A funny and warm-spirited story of that difficult-to-answer question – how are babies made? Willy is just one sperm among many. He’s hopeless at sums but very good at swimming. Willy practices and practices for the Great Swimming Race because he knows that there is only prize – and he’s determined to get it. A sperm’s-eye view of conception gives a good introduction to the subject.
Never before have the facts of life been presented in such an accessible—or novel—way. Our hero is Willy, a little sperm who lives inside Mr. Browne with 300 million friends. Every day Willy practices for the Great Swimming Race. And when the day arrives, he swims faster than his 300 million friends to win the prize—a marvelous egg. Then something wonderful happens, and eventually Mr. and Mrs. Browne have a baby girl who has the same winning smile as Willy and who grows up to be a great swimmer.
“Fresh, original, and imaginative. . . . Allan’s achievement is in couching fascinating facts within the construct of a gentle, direct narrative. A little knowledge is a wonderful thing, and as the rest of the facts of life fall into place, Allan’s readers will look back on this book with a mixture of fondness and wry amusement.” —The Guardian
Author
About Nicholas Allan
Nicholas Allan studied Fine Art at the Slade and has completed an MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. His highly original picture books have won him several awards including the Sheffield Children's Book Award for The Queen's Knickers and the Federation of Children's Books Best Picture Book Award for Demon Teddy. He lives in Lambeth in a converted pub.
