I have discovered another thoughtfully written and illustrated book in the “God Gave Us” series, written by Lisa Tawn Bergren and illustrated by Laura J. Bryant. This book, entitled God Gave Us Two, is perfect for parents with an only child, who want to prepare that child for competition soon to arrive on the scene.

In this story, as “Little Cub’s” family gets ready for church, Little Cub asks questions of Mama and Papa about the baby that’s still in Mama’s tummy. “Why do you need a new baby?” “If we don’t like it, can we send it back?” “If it cries too much, can I move next door?” Mama and Papa find loving and tactful answers. Then they bring up some of the fun things Little Cub can do with her new sibling someday, like making snow angels.

Papa and Mama say that they can’t promise whether it’s a brother or a sister. (According to a 2018 article on the medicalnewstoday.com website, one study showed that 98.2 percent of 2D anatomy ultrasounds at 20 weeks are accurate in determining the sex of the baby. Of course that leaves about a 2% chance of error. Who’s to know which babies are going to be in the 2% left? A DNA fetal blood test can be performed at 7 weeks into the pregnancy to determine the gender, but according to an article of 2015 on the expectingscience.com website, there is a small chance of error with these tests, too. Between 7 and 20 weeks it is accurate 95% to 98% of the time. After 20 weeks the accuracy rate goes up to 97% to 99%. They test the DNA for the presence of Y chromosomes, since females have two X chromosomes and males have an X and a Y chromosome.)

The book goes on to say that Mama’s tummy gets bigger and bigger, and her lap becomes smaller and smaller. Pretty soon Little Cub has to sit beside Mama. When Little Cub asks if the baby will look like her, Papa draws on the beautiful illustration that God makes each and every snowflake different.

When it’s time to take Mama to the hospital, Mama assures Little Cub that no one will ever take her place and gives Little Cub a hug. While Mama is at the hospital, Little Cub is busy with fun activities with Grampa and Gramma and the animals in the woods.

When Papa arrives home, he announces a big surprise. Little Cub has a baby sister AND a baby brother. (Twins seldom go undetected today, but it still can happen. On a Singapore website called pregnant.sg, there is a very unusual story of a UK couple who had two babies, with one baby 5 or 6 weeks younger than the other. Technically, they were not twins, since they were conceived on two separate occasions.)

Laura J. Bryant’s artwork in this book is very impressive. The illustrations are laid out very creatively. They are colorful and have lots of details for young eyes to catch. The artist has a gift for conveying the emotions of the animals through subtle facial expressions.

This book is recommended for children aged 3 to 7. I don’t believe anyone who buys this book will be disappointed.

Order it on Amazon here.