Testimonials
What Our Readers Say
From the very beginning, the child-friendly language was so beautiful. I love how this story is told from Maisie's pov. It shows her questioning nature, and her moms are open and kind when talking about how she came to be. It emphasizes the importance of sperm donors while also acknowledging that the way you are raised can be just as important as genetics. The discussion questions in the back also provide a helpful way to talk about the story with children.
Jennifer J, Reviewer
What a wonderful way to explain the different ways a baby can be made ! I appreciate the correct terminology as well!
Reviewer 1105690
I thought this simply and beautifully explained conception. The book has great illustrations!
Amanda Z, Reviewer
This book was great and definitely would help a child understand their family or others who used IVF and similar contraception methods. I loved that it wasn’t too long, loved the nursery drawings, and the discussion questions!
Reviewer 743799
Maisie's Blueprints by Sharon Leya is a wonderful and educational picturebook that tackles an uncommon topic withing children's literature - donors for same-sex couples. I think it was covered wonderfully, filled with beautiful art, It shows in a very simple and straight-forward way different ways of creating family. I would highly recommend if you're looking for a more inclusive picturebook, covering a not-so-common topic.
Marija M, Reviewer
Such a great book!
It's a wonderful story for single mom's by choice to share with their little ones - and I especially loved it because I am also an architect!
This book used a great analogy of blueprints for how families are built. When the daughter of a same sex couple hears at school that her two moms couldn’t make a baby, she questions how they are made. The moms explained how a donor helped build their family. It also gives tips to parents at the end about how to answer kids’ questions.
Destiny L, Educator
A very short but beautiful story!
I saw this book on my explore page and I needed to know more about this book.
It's about Maisie and her two moms. On Maisies first day at school she gets asked who her father is, but she doesn't know because she has two moms. After school she asks her mothers where she came from and they explain it to her in a very beautiful way.
The story is easy to understand and explains everything very well.
Lena G, Reviewer
Perfect and sweet story
As a single mother of a double donor conceived child, I loved the sweetness and simplicity of this book. The concept of someone creating the blueprints versus building the structure is one that I think will be easy for children to understand. I foresee this book helping many parents with (what could be) a difficult concept to explain, especially to young children. My child is young still, but I've already started to read books that broach this topic, as I feel it's important for it to be part of my child's story as early as possible. This book is my new favorite. The simple language, sweet sentiment and beautiful drawings make it a winner!
Lovely book to help explain double donor conception to kids
Simple, clear, loving explanation of their origin story for children conceived with two donor gametes by a single parent.
I loved this book! It sweetly and simply explains the important details on IUI. As it is designed for children, it is completely appropriate and is filled with fun illustrations which make the reading experience casual and breezy. I think this is a great addition to a child's bookshelf, irrespective of whether their parents are straight, or in an opposite gender relationship. Along with this, it helps parents answer some questions a child from a donor may have, to satisfy their curiosity.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are purely mine.
Saloni P, Reviewer
Maisie's Blueprints presents a really unique way of explaining how families can be made up. It has enough details for kids to understand without being too scientific. Plus the discussion points in the back are an added plus!
Stacey S, Reviewer
A truly unique book. There should be way more books like this out there in the world. I do not think I have ever, ever seen a book like this one.
This is a story of a little girl who lives with two moms, and the moms chose IVF to have their child. The girl is asked at school how come she was born to two moms, and her journey of finding out what IVF is begins. It is so, so wonderfully and beautifully told. I am sure this book will be absolutely loved by families who have had their IVF journeys to get their children. Loved, absolutely loved it!
Ag I, Reviewer
Beautiful story and important discussion tool
This is a great book (and series) for solo parents by choice, donor-conceived children, and everyone in their family. The illustrations are beautiful and the discussion portion at the end is so helpful.
I loved the warmth and empathy of this little book, which would be suitable for young children and helpful for adults looking for ways into discussing this important topic. I really appreciated the notes at the end of the story for sensitivity purposes.
Lily R, Reviewer
Wonderful!
I used both an egg and sperm donor, so it's wonderful to see a book that talks about both! I love how forthright it is about what it takes to make a baby. Can't wait to buy the hard copy and read it to my son.
This book was amazing, I love that things like this exist now. Growing up with two moms, there were no resources like this when I was a child. Every lower elementary classroom should own this book.
Librarian 549998
A true gem for parent(s) looking for a book in this genre
A true Gem for parent(s) looking for a way to tell this unique origin story. For anyone who has looked for books in this niche market, you know there is a very limited selection. This is a great book with age appropriate language for little ones that allows parent(s) to introduce these topics in a loving way. Fantastic job.
Sweet and great discussion
This book is such a sweet and simple way of explaining donor conception, specifically involving double-donor children. The analogies are perfect (eg, egg and sperm being blueprints to a baby), and the drawings are beautiful. It’s a great way to introduce concepts and start discussion with donor conceived children, or show different types of families. A really special book.
This book is so cute and such an amazing way for parents to help explain to their children how they were made if they used a donor. I think this is the only book I’ve ever seen about this, which is why I really wanted to read it and share this with those who have used a donor to have a family. Even if you haven’t used this method to start a family, I think this is still a great book for children because it teaches them about one of the many ways families are created. We want to have an inclusive world and books like this are a huge part of accomplishing that.
This is a donor conception story for children. I want to warn that just in case you might be wary- there are terms/diagram used for a sperm and egg to explain conception to the character Maisie. Now- this story was centered around Maisie and her Mommy and Momma. Maisie comes home from school wondering how she was made. So her parents explain it to her. I like how at the end of the story the author provides multiple discussion topics for readers to have conversations about. I guess I just feel like the story was a little short and I wish there was a little more! I think it would’ve been cool if Maisie went to school and continued the conversation with Emmett/classmates.
Jessica B, Reviewer
As an IVF baby AND a publishing student, I loved this children’s book! It is a fun and engaging way for children to learn about the lgbtq+ community, opening their minds to learning and acceptance!
Chloe L, Reviewer
This was great! As a lesbian mom, we are always looking to find resources to explain to our kiddos how our family works and how other similar families work. I think the author did a great job at using simple but accurate language to explain what process is for conceiving a child, while still emphasizing the loving connection between Maisie and her moms. Even the boy who asked about how she was made was curious, rather than mean, which feels like an accurate representation of kiddos. I cannot wait to pick this up for our home library!
Jordi B, Reviewer
5 Stars
I don't believe I have ever seen a children's book covering this topic of sperm/egg donation. However it's an important book for those that have gone thru it and want a way to explain it to their children. Although not my area of expertise, it seems like this book does a great job explaining to kids what this means in a creative way.
I really liked the illustrations of this book and the range on inclusivity shown in this story. It really was fantastic.
I think this book will be great for families that want to share information with their children about how there are kinds of ways to have a baby. Well done!
Jamie S, Reviewer
This is a book to help kids understand donor conception which has two moms as the parents. It’s a story that wonderfully depicts the variety of ways one can grow a family using the metaphor of housing and architects and blueprints. It is a springboard book for parents to talk to their kids about what it takes to grow a family using the scientific but age appropriate words and information that they might need to know. It also shows through the pictures that trans people exist, which is a really touching moment. This book makes sure that kids know that their family and not their donor are the ones responsible for their true identity. This book is ultimately something that parents should use to make sure their kid never has to feel alone. Parents should always tell their kids that they were donor conceived and how that makes them different, but also a very special part of a family which this book manages to accurately represent.
Hannah S, Reviewer
Amazing story for SMBC of DD kids
This story is amazing and accurate on having a DD baby as a single mom by choice! I can’t wait for the rest of her series and to use them to talk to my own kiddo about how he was conceived.
Sweet story for SMC double donor families. This seems like a great addition to the books telling the special stories of non-traditional families made with a little help from science.
5.0 out of 5 stars Heart warming
I teared up while reading this book to my children. I am so thrilled books like this exist and this one is definitely the best of the bunch! This one is a must have!