When I Carried You in My Belly

The special bond between a mother and her child begins well before the baby is born. But once the baby is born and starts to grow into her own person, traits from both parents begin to show themselves in delightful and humorous ways. When I Carried You in My Belly is a mother's song to her growing daughter, capturing the warmth and magic of the time when her daughter was housed inside her belly. The girl's laugh, her love of music, her sweet disposition, and her carefree attitude can all be traced back to her time in her mother's tummy, when her mother would laugh, sing songs, eat yummy treats, and dance the day away.

Thrity Umrigar's lyrical and playful text are well complemented by Ziyue Chen's soft and delightful illustrations, and together they create a sentimental and insightful book about the special bond between parents and children. With a similar tone to On the Night You Were Born and the spirit of I Loved You Before You Were Born, When I Carried You in My Belly is primed to become a new timeless classic.

Thrity Umrigar is the bestselling author of a memoir and six novels, including The Space Between Us, If Today Be Sweet, and The Story Hour. Her books have been published in over fifteen countries. A winner of the Nieman fellowship to Harvard University, she has written for the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, and the Boston Globe. She is the winner of the Cleveland Arts Prize and was a finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins award. She is the Armington Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Ziyue Chen grew up in sunny Singapore and graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design with a BFA in illustration. Her work has been recognized in the 3x3 Picture Book Show (2014), SCBWI's SI Scholarship (2013), the Society of Illustrators' Student Scholarship Show (2013), and Creative Quarterly (2012). When she's not creating art, Ziyue enjoys teaching art, swimming, and spending time with loved ones.