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This tells the story of one family's home birth experience. Seven-year-old Katarina and her five-year-old brother Magnus have been preparing for the birth of their baby brother by watching movies and reading books with their parents about home births. On the awaited day, Katarina and Magnus actively participate in each stage of their mother's labor and delivery.
The purpose behind Anna Vondruska's book is to empower children at an early age "with a healthy view on childbirth" in the hope that future generations "will make educated choices for themselves" and their babies. With her purpose firmly intact, Vondruska chose that her narrative be written with the descriptive qualities only children can understand and appreciate. Told through the viewpoint of Vondruska's daughter, Katarina shares, for examples, how her mom's pregnant tummy looks "as if she had swallowed a whole watermelon and now it was stuck" and the loud noises her mom produces while in labor as sounding "a little like a hippopotamus crying for help." But Vondruska's story is not limited to Katarina's reflections. Indeed, she incorporates a communal experience that includes her brother Magnus feeding his famished mom, massaging her aching hands, and helping cut the "umbilicus-cord"—as Katarina puts it, as well as the midwife's and the father's imperative contributions. Vondruska's candid first person narrative aptly complements the plethora of color photos that offer the realities of childbirth, including tastefully exposed portrayals of Vondruska in labor and delivery and a graphic picture of the afterbirth (i.e., placenta).
One in a few, yet rising trend of, educational books earmarked for children, Vondruska presents the human birthing story in a simple, straightforward, and absolutely delightful format. I Watched My Brother Being Born! is an engaging must-read for all families of young children.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review