Published: June 23, 2009 06:09 pm      

RANDOM THOUGHTS: "Wild but fun"

This column gave you the news that Michael Sims was appearing on the CBS Early Show on May 7. He was questioned about his new book, In the Womb: Animals. I was disappointed that it was such a short segment. Later I learned it was planned to be longer but, as anyone knows who watches news shows, other stories intrude at the last minute and plans change quickly. That was what happened in this case but Michael said, “It was wild, but fun.”

Beside me as I write is that new book. On the dust jacket of the 8x9-inch book are varying shades of purple transforming it into a visual delight. The upper half of the cover pictures a Golden Retriever puppy floating in the womb at day 63. This illustration of innocence is an invitation to open the book.

Sims carries this theme of innocence in the natural world throughout the book. He writes, “Every species makes babies in its own special way.” The reader follows the wondrous journey of the Golden Retriever, the bottlenose dolphin, the Asian elephant, the kangaroo, penguin, shark and wasp from conception to birth. Illustrations produced by a team of National Geographic photographers show the progress.

As this great-grandmother finished the book, her heart was silently singing “How Great Thou Art.” My early introduction to the mystery of babies was the stork. As years moved on, the subject was discussed among friends just as ignorant as I was. Hard to believe but, in 1940, when I entered nursing school one of our classmates shared her secret. She had no idea how babies got here. When the classes in gynecology came along and the whole process was explained, I remember to this day my feelings of awe and wonder at the miracle of making babies and their pre-birth lives.

Sims’ book presents the still tricky subject of conception to birth in a natural no-nonsense manner. I would suggest to parents that they look at this book and decide if their children would benefit from the contents.

It seems especially important because today’s youngsters are bombarded by sexual scenes and language by adults. Adults who grew up learning sex was a subject that produced snide remarks, dirty language or snickers which left young people with a distorted view of life’s beginning.

Michael Sims journey was different. He writes in his introduction, “I’ve watched the beautiful and mysterious process of birth from the outside so many times that I jumped at the chance to follow it from the inside” and when he was asked to write this book he couldn’t resist.

In the Womb:Animals is dedicated to Michael’s mother, Ruby Norris Sims, “whose tolerance for countless pets helped inspire a lifelong fondness for animals.”