Introduces where babies come from

For my loving daughter, Jennifer,

a joy and inspiration in my life.

Text & Illustrations copyright ©2013 by Special Me, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or

stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic,
electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording,
without prior written permission from Special Me, LLC.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9895469-0-4

Printed in California

First Edition

“Our goal is that children everywhere will have the

Visit us at www.AnatomyForKids.com
knowledge to make wise choices in the care of their bodies.”
The information provided in this book is not intended to be a substitute for - Dr. M, Anatomy for Kids ™
professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of
your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you
may have regarding a medical condition. Reliance on any information pro-
vided herein is solely at your own risk.
 Academic and Professional Contributors
A special thank you to our Junior Editors: Contact at: info@AnatomyForKids.com
Allison Colwell, Katherine Pregler, Claire Pregler
Carmine D. Clemente, A.B., M.S., Ph.D., Dr. H.L.
Thank you to the Anatomy for Kids™ Development Team including Distinguished Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology and
Marie Mojica, David Quiroz, Jennifer Kanne, Jay Nielsen, Gigi Ross, Professor of Neurobiology, Emeritus
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Deb Anderson and Leah Singer.
Professor of Surgery (Anatomy)
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
And thank you to Alan Estridge, my co-author and illustrator, a person of
Los Angeles, California
inspiration, tremendous creative talent, and a very dear friend.
Alice Cruz, M.D.
Internal Medicine
Cedars-Sinai Medical Group
Los Angeles, California

William P. Melega, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Quynh Pham, M.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Division of PMR
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Andrea J. Rapkin, M.D.

Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

S. Andrew Schwartz, M.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Nancy Wayne, Ph.D.

Professor, Department of Physiology
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Shahram Yazdani, M.D.

Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Comments for Parents & Concerned Adults
This is one of several books in a multimedia parent-child learning system
called Anatomy for Kids.™ Our parent-child learning system has two goals.
The first goal is to provide parents with the resources they need to teach
their children about their bodies. Additional parent resources are available
on the Anatomy for Kids website (AnatomyForKids.com) to help parents
™
answer their children’s questions as they read the book. The ultimate goal is
to empower kids with the knowledge they need to make healthy choices in
the care of their bodies. The Anatomy for Kids™ website hosts animations
and interactive activities that accompany each book to reinforce important
concepts for the child.
Reproductive System Series for Girls
The I’m A Girl series consists of four books, and provides young girls with
the knowledge they need to understand the maturing features of their
reproductive system. Each book builds upon a storyline centered on three
main characters whose ages represent the appropriate level of instruction
for that book. It is recommended that you and your child study the books
in sequence because basic concepts are built upon at each level.
Book 1 – I’m a Girl: Special Me
This book is intended for young girls (approximately 5-7 years of age). The
content describes the basic structures of the female reproductive system
and introduces the concept of where babies come from. This book will be of
particular interest to a young girl whose mother is pregnant or has recently
given birth.
Book 2 – I’m a Girl: My Changing Body
This book is the first of two that describe the changes a young girl
experiences during puberty. It is intended for girls (approximately
8-9 years of age) who have begun to notice the early signs of puberty,
including changes in the breasts and new hair growth in the armpits
and vulva.
Book 3 – I’m a Girl: Hormones!
This is the second book describing puberty and it focuses on the
fascinating time of hormonal signaling that ushers in the menstrual
period. The content is written for girls (approximately 10-11 years of
age) who have already experienced the early changes of puberty and
want to know what to expect next. It breaks down the complexities
of the monthly hormone cycle and provides a description of
menstruation.
Book 4 – I’m a Girl: Sexual Maturity
This book is intended for girls who have already reached sexual
maturity and have questions about sexuality. The content addresses
more mature topics including sexual intercourse, conception, and
reproductive health.
* These learning resources are not intended to promote any specific moral
or cultural perspective. Anatomy for Kids ™ considers that a parent or
other concerned adult reading our content with their child would prefer to
provide that guidance themselves.
Hi, I’m Dr. M, and I’m an anatomist – an In this book, I teach Hana and her friends,
Isabella and Amaya, where babies come
expert on the human body. I have studied and taught about
from. As you get older, there are more books
the body for several years, and have enjoyed a wonderful
that will show you even more about your
career teaching medical students. Now I am thrilled to
body. All along the way, I will be teaching
teach young girls, like you, about your anatomy. I believe
you about your anatomy and helping you to
that if you learn how your body works, you will be able to
understand how you are special.
make healthy choices as you grow up.
Hana pulled her mother through the park.
“Hurry up Mommy! My friends are waiting for
us!” urged Hana. “I told them Dr. M would be “There they are!” Hana spotted
able to answer all of our questions about the baby!” her two friends sitting under their
favorite tree in the park.
Hana’s mother and Dr. M walked a bit faster,
smiling at Hana’s excitement.
The three girls smiled and giggled when they all
met up under the tree.
“Hana, who are your friends?” asked Dr. M.
“Oh, Dr. M,” answered Hana, pointing to her
friends, “this is Amaya and Isabella.” She turned
to the girls, “This is my mom’s friend Dr. M! She
teaches at the medical school.”
“Hi Dr. M!” replied the girls. Amaya said, “Our
moms told us we would learn a lot from you today!”
Isabella looked at Hana’s mother’s round tummy.
“Wow!” she exclaimed. “Is the baby coming soon?
Can I touch your tummy?”

“Sure you can, Isabella,” said Hana’s mom. “See if

you can feel a kick! We will meet the new baby in
about 4 months!”

Isabella turned and asked Hana, “Is it a little brother

or little sister?”
“I don’t know,” Hana replied, looking at her mother. “Oh no, it won’t hurt, Amaya,” replied Hana’s
mom. “An ultrasound is a special picture of the
Hana’s mother said, “Well actually, we might find
baby taken from the outside. From this picture
out this week. My doctor will do an ultrasound on
my doctor can tell if the baby is a girl or a boy.”
my tummy.”
“Really?” said Isabella. “Cool! So how is a baby
“What’s an ultrasound?” asked Amaya, looking
girl different than a baby boy?”
concerned. “Will it hurt?”
“Hana asked me the same thing!” said Hana’s
mom. “Fortunately, Dr. M knows all about the
body and she can answer all of your questions.
She is going to talk to you girls while I take my
walk through the park.”
The girls waved goodbye to Hana’s mother, then
excitedly turned their attention back to Dr. M.
“Well, girls, who has a question about babies that
you’d like me to answer?” asked Dr. M.
Amaya spoke up, “I do. How is a baby
girl different than a baby boy?”
“Okay, let’s talk about that,” said Dr. M
as she pulled out her computer. They all
sat down under the big tree. “There are
some very special ways that a girl’s body
is different than a boy’s body.”
“First, let me show you some ways that a girl’s body
and a boy’s body are similar,” said Dr. M. “This is
an anatomy figure of the brain. An anatomy figure
is a drawing of parts of the body.”

Dr. M tapped on her head. “Both girls and

boys have a similar brain that helps us
think, talk and move our bodies.”

Dr. M put her hand on the left side of her

chest. “Girls and boys also have the same
type of heart that pumps blood through
our bodies,” she explained.

“So we’re the same?” asked Amaya. “C’mon

Dr. M, there must be something about my
body that makes me different than a boy!”
“Yes there are differences between a girl’s body and
a boy’s body, Amaya,” replied Dr. M. “Girls, what
is the one thing that a girl’s body can do that a boy’s
body cannot? Think about your mom, Hana…”
Hana shouted, “Oh, I know! Girls can have
babies and boys can’t!”
“Hana, you are absolutely right!” said Dr. M.
“Girls’ bodies are different than boys’ bodies
because girls can have babies and boys cannot.”
Isabella asked, “Where does a baby come from?”

“Babies start as tiny eggs,” answered Dr. M. “The

eggs are protected in a little nest called an ovary,
much like the way those bird eggs are protected in
that bird’s nest above us. Only girls have ovaries.”
“In this anatomy figure you can see two ovaries,
one on each side,” Dr. M explained. “Do you see all
of the tiny eggs inside each ovary?”

“Yes, there are lots of them!” said Isabella.

“Babies come from these tiny eggs in the ovaries,”

said Dr. M. “Sometimes an egg will leave the ovary
and along its journey become a fertilized egg.
The fertilized egg will grow into a baby inside
the mommy.”

“What does fertilized mean?” asked Amaya.

Dr. M replied, “Fertilized means that something

special happens to the egg that will make it grow
into a baby. We will talk about how that happens
when you are a little older.”
Isabella asked, “Where does the fertilized egg go
to grow into a baby?”

“A fertilized egg grows in a different place called

the uterus,” said Dr. M.

“I see the uterus there in the middle!” said Hana.

“Yes,” said Dr. M, “the uterus is where a fertilized

egg from an ovary grows into a baby.”
A maya chimed in, “But Dr. M, how does an egg get
from the ovary to the uterus? They look far apart!”

“Well Amaya,” answered Dr. M, “the egg travels

in a little tube called the fallopian tube. The
fallopian tube is similar to this stream of water.”

“Like the leaf that is carried along on the water,

the egg is carried along inside the fallopian tube
to the uterus – that trip takes about 4 whole days!”
“Whoa, that’s cool!” said Isabella.

“Yes, it is cool!” Dr. M replied. “There are actually

two fallopian tubes, one for each ovary. What
is even cooler is that the end of the fallopian tube
hovers over the ovary, ready to catch the egg when
it comes out. Little fingers on the end of the
fallopian tube move and suck the egg inside.”
Dr. M continued, “The ovaries, fallopian tubes and
uterus are very special structures that are part of
our girl anatomy, called female reproductive
structures.
These important structures need to be protected
inside our body. Part of that protection is a circle
of bone called the pelvis.

In the center of the pelvis is a space called the

pelvic cavity. These female reproductive
structures are tucked deep inside the pelvic cavity.”
Amaya stood up and said, “I’m not sure I
understand why we have a pelvis.”

“The pelvis is like the fence around this park that

protects the kids here,” explained Dr. M. “The
pelvis provides some protection for the female
reproductive structures. When you put your hands
on your hips, like Amaya, you are putting your
hands on your pelvis.”
“So Dr. M,” said Isabella, “let me see if I understand.
The uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries are tiny
structures deep in the pelvic cavity and they are
surrounded by the pelvis.”

“That’s right!” said Dr. M.

Isabella continued, “An egg comes from the ovary

and is sucked into the fallopian tube. While the
egg is on its journey, it can become fertilized. The
fertilized egg makes it to the uterus. Then the
fertilized egg grows into a baby in the uterus. Is
that right?”

“Yes, Isabella. Very impressive!” said Dr. M. “Now,

there is one more female reproductive structure we
haven’t talked about yet.”
“There’s more?” asked Amaya. “When do we get
to how the baby comes out?”

“Hang in there Amaya, we’re almost there!” smiled

Dr. M. “The last structure we are going to talk
about today is the vagina. The vagina is a tube
that is connected to the uterus.”
“The uterus takes great care of the baby until it is time
to be born,” continued Dr. M. “This figure shows
what a very young baby looks like in a mom’s uterus.”

“Wow,” said Hana, “the vagina seems way too

small for a baby to squeeze through!”
Hana smiled. “Wow, so my little brother or sister is
“Don’t worry Hana,” assured Dr. M. “The vagina
growing inside my mommy’s uterus?”
will stretch so that the baby can be pushed through
“Yes Hana!” Dr. M replied. “The baby is growing in it and be born – it is all part of the plan.”
her uterus. When the baby is ready to be born, the
uterus pushes the baby out through the vagina.”
“So a fertilized egg can grow into a baby in the “Isn’t that amazing? It has been a joy to teach you
uterus. Then the baby can squeeze through the girls today! Here comes Hana’s mom, so let me
vagina to peek its head out and enter the world,” leave you with this thought…you are very special
said Dr. M. because you are girls and you can have babies.”
The girls all smiled and made their way to hug Dr. M.
Hana said, “Now I know that my baby sister or brother Dr. M smiled. “You are very special!”
began as an egg in my mom’s ovary!”

“That’s right!” said Dr. M.

“Thank you, Dr. M, for teaching us how a girl’s body

is different than a boy’s body!” said Amaya. “I feel
special that I have ovaries and a uterus!”

“Me too!” said Isabella.

Shelley Metten, M.S., Ph.D. Alan Estridge
Author Illustrator/Co-author
Shelley Metten was a professor of anatomy at
Alan Estridge is an artist, husband, and father with a background in
the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
biology, illustration and animation. Alan is an alumnus of the
for almost 20 years. Although Dr. Metten
Animation MFA program at UCLA. The Anatomy for Kids™ series
enjoyed teaching medical students, she has
enables him to join his interests in art and biology with his role as
always had a dream to teach children about
a father in educating his young ones, and extending that education
their bodies. She believes if kids understand
to others. Alan has drawn and written since childhood, and has
how their bodies are put together and function,
had a lifelong interest in children’s books and entertainment. Now
they will have the wisdom to make good health
as a father, he has an even greater motivation in entertaining and
choices. Her area of expertise is the reproductive system and so it
educating kids at an early age, relating knowledge in a way that is
is particularly important to her that young girls and boys learn all of
accessible for all ages.
the essential details of reproduction. As young adults equipped with
this knowledge, they will have the ability to make informed sexual Alan hopes this series will help parents introduce these anatomy
decisions. concepts to children at an age when they are curious to know and
need to be informed. At the same time, Alan hopes the series will
Dr. Metten has designed the Anatomy for Kids series with a dual
™
be fun and compelling to read.
focus: motivating children and equipping parents. The books are fun
and informative so that children will enjoy reading them.  Dr. Metten
also appreciates the challenges that parents face when children ask
questions about their bodies and the parents do not feel equipped to
provide answers.  Website resources beyond the book provide parents
with the additional information they can use to be great teachers.

Dr. Metten married her high school sweetheart, Greg, and they have
two married children and seven young grandchildren. The questions
asked by her adorable grandchildren are a daily reminder of the
importance of making her dream a reality for all kids.
Thank you for joining the Anatomy for Kids™ family.
Please visit our website, AnatomyForKids.com, for
additional parent resources and animations/activities
for your kids. Here you can also purchase additional
Anatomy for Kids™ books and ebooks that are age
appropriate for your child.

Titles available from Anatomy for Kids™:

I’m a Girl: Special Me (Ages 5-7)
introduces where babies come from

I’m a Girl: My Changing Body (Ages 8-9)

describes the early signs of puberty

Coming Soon:
Additional I’m a Girl Series books

I’m a Boy Series – introduces boy anatomy and

early signs of puberty
 For more information, go to: AnatomyForKids.com

Your young child asks you, “Where do babies come from?” and you are momentarily
dazed. You are not sure what to say. The I’m A Girl series is written for you, a caring
parent, who wants to make sure to give the best answer to your child. This series
presents the subject matter in an accessible and informative manner, and it is intended
to be read together by parents and children.

The parent-child learning materials are written at four levels:

I’m a Girl: Special Me (Ages 5-7)

Introduces where babies come from.

I’m a Girl: My Changing Body (Ages 8-9)

Describes the early signs of puberty.

I’m a Girl: Hormones! (Ages 10-11)

Describes the monthly hormone cycle and menstruation.

I’m a Girl: Sexual Maturity (Ages 12-14)

Answers questions about sex, conception and reproductive health.

Along with multiple book series, the Anatomy for Kids™ website
provides useful resources to help parents, activities for kids, and a
community where you can discuss topics with other parents.

Let’s learn together!

AnatomyForKids.com facebook.com/AnatomyForKids