Where Did I Come From?: An Illustrated Childrens Book on Human Sexuality

by Peter Mayle

Book Overview

"I give this book top grades for humanness and honesty. Some parents will find that its humorousness helps them over the embarrassment."
--Dr. Spock

Over A Million Copies Sold

An international and beloved bestselling children's classic, Where Did I Come From? helps parents and their curious children get up close and personal with the intimate world of human sexuality in the form of a picture...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0818402539
• ISBN13: 9780818402531
• Release Date: January 1973
• Publisher: Carol Publishing Corporation
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 9.2" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 6 to 9 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 4

Customer Reviews

"The Talk"...Sooner or Later..ya gotta have it...

"Where Did I Come From?" by Peter Mayle is a great tool to help you through those embarrassing questions the youngins are asking. It is geared for the very young, I would say ages 5-8, and is best if read together with mom or dad. The text is frank and straightfoward and the cartoon like illustrations,including mom and dad making love, leave no questions about the difference between men and women. I did not find the illustrations to be graphic or offensive any more than a nude sculpture or painting in a museuem( I'm not comparing the art work by any means, just the idea).This book covers the basics without getting too scientific(We can save that part for when they're older). If your kids have a notion that "I was brought special delivery by the stork", by the end of this book they will know the truth. Starting out with the physical differences between men and women,there are explanations of the REAL names of parts of the anatomy, the act of making love, conception(sperm and eggs included), different stages of fetal development and the birth process.It is all covered.As I mentioned above, it is probably important to read this book together(even if the child can already read), as you may want to interject your own thoughts and answer any questions along the way. For example, the book talks about the good feelings adults get during sex, and at that point I felt that it was important for my kids to know that this would be between a married couple who love each other very much. In a world where bad things can happen, I didn't want that open to any other interpertation! You may also want to read it on your own first, so you will know what to expect and be prepared for any forthcoming questions or giggling!Sooner or later you gotta do it!. This book really is a big help in having your child informed early, and sooner is probably better. I found the younger the child the less embarrassing it was. It was also a wonderful bonding experience with each child I read it to. My book is an edition printed in 1973, and I haven't seen anything better since. I plan on passing it on to my kids, when they have little ones(Sigh...still waiting!)and I hope they find it as useful, and as good of an experience as I did.Now...about Santa....we'll save that one for another day.....Laurie

Tastefully presented

My parents used this book to help answer my questions about how babies are made when I was around 5 years old. This book provided just enough information to introduce me to the concept of sex and making babies without embarassing me too terribly much. I notice that some reviewers worry that the book provides children with too much information or is too graphic. I find that the book would be incomplete if some of the information or the pictures were omitted. If they weren't included, I know I would have had many questions unanswered as a child. The tasteful illustrations included in the book helped me understand the book's content, rather than forcing me to fill in the gaps with inaccurate and possibly scary images that could have led to unhealthy views of sex. As a child, I found myself really studying the pictures, cartoon images that are presented very tastefully and are actually sort of cute. The pictures do show the male and female anatomy, which is important information if a child is to understand how babies are made. They show a man and woman who love each other and are happy, things that would allow a child to have a positive and healthy perspective about sex and making a baby. As a person who has had personal experience with this book as a child, I highly recommend it. I plan to use it with my own son in a few years. (One last note: I believe this book is best suited for younger children that are asking questions or could be introduced to the topic of sex or making babies. It might be a bit juvenile for pre-teen.)

A Fabulous Book!

My mother tried teaching me about sex starting at about age four or five--I'm not sure I was ready to hear it at that point, but, as life would have it, a therapist had a copy of Where Did I Come From? on her coffee table when I went to go see her at age six. I was curious about the book, since the pictures were engaging and the topic matter was obviously interesting to me, so she read it to me. It was interesting and fascinating, and funny--the pictures were cartoony enough to be specific but not threatening or gross. I actually recall asking her to read it to me a number of times, and I asked tons of questions. I can't say how I would have responded to having my mom read it to me--a neutral third party was probably the best person, for me, to hear it from, just because my mom tended to get very self-conscious teaching me about sex, and that made me uncomfortable (although, God bless her, she did try!). I really enjoyed the book as a child, and it taught me everything I needed to know to understand what sex and puberty were so that by the time those things happened, I knew not only what was going on, but because it was so easy to ask questions with the book, I knew I could ask more questions of my mom and other adults in my life (doctors, health teachers, etc)(and find more books) when the time came. (I actually can't stress that enough--when it was about time for my friends and I to start menstruating, we actually went to the library (without our parent's knowlege) and took out a book called "Period" to tell us more about it (another great book--I don't know if it's still in print or not-- just the right speed for 10-12 year olds). And that helped a lot too.If you're looking for a way to ease into talking about sex with your kids, Where Did I Come From? worked very well for me when I was 6 (I did actually know what sex was, since my mom told me about it at 4 or 5, but I ENJOYED learning from this book--I think because this one was down to earth and funny. Humor can help a LOT!) And like some of the other reviewers, learning about sex early did not prompt me to have sex early--I waited until I was 19 and then waitied again until I was 23. And I know that the fact that sex WASN'T a mystery to me had a lot to do with my abstaining from it. Teaching your kids about sex doesn't have to be a horrible experience. This is a fun book, and your kids should be distracted by the silly pictures so they won't be looking at you nervously sweating, wondering what to say. Plus, the book will say it for you anyway. I highly recommend the book.

Great, understandable, no-nonsense information...

This is a wonderful little illustrated book that can help parents share information about sex and where babies come from with their children. I especially like the fact that this book is presented from the point of view of that sex is an expression of love, rather than just a presentation of physical facts and the mechanics of sex. Information in the book is presented in a straightforward manner with "no nonsense and with illustrations." As for the illustrations, my wife told me that they also helped her feel better about her own body! How's that for a double benefit?I appreciate the level of the presentation as well...pitched toward younger children...say, ages 7-10. Children really need good, accurate information from their folks, especially as they are surrounded by various bits and pieces of partial and even mis-information about sex which they hear from peers at school and other places.The author uses terminology that is appropriate and understandable. A great little book. While this is a great little book, I recommend using it in combination with another book, "How to Talk to Your Child About Sex" by Linda and Richard Eyre, as part of a combined effort of discussion and reading as you teach your child about sex.Good luck! Alan Holyoak

A fabulous book!

This book was just what we needed for both my 6 year old and my 9 year old. I have always answered their questions honestly, but when they both were insulted because they weren't invited to "watch Daddy plant the seed to make the new baby" I realized that I had missed something major in my explanations. Ooops! I promised my older child that I would get a book about it because honestly, I had no clue how to explain it beyond the technical stuff. He expressed doubt that such a thing could possibly exist in a book, but he was wrong. This book fills in those gaps. It describes sex in the context of love and physical pleasure, but does it in such a reassuring and humorous way, that it was hardly embarrassing at all to read it the first time, and by the third time it was a piece of cake! So funny! The only negative thing I would say is that while the author gives examples of alternate words used for breasts, he fails to do the same for male body parts, which hardly seems fair. But given the value of the rest of the presentation, I didn't sweat it. I just omitted that part when I read it since my kids know the real names anyway. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to help their children understand sex and baby making in the context of love and pleasure. For those that are more comfortable with a purely physical explanation (the old egg and fallopian tube diagrams that we endured during 8th grade Health class), this one may not be for you.