Flight of the Stork’s Reviews

From Midwest Book Reviews September, 2005… “Now in a new revised edition, Flight of the Stork: What Children Think (And When) About Sex And Family Building is a straightforward guide especially for parents, but also valuable to educators and child psychologists, about what children understand about human reproduction at which ages, the stages of cognitive awareness young people pass through concerning the subject, and how parents can best educate young people about it. The revised edition specifically deals with topics pertaining to twenty-first century advances in assisted reproductive technology, donor insemination, and surrogacy. Above all, Flight Of The Stork emphasizes good parenting skills: listening to children, understanding one’s own issues, and the importance of honesty and empathy. Flight of the Stork is very highly recommended reading, especially for parents who find themselves flustered explaining the birds and the bees.”



From the Journal of the American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry quot; …The chapters on
adoption and assisted reproduction are superbly written for both
professional and lay audiences. Bernstein excels when explaining the
complex relationships and feelings that arise when a child has a birth
parent or parents and one or two adoptive parents. It is worth purchasing
this book for these chapters alone…This book is well written and
reasonably priced. I strong recommend the book to all mental health
professionals, teachers, parents and aunts and uncles. It does tell you
all you wanted to know and may not have known whom to ask."



From Pact Press… "Flight of the Stork is must reading
for parents who are uncertain about how to talk to their children about
sensitive issues, including sex and adoption. Anne outlines developmental
stages in terms that are easily understood and describe what children’s
capabilities and tendencies are at each level. You will come away
understanding that even if your child can use correct terms, it will take
them a long time to put the whole concept together. The book is filled
with examples of her many interviews with children on the subjects first
of sex and later adoption (and collaborative reproduction and
stepfamilies). This makes the reading enjoyable and easy. There are many
concrete suggestions for words and more importantly approaches to use when
talking to your children… I suggest you ahve your children nearby while
reading this book so you can try some of her suggestions out. When I first
read her assertions that young children misunderstand (by adult standards)
certain aspects of the baby making process even when their words are
accurate, I was doubtful. When I asked my three and five year old children
som equestions in the manner Anne suggests, I was converted…This book is
enormously useful in understanding who our children are as well as the
outlook and capabilities they bring to any topic we discuss. I have found
myself referring to the information she presented repeatedly. The truth is
she is describing good parenting skills; listening to your children,
understanding your children’s concerns and issues, and responsiveness with
honesty and empathy. This book should be onevery parent’s
shelf."



from Library Journall (9/1/94)… "Where do
children think babies come from? You may be surprised by the answers
gfiven in this revised and expanded edition of the popular 1978 title.
Bernstein examines how children think differently from adults concerning
sex and birth. Page after poage of enlightening interviews take us depp
into the inds of children three to 12 years old. The interviews
demonstrate each child’s level of mental development and also show how a
child’s thinking changes with age. This understanding of child development
will help adults communicate better with children about the origin of
families as well as the origin of babies. The revision also deals with
such 21st century topics as assisted reproductive technology, donor
insemination, and surrogacy. These valuable additions make the book
essential even for libraries already owning the first edition.



From RESOLVE of Dallas/Ft Worth (February/MArch 1995)…"In
the final three chapters, added in this revised edition, Ms Bernstein
discusses artificial reproductive technologies, adoption and stepfamilies.
She relates how children who are in these situations think about
reproduction and suggests how to talk to them in each developmental stage.
It might be tempting for infertile couples to skip directly to these
chapters, but don’t. The first chapters provide the understanding of how
children think and are necessary to fully understand the later chapters.
They are also just plan fun to read! I found myself wishing I had read
this book before my six-ear-old nephew asked me, "Why don’t you and
Uncle Mike have children?"



From RESOLVE of NYC (March, 1995)… Bernstein combines "kids-say-the-darndest-things
entertainment, research on what kids understand at various ages, and
scripts to help us talk to our children ‘in ways that maximize
understanding and minimize feeling deviant.’ Unless we deal with our own
discomfort first, we may leave ‘destructive omissions.’… Bernsteins’s
scripts have rich, honest emotional contexts…"

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