first nine months.
This beautiful visual reference is designed to appeal to anyone -- especially parents -- interested in how the human body evolves and works. It is also an ideal book to use with siblings of a new baby.
The contents include:
In the womb: the miracle of life; how baby develops; what baby feels, sees, hears and sensesGrowing: muscles and bones, hormones, sustenance, sleep and dreams
Staying healthy: powers of self-preservation, reflexes, immune system, hormones, self-repair
Movement: mastering movement- holding the head, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking
Communication: hard-wired crying, babbling, speaking, listening, body movement
Learning: intelligence, awareness and understanding, exploring
Emotions: personality, experiences, bonding, relationships
Becoming independent: why humans take so long do so -- longer than any other mammal.
Some of the fascinating facts in Amazing Baby:
Babies cannot distinguish between night and day until they are about ten weeks. Instead, they rely on their stomachs to regulate their day.
Within a few days of birth, a baby can distinguish between the touch of brush bristles that are of different diameters.
Within 45 hours of birth, a newborn knows his/her own mother by her smell.
Babies have about 10,000 taste buds, far more than adults do. These are not just on the tongue but on the side, back and roof of the mouth as well.
Desmond Morris' landmark book, The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal, was published in 1967. A worldwide best-seller, it examined how humans feed, sleep, fight, mate and raise young and compared human behavior with that of apes. Controversial at the time, the book shed new light on the subject and helped change popular perceptions. As in all his books, Desmond Morris reaches a popular audience and demystifies science.
194 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
14 people are currently reading
319 people want to read
About the author
Desmond Morris
238 books571 followersDesmond John Morris (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He is known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape, and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
January 11, 2019
Dit boek kreeg ik een tijdje terug van mijn zusje voor in mijn verzameling zwangerschaps- en babyboeken. Een heel mooi vormgegeven boek met plaatjes die over de foto's vallen om de anatomie van een kind te verduidelijken. Het is geen makkelijk boek, aangezien er soms best diep op de ontwikkeling en anatomie wordt ingegaan, maar dat maakte hem voor mij nog interessanter. Wat ik wel grappig vond is dat in het voorwoord wordt genoemd dat dit geen boek met adviezen is, om dan daarna regelmatig adviezen te gaan geven.. Sommige uitspraken over zorgverleners komen ook niet overeen met de werkelijkheid, maar dat is misschien ook omdat dit geen oorspronkelijk Europees boek is.
Mooi boek, mooie foto's en interessante info!
Mooi boek, mooie foto's en interessante info!
August 8, 2015
This book is fabulous. It has wonderful photos, plus overlays showing how a baby's bones, organs, and more grow.
I enjoyed this book more than most baby books because it explains the science behind a baby's development, rather than "Your baby should do this by this week." It also emphasizes the uniqueness of each baby.
I think this would be a great gift for a new parent. I just checked it out from the library and was fascinated.
I enjoyed this book more than most baby books because it explains the science behind a baby's development, rather than "Your baby should do this by this week." It also emphasizes the uniqueness of each baby.
I think this would be a great gift for a new parent. I just checked it out from the library and was fascinated.
January 12, 2017
Simply brilliant. Despite the fact that (verrrrry) occasionally an outdated bit of info does manage to slip through the editorial guard, the overwhelmingly positive attitude while dispensing clearly organized no-bullshit information about the tiny human animal during its first two years of life, coupled with the lovely photo sets, makes this easily the best book about babies I've ran across.
April 19, 2017
Impressive photos and illustrations - as befitting a coffee-table (or waiting room) book - the sections are concise and well organized as well.
Unfortunately, while there are some interesting developmental facts within, they are presented alongside a number of contentious, dubious, and unsupported theories and assertions (all without citation). These range from the benign/risible to the patently illogical/offensive; for example:
1. Mothers evolved to distinguish the cry of their own baby so they wouldn't wake up when other babies cried in the village huts.
2. Mothers favor resting their baby on their left breast where the baby will better hear the mother's voice in their left ear which is linked to the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for processing the emotional quality of sounds.
3. Dizygotic twins are more likely to be conceived from an intensely emotional or violent coupling, such as rape.
4. Only a diet that includes animal proteins can supply the human digestive system with the ideal amino-acid balance.
5. Males evolved to be hunters, explaining their inborn tendencies towards emotional suppression, and increased strength/agility/spacial awareness compared to females, who evolved to be multi-taskers, explaining their inborn tendencies towards sociability, emotional intelligence, caregiving, etc.
Had I been familiar with Desmond Morris prior to picking this up I would have left it on the shelf as I see he has made a career "popularizing science," by erroneously extrapolating the findings of his specialty (zoology circa the early 1960s) to a number of other disciplines (anthropology, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, etc.) while ignoring contradictory evidence emerging from within those specialties.
Unfortunately, while there are some interesting developmental facts within, they are presented alongside a number of contentious, dubious, and unsupported theories and assertions (all without citation). These range from the benign/risible to the patently illogical/offensive; for example:
1. Mothers evolved to distinguish the cry of their own baby so they wouldn't wake up when other babies cried in the village huts.
2. Mothers favor resting their baby on their left breast where the baby will better hear the mother's voice in their left ear which is linked to the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for processing the emotional quality of sounds.
3. Dizygotic twins are more likely to be conceived from an intensely emotional or violent coupling, such as rape.
4. Only a diet that includes animal proteins can supply the human digestive system with the ideal amino-acid balance.
5. Males evolved to be hunters, explaining their inborn tendencies towards emotional suppression, and increased strength/agility/spacial awareness compared to females, who evolved to be multi-taskers, explaining their inborn tendencies towards sociability, emotional intelligence, caregiving, etc.
Had I been familiar with Desmond Morris prior to picking this up I would have left it on the shelf as I see he has made a career "popularizing science," by erroneously extrapolating the findings of his specialty (zoology circa the early 1960s) to a number of other disciplines (anthropology, psychology, cognitive neuroscience, etc.) while ignoring contradictory evidence emerging from within those specialties.
February 3, 2013
Simply brilliant! I recommend this book to anyone with children or even planning to have children. It tells you everything you need to know about your tiny baby's physiology in a simple, easy to understand manner. An added advantage, my 10-month old loves looking at the beautiful, glossy photographs of babies on almost every single page of the book.
February 12, 2012
Worth five stars for the pictures alone. Big hurray for Malahide Library who had it " out back" as no bookshop in dublin seems to have it at the moment. I think a paperback version is due out in May.
October 1, 2012
Very informative! This book has a good format and is well written with plenty of graphics. Totally recommend to any one having a baby, working with babies, or anyone interested in the amazing human body.
July 17, 2016
Bought this at last Big Bad Wolf Book Sale for a very good deal. This book is full of facts of baby as growing & developing mammal from scientific point of view. It reminds you of biology class only with cute babies photographs everywhere.
June 8, 2009
Wow! Obviously pertinent, since I have one on the way in a couple of weeks, but a really beautiful, educational book for anyone. The photos are gorgeous, and the 'lessons' are brief. Loved it.
February 22, 2022
I would like this more if he actually provided citations and proof of his claims about human evolutionary biology. I know this is a hard branch of science to test as we have rather long lifespans, but at least give us a bibliography in the back Also not a huge fan of him referring to humans living in tribes as primeval.
February 26, 2025
Massively oversimplified and reinforces gendered and cisheteronormative biases with no sources. But the baby pictures are cute and it's an okay introductory text to child development (as long as it's looked at with a critical eye on pages about "gender differences").
November 19, 2017
Leuk om te lezen, mooi ook met die vele foto's, maar er is weinig van blijven hangen dat me echt verbaasde.
November 4, 2021
Heel interessant boek als je wilt weten hoe in grote lijnen de ontwikkeling van baby naar peuter gaat.
Read
May 3, 2024Niet alles gelezen, maar wel de stukken die voor mij interessant zijn. Duidelijk omschreven
December 27, 2009
Developmental Psychology 101 presented in a way that is feels neither too simplistic for my level of expertise nor too complicated for the parents I work with who have very low education levels. The words are simple but are put together beautifully, so it is informative but not boring, educational but not condescending.
This book was purchased per my request by my agency for resource material and I would recommend it for everyone. I'm going to have to give this book at every baby shower I go to.
In addition to all this, it is the most beautiful book I've ever looked at. The pictures are really amazing and the plates overlaying pictures of real babies are so pretty and make it easy to understand.
Glad I'm getting paid to read this!
This book was purchased per my request by my agency for resource material and I would recommend it for everyone. I'm going to have to give this book at every baby shower I go to.
In addition to all this, it is the most beautiful book I've ever looked at. The pictures are really amazing and the plates overlaying pictures of real babies are so pretty and make it easy to understand.
Glad I'm getting paid to read this!
August 7, 2011
This is a wonderful book summarizing the development of babies. What I particularly liked about this book is that the development is discussed in terms of evolution and natural selection. However, some of the developmental milestones discussed ARE WRONG according to when they happen. The author states that most babies walk by 8 months old. In fact, a walking 8 month old is quite rare. The picutures are beautiful, however.
August 30, 2016
This was a gift from Nate's aunt and a surprisingly beautiful book--it's the first two years (including in the womb) from the perspective of the child and how they grow and develop. The pictures are gorgeous, there are a few layover sheets of a baby's working system, and the descriptions are thorough and just detailed enough to be scientific without being too overwhelming. It's a lovely book, and was quite enjoyable to read.
September 5, 2015
The best book ever when you have a small baby. Also a great gift to new parents. This book doesn't tell you what your baby 'should be able to do' at a given age -what most books do and usually results in parents worrying about their child. It rather describes the several stages babies go through and how they develop from a general point of view. A great read!
January 14, 2009
Beautiful photographs of babies throughout the book. My son who is almost 9 months loves to look at the photographs of the babies.. I can see him growing and developing everyday..
This book explains how babies develop. It's a fascinating read.
This book explains how babies develop. It's a fascinating read.
October 10, 2009
This easy-to-read book is full of brilliant photographs and illustrations about the baby anatomy. This is not a typical "What to expect when you're expecting" book, instead it takes a scientific approach to what happens as they baby develops up until toddler years. It truly is a must read!
December 26, 2012
Lovely photography, each section deals with every step of a baby's physical, emotional and mental growth. The inability of the author to grasp who the Maker is taints the book with an evolutionist worldview.
March 26, 2015
Such a wonderful book that helps demystify a lot of what happens during a baby's development from fetus to toddler, with beautiful photography and overlays that do a great job illustrating many concepts.
Can't recommend it enough, particularly for first time parents.
Can't recommend it enough, particularly for first time parents.
January 19, 2009
this was easy to read, had great pictures, and provided lots of interesting information on the development from newborn to toddler.
November 16, 2009
Two words: Gore jush.
December 26, 2010
Library Journal review assignment
January 11, 2012
u can download copy of this book from
http://www.ebook.honglinhsoft.com/?pa...
it's very good book to read if you have new baby
http://www.ebook.honglinhsoft.com/?pa...
it's very good book to read if you have new baby
June 3, 2012
good book. Cute pics, helpful, interesting info on a broad range of topics. Simply worded, to-the-point, and clear.
October 4, 2012
Awesome Desmond Morris genius.
June 3, 2013
Beautiful pictures, but the info is either unremarkable - i.e. generally found in many run-of-the-mill baby books - or somewhat dubious.
May 11, 2016
I feel bad for giving it only two stars, as it’s a beautiful book and very informative, but I just couldn’t get into it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews