Peter Mayle - Where Did I Come From?--African-American Edition

For Simon, Nicholas, Christopher, Jane,
and red-faced parents everywhere

LYLE STUART books are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.
850 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022

Copyright 1977, 2000 Peter Mayle

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First printing 2000

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mayle, Peter.
Where did I come from? : a guide for children and parents /
written by Peter Mayle : illustrations adapted by Zina Saunders,
after the art of Arthur Robins.African-American ed.
p. cm.
Summary : Decribes the reproductive process
from intercourse to birth.
ISBN 0-8184-0608-9
eISBN 978-0-8184-0798-7
1. Human reproduction Juvenile literature. [1. Reproduction.]
I. Saunders, Zina, ill. II. Robins, Arthur, ill. III. Title
CP251.5.M38 1999
612.6dc21 99-39697
CIP

This book is all about you.

We wrote it because we thought youd like to know exactly where you came from, and how it all happened.

And we know (because we have children of our own) how difficult it is to tell the truth without getting red in the face and mumbling.

Anyway, before we wrote all this down, we asked some boys and girls your age where they thought they had come from.

Its difficult not to get red in the face.

Heres what some of them said:

I was brought special delivery by the stork.

The cat brought me in one night.

Dad got me from the saloon.

Mom found me at the hospital.

I was a Christmas present from the fairies.

Now, you know that none of that is true. The truth is much more interesting than that. So well start at the very beginning.

Little people are made by bigger people.

The first thing to know is that babies are made by grownups. One of them has to be a woman, and one a man. In other words, the two people who made you were your mother and your father.

Now, if you put your mother and your father in the bath together, youd notice something interesting.

They are not made at all the same way. Youve probably noticed that already, but you notice it much more when you put them in the bath together.

Quite apart from being different sizes, they are different shapes. And they have different parts to their bodies.

Put Mom and Dad in the bath together, and youll notice something.

What the differences are.

This is important, because its the different parts that make it possible for your mother and your father to make you.

In fact, its so important that weve done two big pictures so that you can see just whats what.

Dont worry if the pictures dont look too much like your mother and father. The important parts are the same on all of us. (Even you.)

Lets start at the top of the pictures and see what the differences are.

First of all, youll see that the man has a flat chest. But the woman has two round bumps on her chest.

These bumps have a lot of names. Some people call them the bosom (which you say like this: boozum). Other people call them titties, or boobs. (Dont ask us why.)

When people take their clothes off, you can really see the differences.

Breasts.

But the proper name for them is breasts, and thats the name we want you to remember.

When you were just born, your mothers breasts were rather like a mobile milk bar. For the first few months of your life, the only food you could eat was milk. (Because at that time, you didnt have any teeth; so you couldnt eat hot dogs or hamburgers or french fries or candy or anything. You had to drink your food.)

Well, the milk that kept you alive for those first few months either came from a bottle, or your mothers breasts. So its a quick thank you to breasts before we move on.

Take a look further down the pictures. Youll see that just below the middle, the woman spreads out, but the man doesnt.

Aaah. Milk, wonderful milk.

Hips.

The reason she spreads out there (that part is called the hips) is to make enough room for a baby. But that comes later.

Look further down, between the legs. Both the man and the woman have a lot of furry hair there. (Dont worry. Youll have some too as you get older.)

Penis.

But the important thing to notice is that the man has something hanging between his legs that the woman doesnt have. All you boys have one.

And yours will grow bigger as you grow bigger.

Just like breasts, this hanging part has a lot of different names, too. But the right name for it is penis. Although its spelled penis, you say pee-nus. (Like peanuts without the t.)

So thats what the man has.