Gorgeously illustrated, beautifully and thoughtfully written, this stunning book should be in every home. Katherine Roy conducted her own observations as well as scientific research to provide fascinating insight (and explanation!) on "how life begins." The examples include both plants and animals. I wish I would have had this book years ago and it will now be a gift at all baby showers and for all the parents I already know!

The watercolor illustrations are gorgeous, I love the background story of the boy and his soon-to-be-growing family walking through the woods, and the scientific information about how everything reproduces was on-point, well-researched and written at the perfect introductory level for children to begin to understand.

A most distinctive biology book, but one whose 'love letter' to it all approach certainly didn't sit with me enough to give it the highest praise that practically everyone else has. This is about the birds and the bees – and the fish swimming through sperm clouds, and the rutting ladybirds – and that's just some of the front cover. I guess the next few pages, which are pretty much all nature painting with very little text, are a handy way to ease us into the science, but the contrast between those opening pages (and the ones that close this out) and the more technical and detailed pages is I think a little too strong.

When we're with the science, however, we're in very safe hands – the diagrams with their more advanced captions and labels might not feel as if they should work with this kind of watercolour approach, but they certainly do. We're told how a female ovulates, and a male produces the other kind of gamete (sorry not sorry to upset those who seem to think differently), and then spread throughout the world's life forms, from fish and their aquatic life to how mammals replicate the watery nature of the same environment to suit their zygote in the womb, and from how birds and reptiles form their eggs to why plants need seeds and fruit. This does bring another possible quibble, the way so many pages discuss their topic and then end with a variation on 'although elsewhere, something is doing the same but different…'.

All the same, however, this is a success. The artwork is allowed to bring some of the romance and wonder of procreation into the science textbook, in a way that is so different to those I vaguely remember from my schooling. The biology is conveyed very crisply, with a healthy amount of detail, whether the subject be pheromones and mating calls or the whole point of evolution. I can see myself preferring this however with fewer art-only pages, and with some other structure I cannot think of, as opposed to the one I laid out above as a quibble. But don't get me wrong, this is still a strong four stars and it doesn't need me to wish it well – it will be a success regardless.

Making More by Katherine Roy was the perfect addition to our homeschool year- covering many topics Including zoology and health class! The art work is stunning. I appreciate all the different animals included and though it’s a picture book I would be comfortable using this for kindergarten to highschool age.

The gorgeous cover of this book is what first drew my attention to it. "Making More" contains beautiful illustrations on every page that would likely appeal to all ages. Most kids question where babies come from, and this book's fairly in-depth scientific explanations of life reproduction are worded in a non-obscene way that I imagine could make the "birds and the bees" talk a bit more comfortable.

Reproduction in EXHAUSTIVE detail. Like, this is suitable for a high school biology class, perhaps even college. Like, a LOT of detail.

I was actually surprised by this, since the book begins looking like a simple picture book. A few pages in, though, and we get into blocks of text, diagrams, and bulleted timelines. Not only is mammalian reproduction covered, but also reptile, amphibian, fish, and even plant life. And the author also takes a little time out to mention asexual reproduction and viruses.

The watercolor artwork takes great care to maintain a lifelike representation of each animal and plant. Page spreads tend to be one full page of text and a second page of full-scene artwork, showing the animal (or plant) in nature, and engaging in everyday activities.

This would be a good way to review before a test on reproduction. It's got all the main things you'd likely find in a junior high to high school bio unit on reproduction, and not much more that won't be on the test. I can't attest for college review, since my college bio course was EXCLUSIVELY on reproduction, and so I needed some more behavioral detail. But, as far as the pure physical aspect of things goes, this would also work there. Good detail, not too much lofty language, and some great illustrations to tie it all together!

The beautiful, painted illustrations are the first thing about this book that caught my eye. I love the soothing color palette and the way each page makes me feel immersed in nature.

The book addresses how different types of plants and animals make more of themselves in simple terms. I liked the way the author introduced different types of reproduction– crossing versus cloning– and gave simple explanations for why both are important.

Animal classes like fish, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals each have their own page giving an overview of how they reproduce. Some technical terms are present, but used more in diagrams than in the paragraph text. I think the book strikes a great balance between simplifying a complex process for young readers while still presenting real biological information.

I love this book, and I think it’s a great resource for kids who are interested in animals or biology. This is definitely one I want on my own family library shelves, and I think it’d make a great book for classrooms and public libraries.

Beautiful, informative and the right book for children. It's easy to fllow clear and pictures are gorgeous.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thanks to Netgalley and WW Norton & Company for the ARC of this!

Really fascinating and in-depth look at reproduction in animals and plants. This was concise enough that my 6 year old stayed interested, but it was a better fit to my 9 year old. The artwork was absolutely stunning.

First off, I have to say, these illustrations are absolutely gorgeous! My kids and I enjoy learning about nature and while we’ve always talked about reproduction it was great to have a book that we could delve a little deeper into the different ways that plants and animals reproduce since we are learning about Zoology. The Crash Course Zoology video 9 by Dr. Rae Wynn Grant goes well with this book. I love that this book gives the many examples of reproduction, since not all plants and animals reproduce in the same way. My daughter especially loved the illustrations and wanted to know how they were made. This book would be a great addition to any library!

Thank you NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the opportunity to review this book prior to publication.

This is Wonderful, The Watercolour Pictures are 100% Exquisite & the Writing is Second to None.
(Thanks to Net Galley for this Book.)

Making More: How Life Begins by Katherine Roy (Norton Young Readers, March 2023) is a middle-grade nonfiction tome about animal reproduction, plant reproduction, and even fungi reproduction. In short, it will help every young reader gain a better insight into just how living things “make more” and continue the life cycle.

The first and last pages feel like a picture book: just a few words per page, with sweeping illustrations of a family, with an expectant mother, going for a walk in a park. This family provides a frame for learning about how all the living creatures they see also increase.

The explanatory sections of the book have a full-page illustration, then a few paragraphs of explanation, as well as a diagram to show just what is being discussed. Don’t read this picture book if you are squeamish about your children seeing pictures of animal sex and using proper terms for reproductive anatomy. Any middle-grade child reading this book will probably have questions answered about human intercourse as well, since the book provides descriptions using animal anatomy and obviously human anatomy has the same names as mammal anatomy.

I see Making More as an essential addition to nonfiction middle-grade shelf. Parents hesitant to talk about human reproduction may find it easier to approach from the “everything reproduces” perspective. I guess you can say that Making More helps ease the “birds and bees” discussion. (I feel like my kids and I didn’t really have awkward conversations, since we have tried to talk about it all since early childhood, but this book could only help!) I have to say that as an adult I learned things about how non-mammals reproduce, as well as more than I previously understood about plant reproduction. Now we just need to find a similar book in picture book format for younger children!

I received a digital copy of this book for review consideration.

Nice little book about how families expand. It takes the reader with a family as they walk through a park and see all the different ways “more” is made. It seemed a little unexplained when suddenly there’s a baby on their walk.

In MAKING MORE, Katherine Roy observes and researches the creatures in her yard and neighborhood, and then conveys with a pure sense of wonder the amazing facts of low life begins. Covering a wide range of species, she clearly and thoroughly explains reproduction, cleverly leaving readers to infer how a human family, subtly represented here in the beginning and end illustrations, gets from baby-bump to baby.

Parents and teachers who are nervous about approaching this topic will appreciate this book’s light touch and isn’t-science-incredible approach. Gorgeously illustrated and certain to become a classic.

Imgr link is to Instagram image scheduled for March 7th
Blog link is to scheduled Post on March 7th


Making More is a beautifully illustrated middle grade book about the cycle of life - specifically about the processing of breeding and ‘making more’. The drawings are intensely beautiful and I would argue are the main appeal of this book. They range from full page to a full spread, covering two pages in the style of a picture book with minimum text.

This layout is perhaps where I struggle with the aim of this book. It looks at first glance like a picture book but has the science and information that you would expect for a middle grade nonfiction. I can see certain groups of kids absolutely loving this book, and others may find not finding it as interesting, or find the format off-putting as it will remind them of ‘a book for kids’.

All that said, I thought the information was well laid out and well written. Kids (of a serious mindset, because let’s be honest this age demographic loves the joke about this topic) will enjoy it and it’s presented in a way that the kids can understand. I could most definitely see this as a great piece for a science, or even art classroom (if I still taught art this would be one I’d likely shelf).

4 out of 5 adorable baby squirrels

I LOVED this book! I have been looking for books to replace the really old ones in our elementary library. What a beauifully illustrated and organized book. I will definitely be purchasing this book for our library!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This is a book for kids about how animals and other creatures procreate. There may be questions about what the animals are doing to one another, but otherwise, there is excellent information and lovely illustrations.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Making More is a scientific and straight to the point book about reproduction in species nature and our homes. I learned how birds reproduce which I always wondered about, but never googled.

The images that accompany are simply beautiful. They elevate the book to another level. It would be the book I would use to explain the reproduction to a child or will use to explain bird reproduction to my friends

What a fantastic way to introduce kids to reproduction. It is so well explained and the illustrations are great. This would be perfect for a fifth grade classroom. My oldest daughter is only 7 but I would only hope this could be a resource for her when the time is right.

This book is excellent. Well informative and I love the illustrations. I give it 5 stars for older children. My children are only 7 and 5 and it was way to much information for them to retain and they are quite young still to learn about the birds and the bees. So some of the illustrations were a little graphic for the smaller children. But for older kids it’s a great resources for a science classroom.