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Amazing Baby

Desmond Morris

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Firefly Books

Canadian and US rights

09/01/2008

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208 pages, 9" x 10"

250 color photographs and illustrations, four-color tracing paper overlays, index

EAN: 9781554074198
ISBN: [ 1554074193 ]
hardcover with jacket
40.00 CDN / 40.00 US

EAN: 9781554077434
ISBN: [ 1554077435 ]
paperback
24.95 CDN / 24.95 US

The astonishing story of a baby's first two years.

Renowned zoologist and scholar of human behavior Desmond Morris (The Naked Ape) reveals a baby's incredible powers of development and extraordinary growth patterns. Through informed text and stunning photographs and artworks, this insightful reference surveys the biology, physics, chemistry and other forces which drive the rapid changes that occur in a baby's body every day.

Amazing Baby is a discovery tour through a baby's first two years. The story progresses from the moment of conception through each phase of development in the womb and beyond as the baby is born and matures into a talking, walking individual with a unique personality. Chapters are organized by both stage and type of growth.

The book features 250 large and beautiful color photographs and illustrations in an innovative layout that invites both browsing and study. Full-color tracing paper overlays illustrate the many intricacies of infant anatomy. Throughout the book, retrospective glimpses of life in the womb remind the reader of the profound influence of those first nine months.

This beautiful visual reference is designed to appeal to anyone -- especially parents -- interested in how the human body evolves and works. It is also an ideal book to use with siblings of a new baby.

The contents include:

In the womb: the miracle of life; how baby develops; what baby feels, sees, hears and senses
Growing: muscles and bones, hormones, sustenance, sleep and dreams
Staying healthy: powers of self-preservation, reflexes, immune system, hormones, self-repair
Movement: mastering movement- holding the head, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking
Communication: hard-wired crying, babbling, speaking, listening, body movement
Learning: intelligence, awareness and understanding, exploring
Emotions: personality, experiences, bonding, relationships
Becoming independent: why humans take so long do so -- longer than any other mammal.

Some of the fascinating facts in Amazing Baby:

Babies cannot distinguish between night and day until they are about ten weeks. Instead, they rely on their stomachs to regulate their day.
Within a few days of birth, a baby can distinguish between the touch of brush bristles that are of different diameters.
Within 45 hours of birth, a newborn knows his/her own mother by her smell.
Babies have about 10,000 taste buds, far more than adults do. These are not just on the tongue but on the side, back and roof of the mouth as well.

Desmond Morris' landmark book, The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal, was published in 1967. A worldwide best-seller, it examined how humans feed, sleep, fight, mate and raise young and compared human behavior with that of apes. Controversial at the time, the book shed new light on the subject and helped change popular perceptions.

As in all his books, Desmond Morris reaches a popular audience and demystifies science.

Desmond Morris has a PhD in zoology from Oxford University and is a writer and broadcaster whose interests include animal behavior. He was the London Zoo's Curator of Mammals. Morris' many books and scientific articles have been published internationally. As a broadcaster, he has made more than 700 films and television programs. His first best-seller, The Naked Ape, was translated into 23 languages. His other books include The Naked Woman, The Nature of Happiness, The Human Zoo and Babywatching.

Foreword
The human baby is truly amazing and this book is a celebration of that fact. Many baby books have been written from the point of view of the parent, offering advice on how to look after an infant, but this one is different. Instead of giving advice, it sets out to paint an accurate portrait of the first two years of human life, as seen from the child's point of view. Armed with this information it is then up to the parent to decide how best to care for a little one -- from the day of his birth, when he arrives small, vulnerable and wordless, to the day he celebrates his second birthday, already walking, talking and challenging the world.

Perhaps the most astonishing fact about a baby is that, during the nine months between conception and birth, his weight increases by a staggering 3,000 million times. As soon as he is born, this meteoric growth rate slows down dramatically, so that between birth and the end of his second year an infant will have only quadrupled in size. This may seem like an impressive growth to parents, but it is nothing compared to the astonishing development that takes place inside the womb.

An evolutionary journey
The unfolding of a baby's qualities and abilities is a complex story. His tiny body has the backing of a million years of human evolution, helping different features to develop in a special sequence. All the new baby needs now is a friendly environment in which this can happen.

Evolution has armed the infant with an irresistible appeal that ensures his parents care for him, tend him, feed him and keep him clean and warm. Even the most sophisticated adults are transformed into doting protectors when faced with the helpless bundle in their arms, staring up at them with big, questioning eyes. Bearing in mind the amount of time and effort that goes into looking after a newborn, this is just as well.

A parent's role
For human beings the parental burden is huge, lasting nearly two decades for each child, but it can also be a source of intense joy. And babies are more than just babies. They also happen to be our only certain form of immortality, in the sense that they carry on our genetic line, ensuring that our genes do not die out when we ourselves come to the end of our own lives.

The importance of a baby's first two years of life cannot be overestimated. Many of the qualities he acquires during this sensitive period mark him for life. A toddler who is provided with a rich, varied, exciting environment in which he is encouraged, to start exploring, and who is treated lovingly by dependable parents, stands the very best chance of acquiring a sense of confident curiosity, creative wonder and active intelligence in later life. Nestling inside his fragile head, a newborn baby has the genetically inherited equipment that is needed for this development. All his parents have to do is to offer him the setting in which this equipment can whirr into action, allowing him to fulfill his human potential. The secret is simply to let natural loving feelings express themselves -- a child needs a lot of love and complete trust in the reliability of his protectors if he is to flourish.

Winner, Book Category
- iParenting Media 2009 06

The author of the bestselling 1967 book, The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal, Morris here presents a beautiful and useful guide to the first two years of a baby's development. With full-sized, gorgeous photos, the book begins with the newborn's body and follows with chapters on "learning to sit," "learning to walk," "self awareness," "moods," etc.. There are many wonderful transparent sheets of anatomical drawings that show the internal organs lined up with the body and brain of a baby, and the simple, concise text actually contains everything you need to know. There are many books about childhood stages of development, but this one is easily digested and lovely to look at -- a perfect give for a new mother when you want to skip the usual onesies.
- Publishers Weekly PW Online Revie - Annex 2008 09 01

We've seen these sorts of books before, but Morris has his own way of making things understood, and the photographs here are a joy.
- Bill Robertson canada.com 2008 12 13

Perfect for new parents--or anyone who's ever been a baby--is a visually arresting new book by human behavior expert, Desmond Morris, called "Amazing Baby." The gorgeous full-color book, loaded with stunning photos, explores the mysterious and magnificent ways that babies develop from birth until age 2.
- Bill Robertson Buffalo News.com 2009 01 22

We have seen these sorts of books before, but Morris has his own way of making things understood, and the photographs here are a real joy.
- Bill Robertson Star Phoenix (Saskatoon SK) 2008 12 13

Many fascinating tidbits ... Takes you on a tour of the first two years of a baby's development, revealing all sorts of insights--from the biology, physics and chemistry to other changes a baby experiences. Also included are illustrations and astounding photographs of such developments.
- blog.parentbloggers.com 2008 10 26

[Best of 2008, Art and Culture] After this, the joke that children don't come with an owner's manual might have to be put on hold. Celebrated zoologist Desmond Morris' Amazing baby fills that long-empty hole: and so much more. This is THE complete baby, a coffee table book so beautiful and perfect, in future no baby shower will ever be complete without a copy.... With gorgeous photos, exquisite reproduction and fascinating text, the importance of babies both to our lives and to our weel-being seems never to have been forgotten.
- Monica Stark January Magazine 2008 12

Speaking of amazing, acclaimed zoologist Desmond Morris, author of the 1967 landmark volume, The Naked Ape, delivers into our world a highly unconventional baby book for the Christmas season. Amazing Baby sets out to paint an accurate portrait of the first two years of human life, not as observed by a doctor or parent but as seen from the child's point of view.
- The Ottawa Citizen 2008

The full-color photographs of babies make this book a browser's delight, and the text, though not extensive, provides a unique look at infant behavior and development that will thrill new or expectant parents. Recommended for most public libraries.
- Mindy Rhiger, Bakken Lib. & Museum, Minneapolis Library Journal.com - Xpress Reviews - First Look at New Books 2008

The astonishing story of the first two years in the life of a baby. Irresistible!
- The Globe and Mail 2008 12 06

The astonishing story of a baby's first two years by renowned zoologist and scholar of human behavior Desmond Morris.
- BookPage 2008 11 01

Morris writes with an easy and engaging style and with a topic like this, he's at his best.... Amazing Baby should be on the reading lists for everyone preparing for a baby's first two years.
- Linda Turk Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay) 2008 11 30

[5/5 stars] Morris deftly explains what's going on in baby's brain and body while hinting at how much remains utterly mysterious.
- Erica Jorgensen Fit Pregnancy 2008 12 01

This book -- and all babies -- really are amazing. The photography is gorgeous. Absolutely stunning.... I'd highly recommend it for all parents, and it would make a stunning shower gift for a first-time mother in particular.
- Mother Knows Best blog (mothergoosemouse.com) 2008 11 14

Hands down the BEST parenting, pregnancy, developmental book I have ever come across ... Written in a narrative that struck me as gentle and soft, far from textbook ... An extraordinary book, so rich and full and satisfying you could lose yourself in it for hours ... Eating, sleeping, weaning, walking...it's all here.
- Parent Bloggers Network 2008 12

Beautifully illustrated.... This volume would be a wonderful purchase or gift for new parents. A great deal of information is presented concisely, and the conversational style is easy to read. The book could also serve as an introductory text for a course in child development, but it would need to be supplemented with additional detailed material.
- Gerald S. Golden Science Books & Films 2009 04 01

This is one of those amazingly well-illustrated, captivating reference books that is difficult to put down even after you have found the initial bit of information you were searching for. The photographs are full color, beautiful, and correspond perfectly with the text.... This title is both entertaining and informational. It does not seem to be intended as a scholarly reference, but instead as a resource for the general reader; therefore, it is most appropriate for public libraries and consumer health libraries.
- Shannon Graff Hysell American Reference Book Annual

A scientific but approachable look at baby's first two years.
- Buffalo News 2009 04 20

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Amazing Baby