"On the eve of your birth ... the Earth and her creatures with the Sun and the Moon all moved in their places, each ready to greet you the very first moment of the very first day you arrived." Every child loves to hear the story of how he or she came into the world, but usually very little attention is paid to how the world was in that magical moment. For any family who feels a special connection to nature and the flow of life, On the Day You Were Born will help baby understand how each of us is received not just by our family, but by the universe and its gentle ways. The simple, bright pictures in Debra Frasier's book recall Matisse, and they won the book a Parents' Choice Award for illustration. In the final pages, each illustration and theme in the book (migrating animals, gravity, glowing moon, rising tide, etc.) is explained in simple and direct language that can be used to teach older children how nature works on our planet, and how Earth works in the universe. This beautiful hardcover book is accompanied by a washable, soft rattle that has a donut-shaped yellow handle with "Welcome" embroidered on it in blue thread. The head of the rattle is a round, blue sky embroidered with yellow stars and a red figure of a child dancing. (From birth) --Katherine Ferguson