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Mother and babies. Babies and mothers. They are everywhere—in caves, burrows, dens, rivers, fields, treetops, oceans, and houses.

All over the world, in all kinds of habitats, mothers bring forth new life. For most animals, such as amphibians and reptiles, mothering responsibilities end before the babies are even born. But mammal babies need their mothers—they need to be nurtured and nourished long enough to learn how to survive on their own.

All mammal mothers feed, protect, and teach their young—tasks that often challenge their own needs for survival. All mammal babies must learn how to feed and protect themselves. Depending on whether the baby is a bear or a bat, a shrew or a seal, a koala or a kid, the journey to maturity varies dramatically. This fascinating introduction to the world of mammals reveals how fourteen mammal babies travel the path from helpless infants to self-sufficient adults.

As the book explores the many ways baby animals grow, the reader develops a keen sense of what makes mammals special.

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Dia L. Michels is an award-winning internationally published science and parenting writer, she is the author or editor of over a dozen books for both children and adults. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Dutch, Hebrew, Chinese, and Korean. A popular speaker, she lectures frequently at conferences, universities, libraries, and schools around the country. She teaches classes on mammal reproduction and lactation at children’s and science museums around the U.S. and is a commentator for Public Radio, International. Her articles have been published in People, Parenting, Mothering, Parents, Baby Talk, Family Fun, Nurturing, and the Washington Post. She lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, with her husband, Tony Gualtieri, their three children, and four cats and a dog. She can be reached at Dia@PlatypusMedia.com.

Andrew Barthelmes, illustrator of If My Mom Were a Platypus, and designer of I Was Born to Be a Brother and many other projects, is a New York based illustrator and graphic designer. A graduate of The School of Visual Arts, his illustrations have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Ladies' Home Journal, Street & Smith's Sports, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition to the Platypus book, he also illustrated Herman the Loudmouth. He has been a children's book designer for Random House, Inc. and is currently creating new children's books for Reader's Digest. He lives in Peekskill, NY with his wife Barbara, and new baby, Julia.