I asked my parents for a ‘baby book’. That in itself is an ambiguous request and one that I clearly didn’t articulate well.

I can still vividly remember what I was hoping for. I must have been about 12, and Tutti’s friends were having babies. One of them had this amazing book about birth. Graphic pictures of foetuses in utero, at different stages of incubation. I was fascinated by these pale pink, beady eyed aliens. Fascinated.

I asked for a baby book.

I wanted this:

From ‘The Facts Of Life’ pop up book by Jonathan Miller and David Pelham

From ‘The Facts Of Life’ pop up book by Jonathan Miller and David Pelham

Instead, I got this:

Yes, it’s ‘Where Did I Come From’ by Peter Mayle, illustrated by Arthur Robins

Not quite what I had in mind. But very educational.