Mama Mammals - by Cathy Evans (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Exploring the biology of reproduction and birth and early parenting in the warm-blooded class of animals that we humans belong to. The book is packed with fascinating facts about all sorts of mammal species. For example, when trying to impress a mate, elk will lock horns, whilst hippos will smear poo on one another. We learn what happens when an egg is fertilised and how an embryo develops. We find out why some mammals have multiple births, whilst others only have single pregnancies. We learn how the gestation process differs in marsupials and how platypuses and echidnas breastfeed (spoiler alert, milk seeps out of their nipple-less chests!) We discover the importance of breastmilk and learn how different animals look after (or don't look after) their newborns. The book offers a refreshingly straightforward starting point for the inevitable questions about how babies come into this world, without being a sex-education book, per se. With beautiful and accessible illustrations by Malachy Egan and short, coherent texts by Cathy Evans, this is a great way of introducing the facts of life to small children"--Publisher's description.

Book Synopsis

A beautiful, fact-filled picture book by writer Cathy Evans - the perfect introduction to reproduction in the natural world for children.

This stunningly presented science book explains the facts of life by looking at sex and reproduction in mammal species. Through short, concise texts and warm, engaging illustrations, we learn about fertilisation, gestation, birth, breastfeeding and early parenting across the mammalian order.

Did you know that, unlike other mammals, whale calves are born tail first, so that the mother can push them to the surface to breathe as soon as they emerge? Or that echidnas do not have nipples? Their young lick milk that seeps from pores in their chests.

Easy to engage with for kids as young as four, this is a convenient, informative and enjoyable way of learning about babies and where they come from.

Review Quotes

A 2024 Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year

"Consider this title a helpful way to start talking with kids about where we come from and how we're made. Basically, this is the whole mammal world and how we're just a part of it. Birth canals and all." - Fuse 8 / School Library Journal

"A factual and in-depth account of pregnancy and raising young from many mammal species including humans. This book contains high-level vocabulary such as altricial and precocial newborns (hard to say, but well defined and contains easy-to-understand examples). Every child eventually becomes curious about where they come from, and how they are made, and this book gives accurate information without graphic details." - YA Books Central

"Readers of all levels can engage with the material, whether it be the illustrations or the two different levels of text - captions identify details in the pictures while a text block gives a broad overview of the topic on that particular two-page spread. I like Mama Mammals because of how accessible the content is and how appealing the illustrations are. In short, you'll get a very good grasp of mammalian reproduction and enjoy the learning experience. This is one more excellent example of the laudable direction children's nonfiction has taken." - Glass of Wine, Glass of Milk Blog

"Double-page spreads with short descriptions; charming, childlike drawings (still with enough anatomical detail to be recognizable); and fun related facts about a variety of animals introduce reproduction topically." - Booklist

"Full of information. The illustrations are kid-friendly and cute." - Youth Services Book Review

"What a gorgeous introduction to all things reproductive biology this is! Conception, gestation and birth spanning many mammal species, including humans, is gently but accurately depicted through Melo's soft illustrations and explained through Evans' matter of fact style. A perfect book to share with key stage one children - either in one go or to dip in and out of." - The Literacy Tree, UK

About the Author

Cathy Evans is a vet and a writer living in Bournemouth with two boys and a menagerie of animals including seven chickens and a pig. She is the author of Cat Eyes and Dog Whistles (Cicada, 2021).

Bia Melo is a Brazilian illustrator and designer living in London. She is a recent graduate of the Cambridge School of Arts Children's Book Illustration programme (CSACBI). Her graduate project, House Hunting, won runner up in the Macmillan Illustration Prize, 2022.