Making More: How Life Begins
Katherine Roy
Norton Young Readers
Published March 7, 2023
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Making More
Everywhere, all around you, life is making more. From fish to mammals and plants to insects, every organism on Earth must reproduce, and the survival of each species―and of life itself―depends on this and on the diversity it creates.
In this groundbreaking book, Katherine Roy distills the science of reproduction into its simplest components: organisms must meet, merge their DNA, and grow new individuals; and she thoughtfully highlights the astonishing variety of this process with examples from across the natural world, from ferns and butterflies to trout, hawks, rabbits, and more. Lucid, informed, and illuminated by beautiful paintings, Making More weaves a story that seamlessly explains life’s most fundamental process, answers children’s questions, and provides an essential tool for parents, caregivers, and educators. Full-color throughout.
“Highly recommended for nonfiction and even parenting collections, where it will fly off the shelf with science-loving kids and neutralize any adult melodrama around talking to kids about sex.”― School Library Journal , starred review
My Review
The beautiful, painted illustrations are the first thing about this book that caught my eye. I love the soothing color palette and the way each page makes me feel immersed in nature.
The book addresses how different types of plants and animals make more of themselves in simple terms. I liked the way the author introduced different types of reproduction– crossing versus cloning– and gave simple explanations for why both are important.
Animal classes like fish, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals each have their own page giving an overview of how they reproduce. Some technical terms are present, but used more in diagrams than in the paragraph text. I think the book strikes a great balance between simplifying a complex process for young readers while still presenting real biological information.
I love this book, and I think it’s a great resource for kids who are interested in animals or biology. This is definitely one I want on my own family library shelves, and I think it’d make a great book for classrooms and public libraries.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.
Representation
There are a few illustrations of people. The group illustration shows families of diverse backgrounds.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
The book is about how plants and animals reproduce. The page about mammals does name a penis and vagina and note that they are used in reproduction. The vagina is described as a path to birth. Those descriptions are pretty low key and brief.
Spiritual Content
None.
Violent Content
References to predators and parasites preventing some offspring from reaching adulthood.
Drug Content
None.
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