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Last summer, workers began an eight-year project to build a third runway in waters beside Hong Kong International Airport. Officials say that the estimated $18 billion project will allow Hong Kong to maintain its status as a global aviation hub and that a marine park should be created nearby after the runway is completed, around 2023, to compensate for the planned destruction of an area of dolphin habitat roughly twice the size of Central Park in New York City.
But biologists say the third runway will compound the environmental damage of high-speed ferry traffic and other infrastructure projects, including a nearly completed bridge and tunnel crossing that will link Hong Kong and Macau to the Chinese mainland. They say Hong Kong — a commercial center with a British-style legal system and a high degree of political autonomy — appears increasingly bent on destroying its native dolphins through economic development, just as China drove the Yangtze River dolphin to extinction a decade ago.
"It's such a terrible image for Hong Kong that we cannot protect our dolphins because we want even more money," said Samuel Hung, a biologist who has been studying the estuary's dolphins for decades and has battled the third runway project — unsuccessfully — in court.
The population of Chinese white dolphins in the coastal waters of the Pearl River estuary is estimated to be about 2,500, making it the largest near China's coast and perhaps also in Southeast Asia. A report published in March by the scientific journal PLOS One, based on a four-and-a-half-year survey by University of Hong Kong biologists, estimated that "at least 368 dolphins used Hong Kong's territorial waters as part of their range."
Mr. Hung's government-financed surveys, which use a different methodology, indicate that the dolphin abundance in Hong Kong waters — an estimate of how many dolphins are present at any one time — dropped to a record low of 65 in 2015, from 188 in 2003. "We're at a critical juncture," he said.
The Airport Authority has said that the third runway will significantly expand flight capacity at the airport, which served 70.5 million passengers last year, and provide $58 billion in additional revenue by 2061. Supporters of the plan include Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong's flagship carrier.
"If there was already a third runway, it would be utilized," said Will Horton, a senior analyst in Hong Kong with the Capa Center for Aviation, based in Australia. "Local airlines are not growing as fast as they could, while foreign airlines are waiting to add flights."
But critics call the third runway project a white elephant, in part because it is unclear how much airspace mainland aviation authorities will allocate to Hong Kong in the coming decades, or whether the city airport can even hope to compete over the long term with its mainland Chinese counterparts.
Albert Cheng, an aircraft engineer and former Hong Kong legislator, said the city should not bother investing in a third runway because it had already been "marginalized by China in every aspect" and would eventually lose its cachet as Asia's aviation hub, lowering demand for flights.
Another issue is whether the project's proponents have accurately conveyed its environmental risks and whether the government should have allowed it to go forward.
Some critics say that the project should not have been approved because of the potential impact on dolphins and that HSBC, the project's financial adviser, bears some responsibility because it has adopted the Equator Principles, a set of standards many institutions apply to ensure the projects they finance or advise do not harm people or the environment.
HSBC has been advising the Airport Authority "on the preparation of the environmental information that financing banks will need, when selected, in order to evaluate this project as lenders in accordance with the Equator Principles," Adam Harper, a spokesman for the bank, said in response to emailed questions about the runway project and the bank's corporate due diligence process. "We are committed to the Equator Principles."
The Airport Authority has said that its marine park proposal is based on international best practices and that noise from construction vessels will not cause long-term harm to dolphins because they are "expected to simply keep out of the way, which is an expected reaction by intelligent animals."
The authority said in a statement that the proposed marine park was nearly four times the size of the runway project and would "pave the way" for a rebound of the dolphin population in Lantau's northern waters. It would have been impractical to establish a park there during the construction phase, the statement said, mainly because the designation would have precluded building.
But biologists say the proposed park would not protect the dolphins from construction-related noise between now and 2023, or cover critical dolphin habitats in Lantau's southwestern waters.
"The saddest thing is that the experts from the airport say, 'It's O.K. for them to leave. They'll come back later,'" said Mak Hei Man, one of several researchers who conduct dolphin surveys off Lantau as part of a government-financed research project that began in the 1990s.
"But in mainland waters, it's even worse," she said, referring to pollution and disturbances.
Billy Hau, a University of Hong Kong biologist and a member of the city's Advisory Council on the Environment, said that the runway project illustrated the problems with the environmental permit system.
Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department has rejected just seven of 249 applications for approval of environmental impact assessments since the permit review process became legally binding in 1998. Mr. Hau said the process lacked accountability, because it did not allow for public hearings or the formation of expert panels to review especially contentious projects.
"Many people criticize this as unfair because most of the proponents either have a very strong interest in government, or they're actually government departments themselves," he said.
The department disputed this, saying by email that the process allowed both the public and the Advisory Council on the Environment to inspect projects twice.
John Wang, a biologist at Trent University in Canada who studies Hong Kong's dolphins, said that the process had effectively allowed the Airport Authority to gamble with the dolphins' lives. Even after the release of an environmental impact study, he said, it remains unclear precisely how dolphins may respond to runway construction noise or to future changes in high-speed ferry or shipping routes.
Mr. Wang said that at some point, the dolphins could become so stressed and confused by the noise in the estuary that they would stop swimming away from noise sources, leading some observers to assume they were unbothered.
"People will misunderstand that, saying, 'Oh, they've acclimatized, they're O.K. now,'" he said, standing on the deck of the survey boat. "No. They've just given up."
Continue reading the main story


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Dear Helen, I just wanted to say a big thank you for helping me break my smoking habit. As you know I have tried every method out there and none have worked till I met you.....I have been cigarette-free now for over 2 months.... and I just want to say thank you so much for helping me, you have been wonderful and I couldn't have done it without you!.
I have already recommended you to friends and my hubby is wanting to come with me for regression.
Thank you so very much Helen, I feel so much happier, healthier and wealthier. You have been superb! Thank you so very much. KerryX
This is a message I received from Kerry who lives in Stockton. The message is untouched and just as she wrote it to me after having 2 sessions to stop smoking.
The following testimonial is from Jane who lives in Bedale. Jane studied the Hypnobirth method with me for the birth of her first baby, Noah.
We chose to work with Helen in the run up to the birth of our son as I had fears about the pain of labour and any invasive procedures such as epidurals, episiotomies etc. By working with Helen, I was able to master the art of relaxation, breathing techniques and taking myself to a deeper spiritual level which would ultimately assist in us having a calm and peaceful birth. As it went, my labour lasted only 3 hours, with no pain relief and no invasive procedures. I experienced no tearing. Amazingly, the baby's heart remained calm throughout labour, and so did mine. I had spent many months listening to Helen's CD's and learning how to truly relax. I genuinely feel that this learning had a lot to do with the quick and natural stress-free birth we experienced. We now have Noah- a beautiful and contented baby boy. We would definitely recommend Helen Gregory to any woman who wants to try and give birth in a calm and natural way. Helen is a very calming influence- as soon as she came to our house, we both felt just instantly more at ease!
Not only has Helen been integral in our birthing experience, but many of her relaxation techniques will stay with me forever- whenever I encounter any situation which might cause me to feel stressed, Helen's CD's and teachings will come back to me and I will be better equipped to remain calm. Working with Helen was definitely one of the best decisions we made!

subset: commoncrawl


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Creek Road
- Developer / Owner: Family Mosaic
- Consultant: bptw partnership
Creek Road is an exciting retail led development with modern apartments and mews houses in the centre of Greenwich. Providing 83 contemporary homes and 1,800 sq m of commercial floor space, the scheme reinstates street frontages and extends the town centre's retail opportunities westwards from Cutty Sark DLR. It is envisaged that a number of boutique shops and cafes will occupy the ground floor of the prominent building with high quality, spacious residential apartments above.
- Project website
- View on map
- Planning Granted
- Borough: Greenwich
- Size: 83 units, 1800sqm commercial space
- Type: Mixed-use


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The company has just released an iPhone app that helps its customers receive tailored weather reports and wind generation forecasts.
"The Vestas Weather app knows where your iPhone is, of course, and based on that info it calculates how much energy one of its V112 3MW turbines (yes, one of its newest products) would generate, as well as the amount of carbon dioxide it would keep out of the atmosphere."
Moves like this really underscore the importance of data to businesses. Data-driven journalism, data-driven government, the list goes on. Organizations are finally waking up and realizing the goldmine of information that exists right in their own backyards. It's the ones that can develop a keen sense of how to put it to use for customers that are breaking away from the pack.
The next step for Vestas' approach could be to mashup its data with other turbine manufacturers like Siemens. With information like that in hand, a customer community could easily spring to life.


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Being from Alberta, Michelle Leslie is well aware of what has been happening up in Fort McMurray while massive wildfires moved toward major oil sand facilities. A lot of people don't know how energy companies protect their natural resources and their business in the event of severe weather such as these fires…
(Cover photo by Reuters)
Being from Alberta, Michelle Leslie is well aware of what has been happening up in Fort McMurray while massive wildfires moved toward major oil sand facilities. A lot of people don't know how energy companies protect their natural resources and their business in the event of severe weather such as these fires…
(Cover photo by Reuters)
May 2016 began with a wildfire in Northern Alberta. A super El Nino that had been swirling up warmer waters in the Pacific brought a milder and drier winter to many parts of the province, including Fort McMurray.
Snowfall was minimal, with the heaviest one-day winter numbers coming in at just 4.3 cm (1.7 in), according to the daily data reports by Environment Canada. Dry ground combined with warm temperatures and high winds provided the perfect storm for explosive fire weather.
As the fire began on May 1, winds were moderate, with maximum gusts around 35km/hour, but by May 3, the wind gusts would more than double — reaching a peak of 72km/hr.
The worst fire in Alberta's history, it would force almost 100,000 people to flee their homes. Pictures of ash raining down from the sky and a wall of fire surrounding fleeing evacuees highlighted the horror that was unfolding in the region.
The weather forecast worked against first responders in those early days. A week after firefighting efforts by a crew of over 1,500, around 200,000 hectares of land or almost half a million acres remained engulfed in flames.
The wildfire continues to burn and residents are uncertain when and what will await them when they return home.
The cost of the fire goes beyond Alberta's borders. Douglas Porter, Chief Economist with the Bank of Montreal said in a release three days following the evacuations that the impact of the fire would cut the overall growth expectations for Canada's second quarter gross domestic product (GDP) from 1.5% to zero.
While the cost to the country can't go unnoticed, the cost to Alberta is far greater. Alberta holds over 10 percent of the world's supply of oil and the natural resources sector supplies almost one-third of the gross domestic product for the province and hundreds of thousands of jobs. Protecting the human and environmental resources that power Alberta is critical to industry.
In Alberta, energy companies are subject to guidelines and regulations lined out by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). According to the AER's guidelines for emergency preparedness, "it is the responsibility of the licensee to determine when an emergency response plan (ERP) is required and the type of plan required."
An emergency response plan is based on many contributing factors. Some of these factors include the size and scope of the company, what their role is within the energy industry, the size of the facility and even the proximity to established emergency services.
According to current and former oil and gas workers in Alberta, a lot of energy, expense and effort is undertaken to ensure safety when the unexpected happens. Most facilities have a rescue training program for all field personnel, while larger facilities may also have fire crews on stand-by with company-owned or contracted firefighting equipment and rescue vehicles.
One of the key companies to invest in the oil sands, Suncor has been working in Fort McMurray since the early 1960s.
"We have emergency response capabilities at our operations," says Sneh Seetal, Media Relations and Issues Manager with Suncor. "These include firebreaks, sprinklers, fire retardant foam and pumps. We enhanced those measures in this situation and working closely with government, we received authorization to do some clearing."
Suncor also has a team of fire risk assessment specialists on staff. Most industrial fire teams working in the petroleum industry are based on National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)1081, professional qualifications for fighting industrial fires.
On-site fire crews are subject to training sessions which can include simulations in which situations are set up at different locations within the facility, such as inside buildings, on columns and around tanks which can present crews with unique challenges.
The Suncor team in Colorado was praised by the Grand Junction Fire Chief for such efforts recently. Partnering with local firefighters, Suncor helped with specialized flammable-liquids training to better equip first response teams in the event of an industrial incident.
For contractors who work on oil and gas sites, there is training specific to both their work location and the process of the plant. Training that is often required prior to entering a site and can include First Aid, rescue training and Workplace Hazardous Materials Information Systems (WHMIS).
Then there are emergency response programs which are often updated yearly and include multiple action plans based on current evaluations of potential scenarios. As has been demonstrated by the efforts in Fort McMurray, disaster response requires working closely with emergency providers, various levels of government, community members, volunteers and industry.
As part of the coordinated response, Suncor has worked together with the municipality and other industry partners to fight the fire and protect the community. Additionally, oil sands companies, such as Shell, opened up their camps, offering shelter to evacuees.
The road to recovery in Fort McMurray is a long one. Once the flames are extinguished the long task of rebuilding will begin. If you can help the people of Fort McMurray, please visit the Canadian Red Cross.


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These fruit- and whole grain-rich scones are fun to make with your toddler on lazy weekend mornings. Store leftovers in the freezer for weekdays!
Stuck in a boring breakfast routine? These four simple, tot-friendly recipes will make mornings for you and your baby a little more fun.
These three easy, brain-boosting meals make it easy to set up your little one for success each morning.
These fruit-filled muffins are yummy and easy to make, and are perfect for a breakfast treat or a snack.
This 5-minute recipe is a fast & simple treat.
Delicious, healthy pancakes in 30 minutes.
The perfect on-the-go breakfast for working moms-to-be.
Get your toddler excited about oatmeal with this sweet rendition, full of fun flavors like maple, cinnamon, and apricots.
The really great thing about this quick-cooking frittata? It makes the perfect meal for tots and grown-ups morning, noon, or night.
Who knew oats could taste this good?


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Quote image for "Last to Go"
Production Enquiry
Enquire about performing rights at:
Judy Daish Associates Ltd, 2 St Charles Place, London W10 6EG [http://www.judydaish.com]
All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before rehearsals to the performance rights holder. No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained. No rights in incidental music or songs contained in the Work are hereby granted and performance rights for any performance/presentation whatsoever must be obtained from the respective copyright owners.
Last to Go, Request Stop and Special Offer were performed in the revue Pieces of Eight, which opened at the Apollo Theatre, London, in September 1959.
Harold Pinter
Series: Grove Atlantic Drama
Buy this work


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How To Find A Reliable Agency That Can Help Me Write My Essay: A Step-By-Step Guide
Are you worried because you want to create an effective assignment for your school? Do you need someone to guide you with writing the paper without much effort? Are you concerned because you need to complete a great paper in the limited time you have? This s a genuine concern because you want to score well in your assignment and impress your professors. What you need to do if you are having a tough time in completing your essay is to look for professional help.
Professional writers and agencies are available to guide you and write your papers instead of you in return for a certain amount. They have reasonable fees that they charge for writing your papers on your behalf. The prices would differ for different agencies and writers depending upon certain factors. When looking for affordable writing services, you need to determine a few things to see the price matches your budget and expected cost for this assignment. The price of the paper will vary with.
- The type of agency or writer you use for your paper because traditional writing agencies have higher rates than online writing agencies and virtual freelancers have lower rates than physical freelance writers.
- The length of your paper- The price of a lengthy paper would be different from one page essay. Often writing companies charge you per word or per page. This would change depending upon the total word count you have for the paper. If the per word price is 1 cent than the price for 400 words essay would be $4 and the price for 1000 word paper would be $10.
- The research involved- If you need a basic paper about a common subject like urban vs rural life or so than the price of this assignment will be lower because there is less research involved. If you need a paper about a complex or less common subject then there would be more research involved and higher cost.
- The timeline for the assignment- This is important because urgent papers cost much higher than papers on normal deadline. If you want to save this amount then you should order your paper as early as possible. An essay due in 20 days will have lower rates will have lower rate than an assignment due in a few hours.


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Hauntrepreneurs® is the only broker specializing in selling previously owned Haunted Houses, Haunted Hay Rides, Haunted Trails, Dark Rides and Haunting Equipment for the Haunted Attraction Industry. Formed in 1987 the company has sold hundreds of attractions to Amusement Parks, Family Fun Centers and individuals all over the country.
Working as a middleman Hauntrepreneurs® hammers out price negotiations, prepares contracts and makes sure that both parties act in good faith throughout the process. In addition, Hauntrepreneurs® can provide services to the buyer/seller including Installation Assistance, Event Consulting, Refurbishment and Attraction Redesign.
"We put our reputation on the line each time we bring a buyer and seller together, and strive to create a 'Win win' opportunity for the clients!"
Leonard Pickel


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9 Brilliant Spring Email Campaigns and Spring Subject Lines
- 69Shares
By now we can already feel the gradual change in the seasons as the days are getting longer, meaning you'll need to start preparing your spring email campaigns.
Getting ready for the new season isn't something that's relevant just for shoe, clothing and home renovation brands. Instead, you can use effective spring email campaigns for virtually any niche.
But FYI: just remember to use our proven techniques on creating the best email subject lines.
In today's guide, we'll go over (click to jump ahead):
9 best-performing Spring subject lines
After all, spring is a time for new starts, about planning for the year, and especially getting outside the home after the long winter hibernation. Therefore, if you can tap into the common spring themes, you can probably find a way to wake up your sales as well.
And just remember, there are some great spring holidays you need to be aware of in 2018:
- International Women's Day (March 8)
- St. Patrick's Day (March 17)
- The official first day of spring (March 20)
- April Fool's Day (April 1)
- Earth Day (April 22)
- Mother's Day (May 13 in USA)
- Tax Refund Season (beginning March in USA)
And there are still plenty more.
In fact, Laura Hall from Shiply says to take advantage of as many spring-related days as possible:
"There's a lot of time off in the Spring with Easter and the two bank holidays in May, so reminding customers about those and marketing how they can improve their time off will be appealing for them. With Spring also comes the promise of warmer days, so timing it right and anticipating the approach of summer in good time could set you ahead of your competitors."
So let's look at the best performing spring subject lines, as well as the 9 best, most inspiring ideas for your spring email campaigns.
The 9 best-performing Spring-themed subject lines
We searched through more than 10,000 of our bigger brands' 2017 Spring email campaigns to find out what the best, highest-performing subject lines are.
Because we're dealing with subject lines, we're focusing mainly on which subject lines had the highest open rates.
Then, we're also looking at the click rates for each spring subject line.
Find out what the highest-performing Spring subject lines are so that you can improve your ecommerce results.
General Spring subject lines
According to our research, the following subject lines were the best-performing, related to Spring in general:
#1 Spring subject line: "Spring Featured Item!"
- Open rate: 56.4%
- Click rate: 3.5%
#2 Spring subject line: "Spring Has Arrived!"
- Open rate: 55.6%
- Click rate: 2.4%
#3 Spring subject line: "Spring Break shipping"
- Open rate: 44.6%
- Click rate: 3.5%
As you can see from this data, the highest performing spring-themed subject lines include (obviously) the word 'Spring.'
As we mentioned before in our regularly-updated Black Friday subject lines guide, it's important that you include the holiday or season (or references to the holiday or season) in the subject line clearly.
That way, you'll quickly grab your visitors' attention.
Find out what the highest-performing Easter subject lines are so that you can improve your ecommerce results.
Easter subject lines
#1 Easter subject line: "New limited quantity available bundle + Easter Friday Freebies"
- Open rate: 29%
- Click rate: 5%
#2 Easter subject line: "HUGE EASTER SALE!"
- Open rate: 28%
- Click rate: 7%
#3 Easter subject line: "Easter Special! 20% Off Everything This Weekend!"
- Open rate: 25%
- Click rate: 2%
As we can see here, Easter is everywhere—and the click rate is absolutely great.
While usually ecommerce merchants think that you shouldn't use ALL CAPS in the subject line, the results say differently.
Remember—ABT: Always Be Testing.
Just because it works for one business, doesn't mean it'll work for you.
But the opposite is also true: just because it doesn't work for one business, doesn't mean it won't work for you.
Test, learn, improve.
Find out what the highest-performing Mother's Day subject lines are so that you can improve your ecommerce results.
Mother's Day subject lines
#1 Mother's Day subject line: "25% Off Plus FREE Lip Gloss Mother's Day Special "
- Open rate: 32%
- Click rate: 5%
#2 Mother's Day subject line: "Happy Mother's Day Weekend!"
- Open rate: 26%
- Click rate: 6%
#3 Mother's Day subject line: "Celebrate Mother's Day with us!"
- Open rate: 22%
- Click rate: 2%
With Mother's Day subject lines, we see, again, that what merchants would consider no-nos (putting discount percentage, plus FREE, plus text-emoji) actually worked here.
A 32% open rate (plus great 5% click rate) means the subscribers were interested and eager to engage.
When you're creating your Spring-themed subject lines, don't hesitate to try out many different things and see what works.
Click here to get 170+ innovative Mother's Day subject lines
Get the ultimate list of 515 High-Converting Subject Lines (that will superpower your next campaign)!
Jam-packed with top subject lines for your next campaigns, including: Black Friday, Christmas, Father's Day, Mother's Day, Spring, Memorial Day, Valentine's Day, and much more!
#1 Highlight the most "Spring-like" items in your store
Delight your subscribers on the first day of spring and invite them to shop for the most important or fashionable products for the new season. Tell them it's a great occasion for them to update their wardrobes, tool shed or other categories.
Have you seen the NordStrom newsletter? You can see how nicely the dresses are highlighted. The ladies in the newsletter seem gentle, youthful and fresh—just like spring. It is attractive, interesting and desirable.
But just make sure you've got a great Spring theme going on in your email communications.
Nedelina Payaneva from Asian Absolute says it's one of the most important things you can do:
"Get your customers in a cheerful mood by using a themed email template. Always be cautious when using an Easter theme unless you know your audience. Sending emails on an Easter template may be offensive to some readers because Easter has religious connotations. To play it safe, choose a colorful spring theme with nature elements like flowers, trees, and animals instead. You'll still lift your readers' spirits and put them in a receptive frame of mind."
#2 Send an International Women's Day email (March 8th)
Congratulate your subscribers (after you've segmented your women subscribers first) and remind them to spoil themselves.
Try to be more emotional, as this is a day to celebrate the political, economic and social achievements by women. The right image, an incentive or even a famous quote can come in handy.
These are the most popular woman-related quotes that are light and related to fashion:
- "Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world." – Marilyn Monroe
- "Elegance is the only beauty that never fades." – Audrey Hepburn
- "Beauty will save the world." – Fyodor Dostoevsky
However, you can also go for something a bit more meaningful by celebrating women, and doing so without any obvious promotional message:
- "Well-behaved women seldom make history." – Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
- "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else." – Judy Garland
This will be more related to building up your brand, rather than using the particular email to increase your sales.
In your business, you should always have a mix of long-term and short-term strategies and tactics.
But don't forget to add free shipping!
#3 Introduce top season trends and combinations
Combinations of clothing, shoes and accessories are trending at the moment.
People love it when someone offers stylish ready-made combinations. Use them! According to this season's trends, create combinations with your store products.
In this way you will create value for your customer as well as promote your products.
Since you have the combinations ready, you can use them in your emails and social media. You can also save them as a .pdf file or presentation, e.g. "Fashion guru tips", and publish them on your store.
Look, what nice products Silversands uses in their emails:
You can also look for an interesting interview with a "fashion guru" or celebrity talking about the season's trends. Embed this video on your site and write about it in your newsletter. We've written about how video effectively increases click rates earlier.
The purpose is to find more occasions to direct your subscriber to your website. A great example is the recent Asos.com newsletter.
Spring is an absolutely great time for combos, and Desiree Thomson agrees:
"Attract new customers with with special combos – Spring is an important period for gardening. There's a lot of work to be done on the yard, but people barely have time. In this case you can just do a two for one deal. Take the following line as an example: 'Book lawn mowing and weeding today and play for only one service'."
#4 Organize a winter clearance or garage sale
Do you have leftover items you could sell to make room for new arrivals? Dedicate a week for a final sale, if you still haven't done it already. Consider sending campaigns of 2-3 emails.
Highlight the sale in the subject line and preheader. If you give discounts for all your goods, you already have a clear message ("all stock on sale").
However, if the sale is going to be only for particular items, how do you know which one to highlight? Show those items that generated the most interest in your store.
They will drive direct traffic to your online store and help customers discover less popular stuff.
#5 Entertain your subscribers with a lottery
Omnisend (previously Soundest) users can send a Scratch Card to their subscribers. It is an interactive email feature that doubles or even triples the click rate.
Scratch card ideas:
- Announce a lottery with a defined number of winners and let your subscribers scratch for the prize—such as a discount, free shipping, or something from your store.
- Hide an inspiring quote that makes your subscribers smile or visit your store and buy something for themselves.
You should try our unique Scratch Card. Keep in mind that the Omnisend 14-day Pro trial includes this feature:
As an alternative to Scratch Card, try our high-converting Gift Box.
The settings of the Gift Box enables you to control the number of giveaways that you want to share. If you are familiar with the Omnisend Scratch Card, a Gift Box setup will look the same.
Besides our Scratch Card and Gift Card, you can also try to use traditional lotteries and contests.
In fact, Digital Marketer Anthony Kane thinks it's one of the best ways to kick the season off right:
"Running fun, engaging contests can be a great way to kick-off the season and Q2. Take to social media to help promote engagement and strengthen brand awareness. While contests can be scheduled during any part of the year, the Spring comes paired with a variety of holidays to tie the competition to. Connect with your customers while building relationships with new faces by running a Spring time contest or giveaway."
#6 St. Patrick's Day spring email campaign
St. Patrick's Day is getting more and more commercial every year. Along with Ireland, all English speaking countries more or less celebrate this day by wearing green and organizing parties.
This is one more occasion in which you can send an email to your subscribers. If on the St. Valentine's Day people buy red items, on St. Patrick's Day green is king.
Just look at the chart below at what people do on St. Patrick's Day.
Source: Fundivo.com – St Patrick's Day statistics and trends
For a fresh-looking email design, you can also try one of Omnisend's many email backgrounds dedicated to St. Patrick's Day as well as our beautiful email templates.
Bonus reminder
Update your signup pages and pop-ups. Change the colors and the copywriting, and this will help you boost new sign-ups for your spring email campaigns.
Don't forget that after your subscribers click on your links, they'll be going to your store.
So that means you can't have those winter clothes and snow-boots on display any more.
Give your website a spring cleaning as well. That way, you'll be able to carry your happy, springy mood all the way through from your emails, to your website, to your checkout counter.
Jim Milan thinks this is a great idea and he uses it for his website as well:
"Make sure your homepage is updated with Spring-relevant images. At Auto Accessories Garage, we don't want images of snow plows as the main slider images as we head into the Spring season. Instead, we shift the focus toward tonneau covers, deflectors, and other products that protect a vehicle from Spring rainfall and debris. We also ensure the images feature people outdoors in Spring clothing. This decreases the bounce rate and gets people to click through to more pages on the site which helps with our rankings in organic search. "
This is also a great time for you to put forward your big-ticket items.
After all, beginning in March, people will have already received their tax refund checks, at least in the US.
By mid-April, many people will be getting their checks in the mail. With the average refund check coming in at more than $3,000, it's a good time to put forward your big-ticket items.
Zety's Victoria Sawtelle thinks this is a great opportunity that's worth taking advantage of:
"One strategy that works well is sending promotions that mention tax season. A little more spending cash, a nice discount, and an engaging email is the golden formula for increased spring sales. Some bigger ticket items are much easier to promote around this time as people can usually go for something outside of their usual budgets."
For the most part, everyone loves their Momma.
This is a big holiday, where grateful children, husbands, brothers and fellow sisters show their appreciation for the mothers in their lives.
And of course, while flower shops will be dominating this holiday, you can relate your own products to Mother's Day. Mothers enjoy electronics. And clothes. And shoes. And movies and games.
Just make sure to focus on your own customer profiles, what women (probably aged 25+) enjoy. There's a chance that they're mothers, and you can use this to find what's most popular with that group.
Then promote those products to all your customers, making sure to include related themes, images, and wording to really promote this special day.
SEO Discovery's Gurbir Singh agrees 100% and says there are lots more ways to get your brand involved in this holiday.
In fact, you can even include simple campaigns to raise your brand awareness, without selling your products directly:
"Mother's Day is a huge opportunity for marketers. Don't let this spring pass by without honoring mothers everywhere. Send out flowers to mothers, release a video thanking them, run a mothers-only contest, offer mothers a special deal or recognize them at a special event for mothers. Spring Maternity did a really good job of this. They asked pregnant women to share a photo of their baby bump in order to win prizes and gift cards valid at their store."
If you're on Shopify and looking for even more great marketing tips, check out Prisync's fantastic blog post about the 10 best Shopify Marketing Tactics.


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Why would you do that?!Posted: October 3, 2011 Filed under: Video | Tags: epic, fail, fire balls, funny, joke, LOL, must watch, postaday2011, postaweek2011, stupid Leave a comment
But I'm a creep.Posted: September 30, 2011 Filed under: Music | Tags: addicted, amazing, awesome, beautiful, creep, homeless mustard, lovely, must watch, postaday2011, postaweek2011, radiohead Leave a comment
Plug in your earphones, close your eyes and listen.
Official lyrics (he improvised)
When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You're so fucking special
But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here
I don't care if it hurts
I want to have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice when I'm not around
You're so fucking special
I wish I was special
But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the hell I'm doing here?
I don't belong here
She's running out the door
She's running out
She runs runs runs
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You're so fucking special
I wish I was special
I teared when I listened to this. So I thought, he deserves more than just a post of the lyrics.
Someone like you – AdelePosted: September 23, 2011 Filed under: Music, Video | Tags: addicted, adele, awesomea, beautiful, must watch, postaday2011, postaweek2011, someone like you Leave a comment
One of the best voices I've heard in a long time man.
Such a waste that I didn't come across this video earlier.
Experience Zero GravityPosted: September 18, 2011 Filed under: Video | Tags: awesome, cool, epic, must watch, postaday2011, postaweek2011, vimeo, zero gravity Leave a comment
Done by the same group of people who did Experience Human Flight
As usual, it's spectacular and captivating. Could not take my eyes off the screen when I watch it. It's a definite must watch. Makes me feel like filming things as well. If things goes as planned, I should be getting my camera tomorrow (:
Cristiano Ronaldo – Tested To The LimitPosted: September 11, 2011 Filed under: Video | Tags: amazing, awesome, cool, cristiano ronaldo, must watch, postaday2011, science, tested to the limit Leave a comment
Man, you have to watch this.
I've never been more interested in Ronaldo then right now. I think the test where he had to hit the ball in the dark is pretty darn interesting. Makes me feel like playing soccer right now =/
(p.s. 996th post!)
Going to the storePosted: September 4, 2011 Filed under: Video | Tags: epic, funny, joke, LOL, must watch, postaday2011, postaweek2011, wtf, wts Leave a comment
100 years of style in East LonderPosted: September 1, 2011 Filed under: Video | Tags: awesome, cool, dancing, evolution, must watch, postaday2011, postaweek2011 1 Comment
Oh wow, this is really really good. (I'm sure as hell it's a pain in the ass to edit that video)
Well, I think I'll be really free this holidays. And really broke. In such a headache as to how I'm supposed to spend my days when I can't even study if I wanted to. (I don't have the schedule or materials)


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Christian Schulz
Christian Schulz | oeii Artistic Director
Christian Schulz is a conductor, composer and cellist hailing from a famous Viennese family of classical musicians.
Schulz serves as the Managing Director of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. As a cellist he is a resident member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra since many, many years.
Christian Schulz has conducted orchestras in venues all over the world – In US, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. He has conducted concerts of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Tonkuenstler Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, Vancouver Opera Orchestra, Austrian Hungarian Haydn Philharmony, Vienna Sinfonietta, Mozart Collegium Vienna and many more.
Since 2002 Schulz was conducting the Wiener Concert Verein every year at the prestigious Bregenz Opera Festival. With colleagues from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra he founded the Ambassade Orchestra of Vienna. They toured the US, South America, Japan and Europe and produced several very successful music albums. Their last album received a Gold Record in Austria.
Schulz works also a composer of contemporary music – His oeuvre BARCODE GRANDE had its world premiere in Kobe, Japan with great success.


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Wednesday, November 24, 2010
New Office
My old desk, which I bought second-hand and has followed me through four homes and at which I've written every book published by Macmillan, was getting rather wobbly and tired. With its metal back I also needed to extend a few of the USB cables to reach the computer underneath. It's also the case that it was good when I worked a lot with that archaic paper stuff and when I needed the room for a bloody great screen, but is not necessary now. I thought I'd be sad to see it go, but I'm not.
The loft next. All those handy plastic containers, all that computer hardware no one will ever want, the boxes for things purchased years ago, a big container of rusty nails retained from when I used to do fencing and a load of door handles whose history I'm a little confused about. All down the dump.
12 comments:
- alibaba said...
Aah, the spinning ashtray - that takes me back! Can you still buy them or is that a refugee from the '70s as well?
- 8:45 am
- Neal Asher said...
You can still buy them, though they tend to fall to bits rather quickly.
- 9:21 am
- Larry said...
Nails eh, I thought fencers used those long sword things! ;)
- 10:05 am
- Fader209 said...
2 laptops?!
Is that so you can write 2 books at once? ;)
- 1:18 pm
- Graeme said...
Those computer bits will be tomorrows techno antiques. Did you see what they got for the first Apple that went under the hammer yesterday?
- 4:29 pm
- Neal Asher said...
I'm a lot smaller than I look, Larry.
One laptop is Caroline's, Fader209.
But do you keep them all, just in case? You'd need a bloody warehouse. Though admittedly, I wish I'd kept my first LED digital watch, since they're selling well too.
- 5:17 pm
- Andrew said...
2 laptops and a tower!
What do you use them all for?
- 5:20 pm
- Neal Asher said...
Two houses, Andrew. I was going to leave my laptop in Crete, but then changed my mind (mainly because I didn't want to pay over 100 Euros for a lockable box to put it in).
- 7:10 pm
- Andrew said...
Fair enough.
Don't blame you for not shelling out the cash either.
Your readers must seem like right nosy people . . .
- 9:05 pm
- Neal Asher said...
Well I would be too, Andy.
- 1:49 pm
- Bob Lock said...
You should have Ebayed your desk, Neal, who knows what it would have raised!
Remember, William Shatner had £14k just for a kidney stone...
- 12:42 pm
- Neal Asher said...
Bob, it's bad enough hanging onto the books and typescripts. The loft is in danger of collapsing into the house as it is.
- 9:00 am


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Breast Versus Bottle
The Feeding of Babies in English and Swedish Picturebooks
Abstract: Breastfeeding is a natural act, and humans have evolved to feed their babies in this way. However, it is generally not depicted in English-language picturebooks. In this article, I analyse how babies and toddlers are fed in picturebooks and explore why bottle-feeding is the prevalent method, and then I compare this to a selection of Swedish-language picturebooks. This analysis suggests a number of salient points and areas for further exploration. First of all, breastfeeding of babies and toddlers is mainly only depicted in books that are either about new babies or that are about breastfeeding, and even when breastfeeding is seen in these works, the mother's breasts are often scarcely visible. The reason that breastfeeding is not often depicted in children's books seems to be because society is uncomfortable with seeing breasts except as sexual objects, and also because formula-feeding is more prevalent in Western society today. Breasts appear to be too sensual to be seen carrying out their primary evolutionary function.
Keywords: breastfeeding, picturebooks, artificial feeding methods, breasts
Published: 11 July 2017
©2017 B.J. Epstein. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation: Barnboken tidskrift för barnlitteraturforskning/Journal of Children's Literature Research, Vol. 40, 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.14811/clr.v40i0.269
Breasts: among other things, they can feed a baby and they can titillate an adult, but it seems that in some societies, they can only do one or the other. As Nodelman discusses, in reference to picturebooks, "[b]oys can be naked without their clothes on, whereas traditionally, naked girls are nude" ("Nakedness" 28). In other words, an image of a woman breastfeeding her child in a picture book may not be acceptable, because women (and girls) without clothes are always nude and sexualised, even if they are carrying out non-sexual tasks. In this article, I compare English-language picturebooks to a selection of Swedish picturebooks to explore how babies are fed and how this reflects or comments on the society in which the books are produced. I take a feminist approach, arguing that breastfeeding is a feminist activity, and that women's breasts can be bare and naked in public – including in literature – without being nude. My findings suggest a number of interesting points. First of all, in English-language texts, the breastfeeding of babies and toddlers is mainly depicted in books that are either about new babies or that are about breastfeeding in particular, and even when breastfeeding is seen in these works, the mother's breasts are often scarcely visible. The reason that breastfeeding is not often depicted in children's books seems to be because society is uncomfortable with seeing breasts except as sexual objects, and also because formula-feeding is more prevalent in many Western countries today. The Swedish case, however, is different, in that breastfeeding appears to be the norm in the books I have analysed, although there is still some discomfort with female nudity.
Breastfeeding has, until recently, been the biological and societal norm; there is no room here to discuss wet-nursing and artificial milk, but it is worth pointing out that throughout history most babies have been breastfed or else they have simply not survived. But today, as Blakemore notes, "It's one of the most culturally powerful symbols out there: the image of a mother nursing her baby."1 Breastfeeding is much in the news these days, with researchers and reporters contradicting and talking past one another. The BBC recently reported that not even 35% of babies in the UK are breastfed at six months old, and only 0.5% are given their mother's milk at 12 months (Gallagher). Meanwhile, Time magazine referred to the "breastfeeding wars" and argued that maternity leave was the problem (Luscombe), since women are not given enough time to be with their babies, including time to breastfeed. Others suggest that since infant mortality has decreased in Western society, we need not worry about breastfeeding versus formula-feeding, and we should instead focus on what makes mothers happy, rather than what makes babies healthy and the mother-baby relationship strong (e.g. Lee, 2–3 or Burt, Rasminsky, and Berman). A piece from breastfeeding organisation La Leche League discusses how many women perceive breastfeeding as a duty they are pressured to undertake, rather than as something they are encouraged and supported to do (Burbidge), and yet there are significant health benefits for breastfeeding mothers, although they are often unaware of them (Zimmerman).
At the same time, however, our society seems to view women's bodies as being primarily sexual; breasts are revealed in advertising, films, or TV shows, while women who breastfeed in public are asked to cover up (for just one of many examples, see Tran 2014). Women are told it is more freeing for them if they do not breastfeed. Paradoxically, it is viewed as both feminist to breastfeed and feminist to not breastfeed. In short, breastfeeding, as an activity, a norm, and a barometer of social beliefs, is much in flux.
Below, then, I explore the depiction of breastfeeding and nudity in English and Swedish picturebooks, and suggest reasons why artificial milk and covered breasts are more acceptable than breastfeeding.
Feminism Through Feeding
The way a woman's breasts are viewed and used is a feminist issue. There are multiple reasons why breastfeeding is now less common than formula-feeding in the UK, the US, and many other countries. While space constraints prevent me from analysing this topic in great depth, I want to briefly mention a couple of points that are relevant to the Western context and thus to the publication of the books discussed below (for further detailed information on the topic, see Jennifer Grayson's book Unlatched). The increases in industrialisation and the pressure to earn money, where more women were required to work for longer hours, away from their babies (Grayson 73), and also the medicalisation of pregnancy, birth, and childrearing could perhaps be said to have started this decline (Hausman 10; also see Van Esterik 111 and Palmer 28). The development of artificial milk was viewed as something scientific and correct, and women were encouraged to rely on a product developed by these men of science instead of the supposed unknown of their breast milk, in part so they could get back to work quickly; for some people, artificial milk is "considered to be an improvement on nature" (Maher 31).
Women in the West began to see breastfeeding as something that kept them tied to the home. Liberation discourse and the rise in feminism gave women the idea that feeding children artificial milk was freeing, because it was then a task that could be shared among a variety of people; in other words, feeding a baby was no longer solely women's work (Hausman 3). As Van Esterik discusses, however, in actual fact formula-feeding creates more work for women (183–90). Palmer writes that "[i]n the 20th century, women were presented with an illusion of liberation through the artificial feeding of babies, only to find their breasts appropriated by men and popular culture." (3; also see 33 for more on how breasts are used to sell items to us). That is to say that once breasts were "freed" from their role as nurturers of children, they were then given a new role, which was to tantalise and serve men.
Formula milk is, of course, an important alternative for those women who cannot breastfeed or for those babies who are unable to latch onto the breast or who have sick, dead, or absent mothers. However, it is well known that artificial milk does not have the same ingredients as breastmilk, does not offer the same nutrition or comfort, and is not individualised for each child the way breastmilk is (see e.g. Baumslag and Michels, Renfrew, Fisher, and Arms, or Wiessinger, West, and Pitman). In addition, as Hausman notes, "Breastfeeding as an act is no panacea for the subordination of women, but an examination of breastfeeding uncovers central feminist tensions around the meaning of women's bodies, the authority of science, and the social value of maternity in contemporary culture" (ix). Van Esterik expands on this idea: "Women's control over their own lives and bodies has much to do with the choices available to them for infant feeding. Their access to food, flexibility in scheduling and work load, and social support system influence their management of lactation or their decision to bottle feed. Ultimately, infant feeding choices relate to the position and condition of women, ideologically and economically, in different societies" (18).
The feeding of children is an issue for medical, cultural, and political reasons. And yet, breastfeeding is currently subordinate to formula-feeding in many societies. This is, I believe, reflected in how children's literature depicts the feeding of infants and toddlers, and in turn this tells us something about society's view of women's bodies.
One would imagine that books for children generally feature any topic or issue that occurs in children's lives. But I would like to briefly refer to my methodology here because I believe it relates to the taboo regarding breasts and breastfeeding in children's literature.
To find books that include breastfeeding, I initially studied book-shelves and catalogues in libraries. For English-language books, I used the Norfolk library system, where the main Norwich library is considered the busiest public library in the UK (see Bury), since the collection is extensive, and for Swedish-language books, I visited Svenska barnboksinstitutet (The Swedish Institute for Children's Books) in Stockholm, which is a public research library dedicated to children's literature. I did not focus specifically on literary or high-quality texts or texts from a particular year, but rather I read any book I could find that was about babies, especially new babies. My assumption was that such books would be more likely to show a baby being fed. I also looked for books that were about families, especially diverse families. I used a variety of search terms such as breastfeeding, attachment parenting, baby-carrying, and so on, as well as the equivalent Swedish terms, to try to find additional books. In the UK, I was generally not able to find books on the shelves that featured breastfeeding simply as a matter of course; instead, I had to get suggestions from mother groups and breastfeeding groups, such as the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, on Facebook, via email, and in person, for books they knew depicted breastfeeding, and I had to look for books produced by publishers that are pro-breastfeeding, such as Pinter and Martin in the UK. Often, the books that did feature breastfeeding were not in the Norfolk library and had to be requested from other libraries or purchased. The few books that the library already had that included breastfeeding were in a separate "New Experiences" collection, as they tended to have storylines about a new baby joining a family. In other words, such books are thought to be only for young children who are getting a sibling and need to be prepared, rather than for children generally (see Epstein 2013 for an exploration of the issues surrounding the "New Experiences" section of the library).
In short, my method was to be open to any books that might show feeding, no matter the publisher, style, or quality, but the fact that breastfeeding was so difficult to find in English-language books is evidence of society's discomfort with it. Further evidence was found in the depiction of feeding in these works.
The Prevalence of the Bottle: English-Language Books
I have not, as is already clear, systematically looked at every picturebook in English or every book from a particular year but rather analysed whatever I could find. Only 11 out of 28 books depicted exclusive breastfeeding (with around 1/3 of those books being translations), 6 showed exclusive bottle-feeding, and 5 had combination-feeding. An analysis of the words and images (following Moebius and Nodelman) suggests that not all is positive here. In my analysis, I pay special attention to the words used to describe breastfeeding, the position of the baby at the breast and the position of the mother-and-baby dyad on the page, how much of the breast was visible, the presumed age of the nursling, and so forth.
In English-language books, it is often difficult to tell if a baby is being breastfed or is simply being cuddled close. Of course, as people are often at pains to point out, breastfeeding can be done discreetly (although as Wiessinger, West, and Pitman note, using a cover or blanket over a baby while nursing often just attracts more attention (145), and babies often kick them off), and the picturebooks that do feature breastfeeding bear – rather than bare – this out. For example, Dogs Don't Eat Jam (2011) by Sarah Tsiang is about an older sister who tells her newborn little brother what he needs to know for life. Her advice includes, "You're learning to drink milk. You'll learn to hold your head up and how to look around." The picture shows a baby nestled into his mother's chest, with her jumper artfully draped around his head; no skin is visible. The mother's lap is also fully covered up by a blanket; mother and baby are so wrapped up that only their faces can be seen. Similarly, My New Baby (2009), which has an unnamed author, shows a baby breastfeeding in two pictures, and although there is a small line of skin visible between the baby's head and the mother's shirt, there is no areola, which one would expect to see if a baby is breastfeeding, and the skin could be taken to be part of the shirt or even part of the baby's head. In both of the breastfeeding pictures, there is someone sitting next to the mother, so she and her nursling are not even necessarily the focus of the images (see Moebius 316–8 on the size and focus of images). Discretion is often key, at least when it comes to books that feature breastfeeding but do not have it as their main topic.
Intriguingly, one of the books that shows the most in terms of the breast being visible is also the book that is the most multicultural. Emery Bernhard and Durga Bernhard's A Ride on Mother's Back (1996) shows babies being carried around the world. In Guatemala, "Newborn Rosha snuggles in the folds of the shawl tied around her mother. She rides safe and warm, close to her mother's body. Rosha nurses and sleeps, nurses and sleeps." Rosha's mother makes food, cooking a sort of flat bread, while Rosha breastfeeds in the shawl. And in Papua New Guinea, Gogomo is carried in a net dangling from his mother's head; she only wears a small piece of cloth around her waist, so her two breasts hang clearly behind her son's body. While there is no areola visible, due to the positioning of the babies in their slings, it is nonetheless clear from both the words ("nurses") and the images (which show babies close to bare breasts) that these images are of breastfeeding, and the mothers and their babies are at the centre of each image.
The four most explicit breastfeeding books are published by Pinter and Martin, a publishing company that regularly produces pro-breastfeeding texts. Interestingly, three are translations. Mònica Calaf and Mikel Fuentes' You, Me and the Breast (2011) is a translation from Spanish (though no translator is named), which perhaps suggests that some non-English-speaking cultures are more positive about breastfeeding. However, a study of Catalan-language children's books by Trias, Serrano, and Masvidal found that breastfeeding was not often featured. As the English summary of their research notes, "Forty-two percent of the 169 books selected showed images of breastfeeding; 12% of those referred to human breastfeeding, and the remaining referred to animal breastfeeding. Images showing formula feeding were present in 77.5% of the books." That is to say, few of the books showed breastfeeding at all and out of those that did, 88% depicted animals breastfeeding, not humans.
Each page in Calaf and Fuentes' book is about breastfeeding. For example, the text "When you came out of my tummy… the first thing you looked for was my breast" is accompanied by an illustration of the umbilical cord being cut and the baby feeding. Other images show breastfeeding in a variety of situations, such as in the swimming pool, or while exercising, or in the garden. The texts are calm and affirmative, such as "When you were breastfeeding, you were relaxed, happy and contented. We both love these intimate and special moments." The images show the areola quite clearly, which is indeed what one would see if the baby's latch were correct, and they often show the nipple itself, in scenes where the baby has his mouth open and is about to latch on. The areola and nipple are brown and prominent, while the rest of the mother's chest is white; there is no discretion here. The same can be said of Victoria de Aboitiz's and Afra's The Mystery of the Breast (2011) where breastfeeding is the focus of the words and images, and breasts, nipples, and areolae are all shown in the illustrations. In fact, there is one picture that shows clouds shaped like breasts, complete with areolae and nipples, and another where the breast is foregrounded, with a contented baby smiling behind it.
One of the publishers' few English-language originals is Milky Moments by Ellie Stoneley and Jessica D'Alton Goode (Ill. 1). Their work shows a mother-and-baby dyad breastfeeding in many locations: at the beach, on the sofa, on the bus, at play group, in a café, at the dinner table, and so on. The scenes are usually one of two types: either the mother-and-baby dyad are alone, breastfeeding and bonding, or else there is a larger group of people, usually women and children, socialising together, with breastfeeding happening at the same time. In either case, breastfeeding is depicted as an activity that brings mums and babies together and that can take place anytime, anywhere. Breastfeeding is normalised in these images. Stoneley's and D'Alton Goode's work shows children of different ages breastfeeding, not just babies. There is no space here to explore the lack of diversity in regard to sexuality and age in books that feature breastfeeding, but it is interesting to consider how normative these works tend to be in general.
I would argue that it is important to show breastfeeding in picturebooks and for children and adults to see breastfeeding taking place throughout society, and likewise it could be beneficial to read a book where there is a plot and breastfeeding just happens to be one part of what the nurser and nursling do together. D'Alton Goode's images approach this, but the words do not. Indeed, an issue with books such as Calaf's and Fuentes' and Stoneley's and D'Alton Goode's is that they have no plot per se. They appear to exist solely to depict and promote breastfeeding. One of the very few books that does have a plot is Katie Morag and the Dancing Class (2007). In it, Katie Morag's mother is sitting nursing Katie's little sister in one image, with other adults standing near her, involved in tasks such as stirring food on the stove (Hedderwick). The text on this particular page is about Katie Morag not wanting to take ballet classes, and no reference is made to breastfeeding. Indeed, many of Hedderwick's Katie Morag books show breastfeeding in the background while other activities are foregrounded in both words and pictures. What could be problematic is that the colours of the mother and baby are quite pale – yellow, white, grey, with a hint of orange – so the two blend together and are muted (Nodelman Words 60), which makes it potentially difficult to distinguish the two bodies and the activity of breastfeeding.
In many books, sometimes it is not even clear that the baby is or has been breastfeeding. For instance, in Hello, Baby! by Jorge Uzon (2010), there is the line "You just ate for the very first time." The picture shows a baby being held close to a chest, but it could be a breastfed or bottle-fed baby. There is a hand holding the baby next to or under a sweater, but there is no sign of a breast and the baby's mouth is relaxed rather than in a breastfeeding position. Likewise, in Cinnamon Baby (2011), the text reads, "Miriam held the baby against her breast, but the crying continued. She jiggled it, sang to it, rocked it, walked it up and down and up and down the hallway. But still the baby cried." In the image, Miriam is seen holding the baby against her chest, but no actual breast is visible, and neither the text nor the picture are explicit about whether this is breastfeeding or only cuddling, though breastfeeding would be an obvious way of soothing an upset baby.
There are a number of books that show both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding, often on the same page. One example is Love That Baby (2004) by Kathryn Lasky, which has pictures of babies being fed by breast and bottle on the same page. The main text says, "Yum. Eating is what babies do best. Newborn babies feed all the time, but they only have one kind of food – MILK! They either breastfeed or take a bottle or do both", while around the pictures it has text that says "Newborn babies have to breastfeed – or drink from a bottle." Everywhere Babies (2001) by Susan Meyers and Marla Frazee likewise says, "Every day, everywhere, babies are fed.–/by bottle, by breast, with cups, and with spoons,/with milk, and then cereal, carrots, and prunes." A book featured in the library's "special needs" collection, The New Baby (1992/2005), shows the mother, Mrs. Bunn, breastfeeding the new baby (presumably what was a "bunn in the oven") while on the same page the baby's older brother plays and the older sister is feeding a doll from a bottle. This play bottle-feeding undermines breastfeeding positivity; surely the little girl could have pretended to breastfeed as well, as breastfed children are wont to do. And, of course, if bottle-feeding was going to be depicted, the boy could have just as well been doing it, since one of the arguments made for bottle-feeding is that both men and women can participate in it.
One could argue that it is realistic to show combination-feeding or only bottles, given the high percentage of artificial feeding in the UK and the US. But one oddity about bottles is that in some books, such as Mr Super Poopy Pants by Rebecca Elliot (2014) and I'm Still Important! by Jen Green (2000), the infants are depicted holding the bottles by themselves or the bottles are nearly as big or even bigger than the babies, which really emphasises the bottles. Maybe these bottles contain expressed milk, but that is never stated, and a reader – especially a child – is not likely to imagine that.
To summarise, then, most of the picturebooks that feature the feeding of infants are either books about families about to have new babies (which appear to be meant to teach and comfort older children who are soon to become big sisters or brothers) or they are books that are very explicitly pro-breastfeeding. The former books have a tendency to show breastfeeding and bottle-feeding in equal measure and/or they do not make it clear in the pictures that breastfeeding is taking place. The latter books tend to be plotless, focusing instead on normalising and celebrating breastfeeding in a positive manner. In all but the most breastfeeding-centric texts, breastfeeding is depicted discreetly, so much so that in many cases, it would be easy to miss or ignore the act. Possible reasons for this will be discussed below.
Here a Breast, There a Breast, Everywhere a Breast: A Comparison with Sweden
As I had a shorter period of time in Sweden to analyse books there, I could not find or read as large a number in Swedish as I did in English. Still, the results are intriguing.
10 out of the 14 Swedish-language books I analysed show exclusive breastfeeding. I found one book that seemed to show containers of artificial milk, but because I was not absolutely sure, I have not included it. While my Swedish sample is smaller than my English one, it nonetheless suggests that more babies are breastfed in Swedish books. In Sweden, breastfeeding rates at 6 months are around 62% (either exclusively breastfeeding or in combination with other food), according to the National Board of Health and Welfare, which is clearly much higher than the figure of 35% in the UK mentioned previously ("Statistik om amning 2014").
In many cases, the child being breastfed is a baby, and the story is about the older sibling's feelings about having a new baby in the house. Breastfeeding causes confusion or jealousy in the older child. A typical example is Emma och lillebror (Emma and Little Brother) by Gunilla Wolde (1975/1998). Wolde writes that Little Brother "likes to get food from Mum's breasts. But Emma doesn't like it when Mum feeds Little Brother. Then she wants to give him to some other lady. Then Emma wants to be a baby again so she can have Mum to herself."2 When Little Brother is done eating, Emma decides she wants to be a big girl again, and she helps Mum change the baby's nappy. This acknowledges an older child's worries about being replaced and perhaps not as loved as the new baby. Similarly, Nejlika och lilla lillasyster (Nejlika and little, little sister) by Hanna Zetterberg Struwe and Anna-Karin Garhamn (2008) shows Nejlika wanting to participate in childcare, and perhaps to thereby be appreciated and needed by her parents, and getting upset when she cannot do the things she wants (Ill. 2). When she wants to feed her new sister ice cream, she is told that the baby does not eat ice cream. Instead, she is shown how she can sit with the baby while the baby breastfeeds, and she finds this to be "mysigt" ("cosy") and learns different ways of interacting with her sibling and her newly busy mother.
A few books show breastfeeding but do not remark upon it, such as Ninna och syskongrodden (Ninna and the sibling sprout) by Matilda Ruta (2016) or Rida ryggen (Ride on back) by Ida Therén and Z. Keller (2014), both of which depict a child breastfeeding in a sling (Ill. 3). Breastfeeding and baby-wearing are normalised through the images. Incidentally, Therén's books are published by Nära Förlag, a Swedish-language publishing company dedicated to attachment parenting.
Therén also produced a book solely about breastfeeding, similar to the Spanish books that have been translated to English, as discussed above. Alltid tillsammans (Always together) (2016) depicts a breastfeeding dyad, and they breastfeed in a number of different situations. For example, the child likes breastfeeding "mitt i naturen" ("out in nature"), when "ledsen" ("sad"), or in the bathtub. There are several especially interesting points about this book. First of all, the child, whose gender is not clear, and the breastfeeding parent look nothing like one another, in that the mother has red hair and is pale, whereas the child is dark-skinned and dark-haired; they do not look to be even related. No other parent is seen in the work, which might make a knowing reader wonder if, for example, the child was adopted and if lactation was induced; on the other hand, of course, not all parents and children look similar, and perhaps it sends a positive message about the closeness that breastfeeding can bring no matter what the biological connection. Also, the book contains the only depiction of tandem-breastfeeding I have found in children's literature thus far. It says that breastfeeding is "Kul att dela med syster och bror" ("Fun to share with sister and brother"), and the image shows three children who look very different and have no obvious gender markers sitting on their breastfeeding parent's lap, having milk. Finally, Alltid tillsammans has a central pair of pages without words; the image is spread across the two pages and shows the dyad breastfeeding, only engaged with one another and not looking at the reader at all. This is a centrefold that works against usual ideas of a centrefold, in that it is a child and a parent breastfeeding, having an intimate moment that does not include or invite the reader in. It is a potent and poignant example of the power of breastfeeding.
A couple of books show both breastfeeding and what follows it, namely spitting up and excrement. It is interesting how detailed some of the descriptions are. For instance, in Hej lillebror (Hi little brother) by Elisabet Broomé and Cecilia Nordstrand Alin (2005), first baby Arne spits up his milk and has to have new clothes, and then he excretes. The story notes: "Baby poo is yellow and doesn't smell like poo. Do you know why? It's because babies only have milk from their mothers' breasts. But when Arne begins to eat real food, his poo will turn pooey brown and start smelling like stinky poo."3 Despite the strange description of non-breast milk items being "real food", as though breast milk is not "real" or "food", this passage is informative and realistic. One could say that those adjectives generally describe Swedish picturebooks when it comes to breastfeeding and related matters.
As in English, there were a couple of examples of "new baby" books that do not show any feeding at all, such as Lillasyster är ett monster (Little sister is a monster) by Linda Pelenius (2012) or Du ska få gröt och en lillasyster (You're going to get porridge and a little sister) by Solja Krapu-Kallio and Anna Bengtsson (2016). As Maria Andersson discusses, Frances Vestin's book Mummel. En ny människa (Mummel. A New Person) (1970) includes the lines "[w]hen a baby has come out of the woman's stomach, the woman isn't needed anymore. Anyone can take care of the baby and like it"4 (cited in Andersson, 13). This is perhaps meant to encourage gender equality in regard to childcare, but it also has the effect of suggesting that breastfeeding does not matter, and that the unique biological functions of a woman's body are unimportant. This book was published in 1970 and may reflect feminist ideas from the time. At any rate, the lack of breastfeeding in these works is sometimes strange, in that often the works show other things that the new baby does, but on the other hand, they do not show artificial-feeding either.
As a final note of comparison, most of the pictures of breastfeeding in the Swedish-language books discussed in this article are both more accurate in terms of how they depict the way a baby is latched on, and they are also more explicit, showing more of the breast and areola (for example Broomé and Alin's book). Additionally sometimes they refer to the emotional effects of breastfeeding, such as mentioning the bonding between the breastfeeding mother and the baby (also in Broomé and Alin, where baby Arne gazes at his mother, or in Therén, where breastfeeding is said to feel so "skönt", or "pleasant/lovely").
In sum, based on my case study, I would suggest that Swedish books discuss and portray breastfeeding more often than English-language texts, which implies that Swedes, including Swedish authors and publishers, are more comfortable with breastfeeding as a concept and with the illustration of breasts in books for children. It is not surprising that a country with a longer, more generous maternity leave, and a more breastfeeding-normative culture, would be more likely to feature breastfeeding in picturebooks.
Naked Versus Nude: Breastfeeding as Taboo
Although breasts and breastfeeding are not listed as societal taboos in Holden's Encyclopedia of Taboos, I would argue that in Western society today, breastfeeding is indeed a taboo, especially when in public. Palmer writes that "[t]hough any part of a woman's body can be a focus of eroticism, our era is the first in recorded history where the breast has become a public fetish for male sexual stimulating, while its primary function has diminished on a vast scale" (2–3). And yet the West is apparently fairly alone in this view. As Grayson discusses, only thirteen cultures out of 190 analysed "commonly employ[ed] breast touching either before or during intercourse. And of the same 190, only thirteen indicated the size and shape of a woman's breasts as important to her sexual attractiveness. (Only three societies considered breasts erotic and integrated them into foreplay.)" (188–9, emphasis original). Palmer notes that in our society, since the breast is thought to be stimulating and useful as a marketing tool, we may have begun equating it to the genitals as a site of sexuality (146–8). That may help explain the missing breasts in the English books; neither do we see bare genitals in most children's books, and especially not adult ones.
As noted above, when breastfeeding is depicted in the English books, if any of the breast is visible, it is simply a thin line of skin. In general, one does not see much of the breast, and certainly not the areola or nipple. The babies' heads tend to hide the nipple. Nipples may be seen as too sexual for children's books. For example, Palmer describes how children's author and illustrator Jan Pienkowski's picture of Sleeping Beauty was edited so the nipples were removed in the US version "even though in the illustration she had just given birth to her baby" (3). But even if publishers wanted to avoid the nipple, they could show more of the breast, or attempt to make it more obvious that babies are being breastfed in either the words or the pictures or both. The fact that they do not suggests they see the breasts as sexual rather than as the source of nourishment. In the Swedish books analysed here, the nipple and areola do not seem to be such challenging sites.
Perry Nodelman's article about nakedness in children's books focuses on the depiction of naked children. However, it seems from my research that many of his points hold true for the depiction of naked adults, particularly women's breasts, as well. Nodelman describes illustrations of naked children in literature as "androgynous naked torsos" with a "curiously sexless sensuality" ("Nakedness" 27). In his research, he finds that most naked babies in children's literature are male. His "theory is that we are so used to thinking of naked females as nudes that the only way we can look at a naked body innocently, without overtones of sexual titillation, even a baby's body, is to make the body a male body" ("Nakedness" 28). Nodelman continues, "That the naked young bodies in picturebooks are not without sexual significance is made clear by the almost total absence of female frontal nudity in the entire history of the genre" (ibid.). He calls our category for naked females the "pinup" and reminds us, as stated above, that girls are nude where boys are naked (ibid.).
I would like to suggest, then, that we see few bare breasts in children's literature for the same reason. In English-language cultures, we sexualise women's bodies to the extent that the historically normal act of breastfeeding – an act that female mammals have evolved to do – is not accepted as a subject for discussion or illustration in books for children. Even the books that have breastfeeding as their main topic often show breastfeeding taking place discreetly, with little of the breast, and none of the areola, visible (with Swedish books and books translated to English as exceptions). We know that the literature made available for children was and is "fastidiously controlled by institutions such as the school, the increasingly privatized family, and the church in order to ensure that the literary experience taught the child the value systems of the society into which it was to be integrated" (Miller 128). It is not a surprise, then, that in a society where women's breasts are considered to be sexual and for men's pleasure, those breasts would not often be depicted in the non-sexual act of breastfeeding in illustrations.
Interestingly, in my analysis of these and other recent Swedish picturebooks, I found quite a few naked baby boys, with their penises depicted clearly (such as Stark and Wirsén, and Broomé and Nordstrand Alin), but no naked girls. So even though the Swedish books showed more acceptance of the naked breast, to the point that a breastfeeding mother is a centrefold in one of the works (Therén), female genitals seem one step too far, at least in contemporary literature.
An alternative reading of this absence is possible, though. Nodelman argues that males are active in the illustrations of children's books, while females are passive and apparently exist to be gazed at ("Nakedness" 29; and cf. Mulvey on the male gaze). I wondered, therefore, whether not showing breastfeeding would be a way of fighting back against the idea of women as being subservient and inactive. If the illustrators mostly show females, and especially the mother characters, as busy, energetic, and full of motion, then perhaps they are deliberately attempting to depict women in multiple roles. In other words, since breastfeeding requires that a woman slow her movements, sit or lie down, and focus mainly on her infant or toddler, images reflecting this may suggest that women serve their children and are "creatures who must smile at those who have the right to look at them" (Nodelman, "Nakedness" 29). Unfortunately, this rather complex, challenging perspective does not seem borne out by the literature. Women in these books serve their children in other ways, including by giving them bottles of what is presumably artificial milk or spoon-feeding them other food, which men do not do in the illustrations, and women also frequently are shown to be sitting down. They hold their babies, rock them, clothe them, and otherwise put their children's needs first. The women seldom seem to be active in other ways. All this suggests that we are comfortable with women fulfilling the traditional roles required by mothering, but that we are not comfortable with seeing the women's breasts in the process of a breastfeed. Breastfeeding, then, is a taboo in English-language children's literature. Breasts are too sensual to be seen carrying out their primary evolutionary function.
Palmer comments that "[i]t is now known that even in a rich country, a millionaire's baby who is artificially fed is less healthy than the exclusively breastfed baby of the most disadvantaged mother" (xv). Clearly, then, the topic of how to feed babies is an important one. And yet, as mentioned above, the percentage of women in the UK who breastfeed is quite low; Gallagher calls the UK's rate "the world's worst". So from the perspective of bottle-feeding being a societal norm today, it is not strange that bottles are seen more often than breasts in picturebooks, on television, on cards congratulating new parents and signs for baby-changing and baby-feeding areas, and as accessories for dolls, among other places (see, e.g., Burbidge, and Baumslag and Michels xxvi). There are obvious economic and cultural reasons why bottle-feeding has become more prevalent, and there are strong feminist – and other – arguments for fighting against this.
While terms such as "norm" and "normal" are complex and problematic, in this case, I would state that they are accurate. Breast milk is the biological norm for feeding babies and it is the cultural norm in the majority of the world's countries. And yet, authors, illustrators, and publishers do not seem to want to depict it in English-language books for children. The few children's books I have found that feature breastfeeding tend to be ones that are specifically about breastfeeding, or about baby-wearing or attachment parenting more generally. In other words, someone would have to already be passionate about breastfeeding to seek out these texts. A parent is arguably not likely to pick up a work such as You, Me and the Breast or Milky Moments if their child was not breastfed. In the Swedish books analysed in this article, however, the common method of feeding babies is by breast, and the plots of those books tends to focus on issues other than the breastfeeding itself.
A large part of the reason that breastfeeding is less common in English may be due to discomfort with breasts; as Nodelman writes, "I suspect that picture book artists avoid depictions of female nakedness simply because it is so hard not to turn female nakedness into traditional "nudity" ("Nakedness" 28). But another explanation is that as bottle-feeding has become more common and more accepted, it seems old-fashioned, and perhaps even anti-feminist, to feature breastfeeding. I would argue that not only is it healthier to promote breastfeeding, but it is also a feminist issue. Van Esterik writes that "feminist goals, however envisioned, require a variety of core activities: political mobilization, legal changes, consciousness raising, and popular education to deal with women's issues as they emerge" (69–79). Increased education leads to more breastfeeding (e.g. Van Esterik 90), and "[t]he only foolproof means of protecting breastfeeding is to ensure that every family, community, health worker, and policymaker has full access to factual, scientific, and unabridged information—both about the benefits of breastfeeding and also about the risks involved in foregoing the practice" (Jolly xv). Children's literature can be seen as a form of education, and a way of normalising a topic, for both adults and children.
In my case study here, the statistics for breastfeeding in children's books in English and Swedish match quite closely the statistics for breastfeeding in the respective cultures; these numbers can be increased, but it seems that the way to do so is through minimising the sexualisation of women's bodies. Breastfeeding bodies need not be seen as nude, and the depiction of breastfeeding in children's books is a feminist issue.
Biographical information: B.J. Epstein is a senior lecturer in literature at the University of East Anglia in the UK. Her latest monograph is Are the Kids All Right? The Representation of LGBTQ Characters in Children's and YA Literature, and she also recently co-edited Queer in Translation. B.J. is a translator from Swedish to English as well.
Ahlberg, Janet and Allan Ahlberg. The Baby's Catalogue. Penguin, 1982/2012.
Baumslag, Naomi and Dia L. Michels. Milk, Money, and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding. Other India Press, 1995.
Bernhard, Emery and Durga Bernhard. A Ride on Mother's Back. Harcourt, 1996.
Blakemore, Erin. "The Cultural Expectations of Breastfeeding", 2 February 2016, http://daily.jstor.org/its-time-academics-pay-attention-to-breastfeeding/?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=twittermorning.
Broomé, Elisabet and Cecilia Nordstrand Alin. Hej lillebror [Hi little brother]. Opal, 2005.
Brown, Amy. Breastfeeding Uncovered: Who Really Decides How We Feed Our Babies? Pinter & Martin, 2016.
Burbidge, Anna. "Breastfeeding: How the Biological Norm became perceived as a Modern Day Pressure", 1 July 2015, https://www.laleche.org.uk/news/breastfeeding-how-biological-norm-became-perceived-modern-day-pressure.
Burt, Vivien K., Sonya Rasminsky and Robin Berman. "Doctor says: When it comes to breastfeeding, your health and happiness matter as much as your baby's", 3 March 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2016/03/03/doctor-says-when-it-comes-to-breastfeeding-your-health-and-happiness-matter-as-much-as-your-babys/.
Bury, Liz. "Norfolk & Norwich Millennium tops list of most popular UK libraries", 11 December 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/11/norfolk-norwich-library-most-popular-top-20.
Calaf, Mònica. You, me and the Breast. ill. Mikel Fuentes. transl. not named. Pinter & Martin, 2011.
de Aboitiz, Victoria. The Mystery of the Breast. ill. Afra. transl. not named. Pinter and Martin, 2011.
Elliott, Rebecca, Mr Super Poopy Pants. Lion Hudson, 2014.
Epstein, B.J. Are the Kids All Right? Representations of LGBTQ Characters in Children's and Young Adult Literature. Hammer On Press, 2013.
Gallagher, James. "UK 'world's worst' at breastfeeding", 29 January 2016, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-35438049?SThisFB.
Grayson, Jennifer. Unlatched: The Evolution of Breastfeeding and the Making of a Controversy. Harper, 2016.
Green, Jen and Mike Gordon. I'm Still Important! Hodder, 2000.
Hausman, Bernice L. Mother's Milk: Breastfeeding Controversies in American Culture. Routledge, 2003.
Hedderwick, Mairi. Katie Morag and the Dancing Class. Red Fox, 2007.
Holden, Lynn. Encyclopedia of Taboos. ABC-CLIO, 2000.
Jolly, Richard. "Foreword", in Baumslag, Naomi and Dia L. Michels, Milk, Money, and Madness: The Culture and Politics of Breastfeeding. Other India Press, 1995.
Krapu-Kallio, Solja. Du ska få gröt och en lillasyster [You'll get porridge and a little sister]. ill. Anna Bengtsson. Alfabeta, 2016.
Lancet breastfeeding series, http://www.thelancet.com/series/breastfeeding.
Lasky, Kathryn. Love That Baby. Walker, 2004.
Lee, Ellie, Jennie Bristow, Charlotte Faircloth and Jan Macvarish. Parenting Culture Studies. Palgrave, 2014.
Lee, Ellie. "Introduction", in Lee, Ellie, Jennie Bristow, Charlotte Faircloth and Jan Macvarish, Parenting Culture Studies. Palgrave, 2014, pp. 1–22.
Luscombe, Belinda. "Why Do We Have the Breastfeeding Wars? Two Words: Maternity Leave", 29 January 2016, http://time.com/4199721/why-do-we-have-the-breastfeeding-wars-two-words-maternity-leave/.
Maher, Vanessa, ed. The Anthropology of Breast-Feeding: Natural Law or Social Construct. Oxford, 1992/1995.
Meyers, Susan. Everywhere Babies. ill. Marla Frazee. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001.
Miller, Alyson. "Unsuited to Age Group: The Scandals of Children's Literature", College Literature. Spring 2014, vol. 41, issue 2, pp. 120–40.
Moebius, William. "Picturebook Codes," in Janet Maybin and Nicola J. Watson, eds., Children's Literature: Approaches and Territories. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
Mulvey, Laura. Visual and Other Pleasures. 2nd edition. Palgrave, 2009.
no author named. My New Baby. Child's Play, 2009.
no author named. The New Baby. Usborne First Experiences, 1992/2005.
no author named. "Statistik om amning 2014." Socialstyrelsen. http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2016/2016-9-19.
Nodelman, Perry. "Of Nakedness and Children's Books", Children's Literature Association Quarterly. Spring 1984, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 25–50.
Nodelman, Perry. Words about Pictures. University of Georgia Press, 1988.
Palmer, Gabrielle. The Politics of Breastfeeding: When Breasts are Bad for Business. Pinter and Martin, 1988/2009.
Pelenius, Linda. Lillasyster är ett monster [Little sister is a monster]. Berghs, 2012.
Renfrew, Mary, Chloe Fisher, and Suzanne Arms. Bestfeeding: Why Breastfeeding is Best for You and Your Baby. 3rd edition. Celestial Arts, 2004.
Ruta, Matilda. Ninna och syskongrodden [Ninna and the sibling sprout]. Natur och Kultur, 2016.
Sandberg, Inger and Lasse Sandberg. Lilla spöket Laban får en lillasyster [Little ghost Laban gets a little sister]. Rabén och Sjögren, 1977.
Stark, Ulf. En stjärna vid namn Ajax [A star called Ajax]. ill. Stina Wirsén. Bonnier Carlsen, 2007.
Stark, Ulf. Lillasyster [Little sister]. ill. Charlotte Ramel. Lilla Piratförlaget, 2016.
Stoneley, Ellie. Milky Moments. ill. Jessica D'Alton Goode. Pinter & Martin, 2015.
Therén, Ida. Rida ryggen [Ride on back]. ill. Z. Keller. Nära förlag, 2014.
Therén, Ida. Somna med mig [Fall asleep with me]. ill. Linnéa Teljas Puranen. Nära förlag, 2015.
Therén, Ida. Alltid tillsammans [Always together]. ill. Nathalie Ruejas. Nära förlag, 2016.
Tran, Mark. "Claridge's hotel criticised after telling breastfeeding woman to cover up", 2 December 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/02/claridges-hotel-breastfeeding-woman-cover-up.
Trias, Elisenda Isabel Serrano, and Rosa Ma Masvidal. "La lactància en els llibres per a nens i nenes de 0 a 6 anys English summary", Pediatr Catalana. 2003, issue 63, pp. 314–318.
Tsiang, Sarah. Dogs Don't Eat Jam. Firefly, 2011.
Uzon, Jorge. Hello, Baby! Groundwood Books, 2010.
Van Esterik, Penny. Motherpower and Infant Feeding. Zed Books, 1989.
Wiessinger, Diane, Diana West, and Teresa Pitman. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. 8th edition. Pinter & Martin, 2010.
Wirsén, Stina. Du [You]. Bonnier Carlsen, 2017.
Winstanley, Nicola, Cinnamon Baby. ill. Janice Nadeau. Kids Can, 2011.
Wolde, Gunilla, Emma och lillebror [Emma and Little Brother]. Natur och Kultur, 1975/1998.
Zetterberg Struwe, Hanna. Nejlika och lilla lillasyster [Nejlika and little, little sister]. ill. Anna-Karin Garhamn. Rabén och Sjögren, 2008.
Zimmerman, Rachel. "Study: Breastfeeding Even More Of A Health Issue For Moms Than For Babies", 9 September 2016, http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2016/09/29/study-breastfeeding-moms-health.
1 Many of the quotes and images, especially the examples from picturebooks, do not have page numbers. Rather than repeat "n.p." each time, I will assume the reader understands that there is no pagination when page numbers are not listed.
2 All translations from Swedish are my own. The original reads: "tycker om att få mat ur mammas bröst. Men Emma tycker inte om när mamma matar Lillebror. Då vill hon ge bort honom till en annan tant. Då vill Emma bli bebis igen så hon får ha mamma för sig själv."
3 The original reads: "Bebisbajs är gult och luktar inte alls så där bajsigt. Vet du varför? Jo, för att bebisar bara äter mjölken från mammas bröst. Men när Arne börjar äta riktig mat kommer bajset att bli bajsbrunt och börja luka bajsilla."
4 The original reads: "När barnet har kommit ut ur kvinnans mage, behövs inte kvinnan längre. Vem som helst kan ta hand om barnet och tycka om det."
- There are currently no refbacks.
Barnboken – Journal of Children's Literature Research eISSN 2000-4389
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Review Update: Urban Therapy's Twisted Sista Curl Activator
My verdict: I'm neutral.
My hair, when clean, totally dry and product free looks like and feels like dry fire wood. As a result, after I wash, I usually have to apply moisturizer to my hair very generously. A good moisturizer, after it dries to the touch (but is still slightly moist throughout) should leave my hair looking and feeling good for days on end without need for daily reapplications between washings, and that's what I'm always looking for when I try out a moisturizer.
My Proline product is like this. It can take several days for my hair to become thoroughly dried out when I use their lite creme moisturizer. So it would be interesting to see how Twisted Sista would stack up against my beloved Proline.
Well, in the morning, my hair was completely dry. The plus is that it didn't look dry. It actually had a very nice sheen. It was also kinda stiff, not horribly rigid, but not as pliable as it usually is when I use my Proline moisturizer. So I'd consider this to be more of a holding product than one that could be used as a moisturizer on my hair.
In appearance, Twisted Sista is white, as opposed to clear and goes on making your hair look dull. But as I smoothed it through my hair, twist by twist the night before, the white-ish looking product color faded away. Nevertheless, I was rather worried about residue.
The next day, though I checked my hair thoroughly for flakes or granuals. I was relieved to see absolutely none, unlike the yucky-looking ish that Miss Jessie's Curly Meringue or the Carol's Daughter Hair Milk left in my hair. If I were going to try a twistout, I think it would give me great hold and definition without being crunchy or hard.
With regard to hold, I'm wearing my hair in large twists (similiar to the do pictured right) that are pulled back into a French Roll and secured with a large plastic hair pin. One twist hangs down in the front to give the style a point of interest and to soften up the hairline and I have absolutely no frizz. Even my front edges are cooperating. I think I'll get good mileage out of this style as a result. Maybe I won't have to refresh until the weekend. That would be great.
The only drawback is that the tube is sooooo little. Only 3.38 fluid ounces for $4.99 plus tax. On almost 18 inches of freshly washed type 4B, cNapp hair, my thirsty strands sucked up nearly the ENTIRE tube. And I was doing my best to use enough to get good coverage but not use so much that I was being heavy-handed. That means, every time I wash or rinse my hair, I'd have to buy a new tube of this stuff. I'd also have to have another tube just to refresh my do as needed between washings. Quite frankly, that's more than I really want to spend. However, I think it would still be cheaper than that hideous Curly Meringue (doing quick math in my head) ok, not by much though.
If I were more into twistouts and braidouts, this product might be worth keeping on hand. But I'm not so I can't actually see myself buying this again anytime soon. Like I said, I could use a better product for the winter months, but until can actually find something that's worth the switch, I'll stay with my Proline Lite Creme Moisturizer.
Comments6 Responses to "Review Update: Urban Therapy's Twisted Sista Curl Activator"
"One of the reason I like the Proline product is that when my hair gets totally dry, it usually looks parched. The Proline Moisturizer, however, leaves my hair just ever so moist for days on end."
I'm kind of confused by these two lines…mainly the first one.
I'm sooooo happy I found this site! There is nothing like this available in the UK.
Would like to know if you can use this product on a short natural, I bought it today to try after I wash it, I do not intend to use twist in my hair.
Short Nat.