All over the world, in all kinds of habitats, mothers bring forth new life. For many animals, such as reptiles and amphibians, mothering responsibilities end before the babies are even born. But mammal babies need their mothers — they need to be nurtured and nourished long enough to learn how to survive on their own. Mammal mothers feed, protect, and teach their young, even though these tasks can challenge their own needs for survival. But a mammal baby’s journey to maturity varies dramatically depending on whether it is a bear or a bat, a shrew or a seal, a hippopotamus or a human. Filled with life-like animal paintings and sketches, this fascinating look at life cycles portrays the normalcy of birth and breastfeeding and explores how mothers help fourteen different mammals navigate the path from helpless infants to self-sufficient adults. This title has earned “NSTA Recommends” and won Creative Child Magazine’s Book of the Year Award, Tillywig Toy Awards’ Brain Child Award, and a Young Voices Foundation Seal of Approval.
About the Author: Dia L. Michels Translator: The Spanish Group
Dia L. Michels is the founder and president of two independent presses in Washington, DC. The first is Science Naturally, committed to increasing science and math literacy by exploring and demystifying these topics in entertaining and enlightening ways. The other is Platypus Media, whose goal is to create and distribute materials that promote family life by educating grown-ups about infant development and by teaching children about the world around them. Dia is also an award-winning science writer who has written or edited over a dozen books for adults and children. Her titles include Cuddled and Carried / Consentido y cargado, If My Mom Were a Platypus: Mammal Babies and Their Mothers, and 101 Things Everyone Should Know About Science. She teaches family science classes at children’s and science museums around the US. She has spoken at national and international conferences for such groups as American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Association of Biology Teachers, La Leche League International, Smithsonian Institution, and the Museum of Science. Dia is a mother of three grown children. She lives in Washington, DC and can be reached at Dia@ScienceNaturally.com.