A Wonderleaf question
Why do we have a belly button?
a real page from the book
A belly button is the healed spot where your umbilical cord once joined your body before birth. That cord brought oxygen and food from the placenta while you grew in the womb. After you were born, you could breathe and drink milk, so the cord was no longer needed.
The tiny stump on a newborn's belly dries and drops away, leaving a small scar. Some belly buttons tuck inward and some round outward, but they all point back to the same first connection: a soft cord, a busy placenta, and a growing baby.
Wonder words
- umbilical
- placenta
- womb
- oxygen
Try it out
Look at family belly buttons and notice which ones tuck in, round out, or make funny little shapes.
Read the whole picture book
Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
Open the picture bookKeep wondering
- Why does hair grow?
- How do germs get inside the body?
- Why do we cry tears?
- Why do we sweat?
- Why does my stomach growl?
- Why do we get goosebumps?
One more wonder: Why is space so dark?
And the next question?
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