Other editions of book The Baby Project

Jessica knew that the family meeting Dad had called for that evening probably wouldn't be good news. Family meetings usually meant Mum talking a lot and then the whole family getting involved in some project that left everything in a mess until they gradually forgot about it. But at school that day, Jessica forgot about the meeting. A teacher announced a new class project: They were to choose partners, pick an animal to study and present a paper. Jessica's partner would be her best friend, Margaret. And so it was Margaret whom Jessica called with the tremendous news from the family meeting: Mum was pregnant. Margaret was nearly as excited as Jessica, and very quickly the two of them decided that instead of studying the duck-billed platypus for the school project, they would study babies. But all their reading, discussions and research did not prepare Jessica or her family for the drastic changes baby Lucie would bring to their lives.

Winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Book Prize in Canada, The Baby Project tells the poignant story of a family forced to make hard adjustments. Jessica and her brother Simon are somewhat shocked when their high-powered engineer mother announces she is pregnant. While Simon is off in his own teenage world of sports and music, 11-year-old Jessica is more focused on home, the punk tenant in the basement, and her best friend Margaret. She and her stay-at-home dad share excitement in anticipating the new baby, and when Lucie arrives it is the happiest time in Jessica's life. But soon the entire household is turned upside down by the tragedy of the baby's sudden death. First published in hardcover as The Family Project, this realistic story, by turns funny and sad, tender and moving, is a powerful and sensitive look at a child coming to terms with death and grief. The Baby Project will long remain in the memory of young readers.

Eleven-year-old Jessica is excited about her new class project. She gets to research the animal of her choice and, with her best friend and project partner Margaret, give a multimedia presentation on the subject in front of the entire class. Then, at a family meeting, Jessica’s engineer mom announces that she’s pregnant. Her two older brothers, wrapped up in their own adolescent lives, take the news in stride but Jessica is thrilled, and so is Margaret. The two girls quickly decide that instead of researching the duck-billed platypus for their project, they’ll study babies. But despite all of their reading, research, and discussion, Jessica and her family are still unprepared for the drastic changes little Lucie brings to their lives, leaving them touched and forever changed. Tender, moving, remarkably realistic, and laced with refreshing humor throughout, this beautifully written novel is reminder of the strength that can be found in an ordinary family.