This Children's Book Explains All The Different Ways Babies Are Made

    Sperm + egg + a place to grow.

    Morgan Shanahan
    by Morgan Shanahan

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Cory Silverberg is a sex educator and author who noticed that books about reproduction for kids didn't cover all families and birth situations.

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    Silverberg was inspired by a close friend who is not biologically related to his children.

    Seven Stories Press

    The author told BuzzFeed Life that "when the 6-year-old son of one of my very good friends (a dad who is trans) started asking questions about his mom's pregnancy, the parents simply wanted a book that would help them explain where babies come from that would work for their family. But it didn't exist."

    That's when the author teamed up with illustrator Fiona Smyth to create What Makes A Baby. The book quickly spread among other families who didn't have a book that fit their story.

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    Says Silverberg -- "Single parents, adopted families, LGB families, people using surrogates, the list goes on... The response from families who had never seen themselves in a book about reproduction was overwhelming and powerful."

    The son of a librarian and a sex educator, Silverberg breaks down the reproductive process on a granular level that applies to all people.

    Seven Stories Press
    Seven Stories Press

    The book goes on to introduce sperm in similar fashion.

    Seven Stories Press
    Seven Stories Press

    The initial self-published run of 4000 books sold out, and Seven Stories Press quickly signed Silverberg to a three book deal, including a larger pressing of What Makes A Baby via Random House.

    Seven Stories Press
    Seven Stories Press

    The book is now widely available and has been translated into Spanish, Swedish, German, and Lithuanian.

    In addition to the many ways babies are conceived, Silverberg and Smyth also strive to cover the various ways that babies are delivered.

    Seven Stories Press
    Seven Stories Press
    Seven Stories Press

    The New York-based author describes the experience of putting this book together as "a dream come true - I now get to write queer sex education for everyone!"

    Seven Stories Press

    You can pick up a copy of What Makes A Baby HERE, and look for Silverberg's second book Sex Is a Funny Word this summer.

    Seven Stories Press