About the Holiday
National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month ushers in a full summer of delicious and nutritious eating with bushels of scrumptious strawberries, blueberries, peppers, squash, lettuce, tomatoes, and so much more. Whether you enjoy the season’s delicacies in a smoothie, as dessert, or as the highlight of a main course, the flavor of locally grown produce can’t be beat. June is also a perfect time to get kids involved in gardening and learning about the growth cycle of plants, fruit, and vegetables from the tiniest seed to ready to pick. Today’s book cleverly combines children’s fascination with this wonder of nature with their own beginnings.
How You Came to Be
Written by Carole Gerber | Illustrated by Sawsan Chalabi
Little ones are always interested in where they came from and how they were born, and parents fondly remember all those months of anticipation and love that led up to the birth of their child. But how can a mom (or dad) relay those special feelings and extraordinary changes in a way that a toddler or preschooler can understand?
In How You Came to Be, a mother talks lovingly to her baby using sweet, conversational language that is straightforward and sure to make both adult and child smile. Carole Gerber begins with the moment of conception when “…a wiggly little cell from another / joined a round little cell from me. … Together these two tiny cells formed / one brand-new cell that would become YOU.” Then with each month, Gerber offers size comparisons to a fruit or a vegetable to help little ones visualize their growth and the developmental changes that came with it, from a pea in the first month to a melon in the ninth.
Image copyright Sawsan Chalabi, 2022, text copyright Carole Gerber, 2022. Courtesy of Rise x Penguin Workshop.
Along the way, kids discover that in the second month they were the “size of a kidney bean. / Your head was really big, / with lots of room inside / for your brain to grow.” They also learn about how their face was taking shape and the umbilical cord that nourished them. In the fifth month, little ones find out that while they were now the size of a banana, their bones were beginning to develop, their legs were getting longer, and they were able to kick. “Sometimes when I rubbed my belly, / I felt you thump back. / Was that your way of saying hello?” What a wonderful line for a mom to read to show a little one how strong their bond is and how long they’ve been communicating.
Image copyright Sawsan Chalabi, 2022, text copyright Carole Gerber, 2022. Courtesy of Rise x Penguin Workshop.
“In the ninth month,” the mother narrator says, “you were large enough and strong enough to come out into the world.” She recalls all of the preceding months and ends with this message that every child will want to hear: “I loved you from the beginning / and I always will.”
Back matter includes a glossary of five words that adults can use for extended discussions with their child, a list of stages as a fetus develops the ability to move and the five senses. Two paragraphs also describe a vaginal birth and a C-section birth in language that is age accessible.
Image copyright Sawsan Chalabi, 2022, text copyright Carole Gerber, 2022. Courtesy of Rise x Penguin Workshop.
It’s easy to imagine a parent and child reading How You Came to Be while snuggling, giggling, and being amazed together. Carole Gerber’s scientifically sound and charming storytelling will make this book a family favorite, and offers a fun way to revitalize grocery shopping as well!
Sawsan Chalabi’s gorgeous illustrations, which juxtapose lush depictions of fruit and vegetables entwined with vines or growing on trees or in gardens with images of mothers thinking about and preparing for their baby’s arrival and are placed on velvety black backgrounds, draw readers of all ages into the marvels of birth. Her two-page spread of a mother cradling her newborn surrounded by wildflowers is as simply beautiful as the expression of love the page’s verse contains.
A tender and evocative way for parents and children to share their exquisite bond and unending love, How You Came to Be will make a much-appreciated baby shower or new baby gift and a favorite addition to family bookshelves as well as public library collections.
Ages 2 – 4
Rise x Penguin Workshop, 2022 | ISBN 978-0593225738
Discover more about Carole Gerber and her books on her website.
To learn more about Sawsan Chalabi, her books, and her artwork, visit her website.
National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month Activity
Play with Your Food Games
Young children will have fun testing their memory and matching these fruits and vegetables from today’s book.
To Play a Memory Game
- Print two copies of this Play with Your Food Memory Game Template
- Cut the cards apart
- Place the cards randomly face down on a table
- Turn over one card and try to find it’s match. If the images on the card match, put them aside. If the cards don’t match put them back on the table and try again until a match is made. Continue playing until all the cards are matched.
To Play a Matching Game
- Print two copies of this Play with Your Food Matching Game Board Template
- Cut one template into individual fruit and vegetable cards
- Let toddlers or preschoolers match the individual cards to the fruit and vegetables on the game board
You can find How You Came to Be at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
To support your local independent bookstore, order from
Picture Book Review
celebratepicturebooks.com 