Book Review: Mama's Milk

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Tuesday, February 13, 2007

One of the challenges of raising children to see breastfeeding as normal is the number of dolls and books that come with baby bottles. It's almost unheard of to find a children's book where baby nurses rather than getting a bottle. Since Elnora loves to have books read to her, I'd been on the hunt for some good children's books that presented breastfeeding as normal and natural.

That's why I was thrilled to receive a review copy of Mama's Milk by Michael Elsohn Ross and Ashley Wolff. This richly illustrated book teaches children that breastfeeding in a natural way for both humans and animals to feed and bond with their babies.

The Lactivist Says: One of Elnora's favorite books (and that's saying something!)

Pros:
Beautiful illustrations
Great for kids that love animals
Flowing rhymes

Cons:
Not available as a board book

Can I just say that this is a book that I will buy for any breastfeeding mom that I know is pregnant with a second, third, fourth, etc... child? It's that good. The book features one line of rhyme per page to tell the story of all the ways that moms love their breastfeeding babies. It shows babies nursing while mom sleeps, babies nursing in the park, a foal nursing in a field, a coyote nursing her young, even a shot of both a dolphin and a whale nursing their offspring while swimming in the ocean.

The pictures are beautifully painted water colors and the back of the book features a great little collection of all the images with interesting facts about the animals. (Kangaroo milk is pink, elephants nurse for 2 to 4 years, etc...) While the pages are paper, it is a hardback book which helps make it a little more sturdy.

Now it's important to note that while I'm a proponent of child led weaning and have no problems with images of older children nursing, the reality is that many moms that are new to breastfeeding still aren't comfortable with those ideas. With that being noted, this is a "safe" book for any mom, even those that are only comfortable with breastfeeding "infants."

Elnora often asks for this book when I'm putting her to bed and she loves to point out the nursing babies, the moms and all of the animals. She especially love the image of the nursing piglets and the nursing foal on the farm and it's been a real joy to be able to share a book with her that shows great images of animals (and babies) nursing in their natural environments.

Mama's Milk is available for sale on March 5th from Tricycle Press. The book costs $12.95 and can be purchased online in a few weeks. (Making it a great Easter or Passover gift.)

Labels: Product Reviews

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