Review of The Baby Tree

Written by Sophie Blackall

I have never read this book before.

Ratings: Amazon: 4.4 out of 5 stars. Goodreads: 3.97 out of 5 stars.

Summary: This story is about a little boy’s curious journey to find out where babies are from when he is told that he will have a sibling.  

Access to this book was restricted in March 2022 in Wisconsin’s Cadott Community School District by a vote. It was also banned with a handful of other books. This book was also part of a list that Texas State Representative Matt Krause made in October 2021, with 849 other books. He sent this list to the Texas Education Agency to see if any of the Texas schools have these books and how much money was spent on them. This action was spurred by House Bill 3979, a bill “that bans teaching any materials that could mean “an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of the individual’s race or sex.” … Krause appears to want to preemptively remove any books that could be challenged for causing “discomfort.”

My take: First off, this book is so cute! I love how this story follows a little boy’s curious journey, and it pokes at the stork fable of bringing babies a bit.

So, what would make people try to ban this book? It does say how babies are made, which is by sex. But it never states the word “sex.” Instead, it says that the seed is planted by the father from his penis while he lies close to the mother. This is placed after the story is complete and on the very last page of the book. I almost skipped this page when I first turned through it. This is probably the cleanest way to explain the actual sexual act while maintaining scientific accuracy. I’m really curious what you guys think about this, so let me know!

Here are a few links about this book and the challenges or bans.

The Top 7 Most Banned Picture Books Last School Year (edweek.org)

Torn From The Pages | Cream City | mkelifestyle.com

All 850 Books Texas Lawmaker Matt Krause Wants to Ban: An Analysis (bookriot.com)