Pregnancy Picture Books for Older Kiddos

This winter we’ll be welcoming a “caboose” baby to our family, with older siblings age 7 and 9. Although I have booklists for new toddler/preschool siblings from Baby #2’s arrival all those years ago, this time around the audience in my home is quite different!

(See my past booklists for younger readers here: New Sibling Books That Don’t Borrow Trouble  and New Sibling, New Problems: Books for Bumps in the New Sibling Road)

During my last pregnancy, my toddler was totally unaware anything was happening, as he was just over a year old when we got pregnant. (They’re 22 months apart.) When we brought him to the hospital to meet his little brother he was way more interested in the sliding curtain in the hospital room than the little human we were trying to get him to look at.

But this time! Oh, how much fun it’s been! Both my boys are fascinated by what the baby’s up to in each stage of development, and they’re already talking about reading to the baby! My heart! We look up the fruit size comparison each week, and it’s just so fun to have their involvement and interest.

Predictably, we’ve been reading books about pregnancy and human development. Below are our favorites…there are quite a few we read that are NOT on this list 😉

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Nine Months: Before a Baby Is Born by Miranda Paul; ill by Jason Chin (we LOVE Jason Chin! especially Pie is for Sharing; Redwoods; Your Place In the Universe). This book is such a treasure– and is the one that I chose to read to my kids on the day I announced to them my pregnancy. On each two page spread, one side shares illustrations of the development of the baby with spare text describing the approximate size and what features are developing; the other side shows a family preparing for the baby’s arrival through the changing seasons. What the baby is up to is compared to the older sibling; for example, in month four as the baby is sucking its thumb in utero, the older sibling is enjoying a picnic and feeding her doll. The final pages of the book share more information about each stage, expanding on the text that’s shared in the book; comparison of gestation times in various animals; and a “What If…” page.

What’s In There? All About Before You Were Born by Robie H. Harris; ill by Nadine Bernard Westcott. This is a clear, direct look at the progression of a pregnancy, set beside the backdrop of a family of four, with some speech bubbles and cartoon style illustrations for “comic relief.” Anatomically correct terms are used throughout. A cut away illustration of the mother shows a peek into the baby in the womb as the baby develops through the seasons. “All growing babies begin as one tiny cell. Half of this cell comes from a woman’s body. The other half comes from a man’s body. Together, they can grow into a baby.” Beyond this, there is no discussion of the how. We felt that this had a good amount of information for each stage of development, including labor, delivery, and even cutting the umbilical cord.

Mama’s Belly by Kate Hosford; ill by Abigail Halpin. This one leans younger (I can see it enjoyed by preschoolers), but my kids enjoyed it. It captures the excitement and questions surrounding the new sibling’s arrival with beautiful illustrations that envelop you in love. While most of the other books on my list go into information, this is the emotional side of preparing for a baby.

I Sang You Down From The Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner; ill by Michaela Goade. This is poetic and beautiful, and offered for us a glimpse into a different cultural tradition of preparing for and welcoming a new baby. The author is from the Inniniwak Nation and the story shows the mindful preparation that families take to collect items to make a child’s “medicine bundle,” which is intended to maintain a strong connection to their identity. I found it very inspiring, and enlightening– and opened a nice conversation about how different cultures prepare for a baby’s arrival. Because of the poetic, spare text, this could be shared with younger listeners as well.

Grow: Secrets of our DNA by Nicola Davies; ill by Emily Sutton. We are big fans of this author/illustrator team (Outside Your Window is a personal favorite). While this book isn’t focused on pregnancy or even on humans entirely, it was a good addition to our reading as it explores growth and change over time as directed by our body’s instructions found in DNA. “Luckily DNA is very skinny and folds up so small that you’d need a microscope to see it. That’s how a copy of your genetic code fit inside of you when you were just a dot– and how it fits inside almost every one of the cells that make your body.” Just deep enough of a dive for an introduction to DNA and genetic codes that make us who we are.

For Mom:

Waiting in Wonder: Growing in Faith While You’re Expecting by Catherine Claire Larson. A dear friend got this book for me, and it has been such an encouragement to me! It shares the wonders of what’s developing each week of the pregnancy, and a short devotional for each day. Emotional/physical changes are addressed as well as the baby’s development. Even though this is my third pregnancy, it’s been a wonderful read and I always look forward to reading the next week’s “intro” to what is happening that week!

Best wishes and happy reading! I’ll share more of our favorites through the journey of this pregnancy and re-visiting the board book days on my Instagram page!