The animal kingdom offers a special fascination for children because so many of the cozy rituals they share at home are echoed in nature. All mammal mothers feed, protect, and teach their young-- tasks that often challenge their own needs for survival. With beautiful illustrations and inventive text, this fascinating introduction reveals how fourteen mammals' babies travel the path from helpless infant to self-sufficient adults. If My Mom were a Platypus is also available in Spanish, Hebrew, and Dutch.
Dia L. Michels is an award-winning internationally published science and parenting writer, she is the author or editor of over a dozen books for both children and adults. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Dutch, Hebrew, Chinese, and Korean. A popular speaker, she lectures frequently at conferences, universities, libraries, and schools around the country. She teaches classes on mammal reproduction and lactation at children's and science museums around the U.S. and is a commentator for Public Radio, International. Her articles have been published in People, Parenting, Mothering, Parents, Baby Talk, Family Fun, Nurturing, and the Washington Post. She lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, with her husband, Tony Gualtieri, their three children, and four cats and a dog. Andrew Barthelmes, illustrator of If My Mom Were a Platypus, and designer of I Was Born to Be a Brother and many other projects, is a New York based illustrator and graphic designer. A graduate of The School of Visual Arts, his illustrations have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Ladies' Home Journal, Street & Smith's Sports, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition to the Platypus book, he also illustrated Herman the Loudmouth. He has been a children's book designer for Random House, Inc. and is currently creating new children's books for Reader's Digest. He lives in Peekskill, NY with his wife Barbara, and new baby, Julia.
If My Mom Were a Platypus: Mammal Babies and TheirMothers is a re-release of an award-winning title by a new publisher, 13 years after its original publication date. Recommended by National Science Teachers Association, this 64-page color illustrated classic describes 14 different mammals who tell their own life stories, growing from a tiny helpless infant creature to an independent healthy adult or child. Here we have the life cycle stories of a baby platypus, an African elephant, a koala from Australia, a golden lion tamarind monkey, a Pacific gray whale, a least shrew, a hooded seal, a Mexican free-tailed bat, an African lion, a polar bear, a hippopotamus, an orangutan, and a human being. Each illustrated birth story follows a sequence of answers to crucial questions: How were you born? How did you grow? What do you know? What do you eat? And other extra fascinating facts are included at the end of each baby's story. Especially educational is the creative activity guide provided free of charge by Science, Naturally! to book buyers, parents and educators. If My Mom Were a Platypus is a thriving classic that begs to be rediscovered by tomorrow's children, especially appealing for audiences ages 8-12, in grades 3-6. Available in paperback and ebook editions. -- Diane C. Donovan, Senior Reviewer Midwest Book Review, June 2014 If your mom were a hippopotamus, where would you be born? Find out about hippopotamuses and 13 other mammals in the book, If My Mom Were a Platypus, written by Dia Michels. This introduction to the world of mammals reveals how fourteen mammal babies travel along the path from helpless infants to self-sufficient adults by introducing how each mammal was born, how they grew, what they knew instinctively, what they ate, and finally a fascinating fact. Did you know that koala bears smell like cough drops because they eat so many eucalyptus leaves? Did you also know that orangutans use large leaves as umbrellas when it rains? Mexican free-tailed bats hang upside down because they can't stand right side up. Their leg bones are too thin to hold up their bodies. For many mammal babies, mothers play an important role as the baby is nurtured and given food to survive while also being taught how to survive on their own. The journey that a mammal takes is considerably different for various mammals as the reader will find out by reading this engaging book. This very informative book contains a table of contents, which lists platypuses, African elephants, koalas, golden lion tamarin monkeys, Pacific gray whales, giraffes, least shrew, hooded seals, Mexican free-tailed bats, lions, polar bear, hippopotamuses, orangutans and finally humans. There is a glossary with keywords, and finally an index. This would be an excellent reference book for the elementary classroom. I highly recommend this book! -- Lori Cirucci National Science Teachers Association Children are curious about the natural world around them. We are always looking for good materials to help teachers respond to their students' questions and were delighted to find If My Mom Were A Platypus. The book uses the simple concept of comparing offspring to expose students to life cycles, environments, animal behavior-the wonderful variety of life on Earth. Not only is the book as engaging visually as it is verbally, but the Activity Guide gives teachers the tools they need to present, explain and expand upon the book's content. If My Mom Were A Platypus is a real asset for teachers delving into the world of mammals. -- Dr. Ines L. Cifuentes, Director, Carnegie Academy for Science Education Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C. If My Mom Were A Platypus is enjoyable, accurate and informative. It will be useful, indeed, in primary and middle school curricula. I know how difficult-but essential-it is to have all of the facts right, yet still be interesting and readable. This book manages both very well. I hope that it ends up in many, many schools! -- Don E. Wilson, Ph.D., Editor, Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildfire If My Mom Were A Platypus fits perfectly into our 5th grade Animals curriculum. The students greeted the book like eager beavers - devouring each chapter and delving right into the next one. In class after class, they read beyond the required reading, propelled by excitement over what they were learning. The Activity Guide is chock-full of ways to explore the text, but the book is so full of fascinating facts, I was hardly wanting for ideas. What the kids really loved was writing up quiz questions they learned from the book, then testing each other on their newfound knowledge. This book is a natural for elementary and middle school science classes! -- Catherine Taylor, 5th Grade Science Teacher, Stuart Hobson Museum Magnet MS, Washington, DC This book is an amazing achievement! Zoologists will get lost in the accuracy and detail of the descriptions of birth and feeding. Children will be captivated by the beautiful pictures and stories of mammal mother and baby pairs. I was surprised by how many new facts I learned. And what could be more entertaining yet educationally valuable for a child to see than that mammals-whether human, bear, bat, giraffe, seal, or shrew-all have important things in common. The only problem with it is that big adult kids might butt out smaller kids in their effort to read the book! -- James McKenna, Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, Auhor I help bring more than 200 human animal babies into this world each year. Each one of them is a small miracle. If My Mom Were A Platypus brings to life the birth stories of human beings, as well as those of thirteen other mammals-some similar in nature to humans, others, strikingly different. It is a wonderful exploration into the process of birth and the challenges of maturation! -- David Downing, MD, Director or Residency, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC Completely engrossing! Most readers are sure to be surprised by something they learn about these seemingly familiar animals... A wonderful gift book for expectant parents or families with children. -- Carolyn Baily Foreword Reviews If My Mom Were A Platypus is an entrancing children's book covering all sorts of animal babies-platypus, koala, lion, orangutan, whale, shrew and more. The beautifully-illustrated text pulls in children by pretending they are the baby. If My Mom Were A Platypus describes in detail how different babies eat, learn, grow and mature. This fact-loaded book delights both adults and children and is extraordinarily hard to put down. Even the ending is superb. Includes glossary and index and highlights endangered or threatened species. Activity guides are available at PlatypusMedia.com. Perfect for school or home use. Ages 4-adult. -- Dr. Kathleen Kain, Science Educator Science Spiders Newsletter Narrated by 14 mammal babies, this book describes how each baby mammal progresses from infancy to adulthood. It explains that mammal babies are different from most other animals, in that they need their mother in order to learn how to survive on their own. Having recently become a first-time mother, I also really liked the fact that the chapter on baby humans presented childbirth and breastfeeding in a natural, positive manner. An educational and thoroughly enjoyable book! -- Shelley Spohr, Office of Natural Resources, Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, Mashantucket, CT Science Books and Films, Vol. 42, No. 2, Pg 86 The cycle of life goes from conception to pregnancy to birth to lactation to maturity to death. The universality of the life cycle is beautifully captured in this stunning book. ... Seeing the lifecycle as a natural process helps children understand how important lactation is to the health, growth and survival of all mammals. -- Ruth Lawrence, MD, Author, Breastfeeding: A Guide for the Medical Profession University of Rochester Medical School, Rochester, NY I was absolutely ecstatic when I discovered If My Mom Were a Platypus. Not only did I love it, but my grandchildren shared my enthusiasm. They savored the book and eagerly brought it to school to share. Dia Michels has filled a long, empty void in reaching out to children with the message of normal birth and breastfeeding. Children are not yet clouded by the years of false and mythical indoctrinations that surround childbirth in adulthood. These tales of their favorite animals show them the normalcy of breastfeeding and the power of motherhood. Brava, Dia Michels! -- Kitty Ernst, CNM MPH DSc,, Mary Breckinridge Chair of Midwifery, Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing, National and International Consultant to Birth Centers
