Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer
by Harvey Karp

Your Baby & Child: From Birth to Age Five
by Penelope Leach

Penelope Leach's Your Baby & Child has been a beloved favorite for years. With this new, revised edition, Leach has updated her information and approach to reflect new findings in the field of child development, and to respond to the changing needs of today's families. Leach has utter respect for children and their parents; she explains development, child care, and parenting concerns clearly and without condescension.

Each developmental stage--newborn, settled baby, older baby, toddler, and young child--is discussed in terms of feeding, teeth and teething, growing, excreting, crying, sleeping, playing, and everyday care. For each stage, an additional set of appropriate topics is discussed, including muscle power, speech, child care, and appropriate toys. Colorful and expressive photos display infant, childhood, and toddler behavior. With her common-sense, child-positive approach, Leach carefully dispels negative parenting attitudes, and teaches readers how to stop, listen, and learn from their children.
Review by Ericka Lutz, Amazon.com

Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5
by Steven Shelov

It's Sunday after dark. Your baby is sick, hurt, or acting strangely, and the doctor won't be in until tomorrow. How can you find out what to do when your healthcare professionals are unreachable? You may only need to go as far as your bookshelf. The revised edition of Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 (the American Academy of Pediatrics' reference book for infancy through preschool), provides a wealth of authoritative child-care information in an easy-to-use format.

The first half of this hefty text serves as a comprehensive parenting manual, and includes a month-by-month guide to the first year, nutritional information, basic care instructions, and physical, emotional, and social developmental milestones for children up to 5 years old. While the American Academy of Pediatrics represents the mainstream child-rearing philosophies embraced by thousands of baby doctors, it does not reflect the entire gamut of child-rearing theory. (There's no discussion, for instance, of breast-feeding past the first year or co-sleeping.) The second half of the book includes a thorough, easy-to-navigate emergency first-aid section, plus detailed information about childhood illnesses, immunization schedules and side effects, and family structures, as well as a discussion of behavioral issues. Caring for Your Baby and Young Child is useful, sensible, and carefully researched, and makes a trustworthy addition to any parent's bookshelf
Review by Ericka Lutz, Amazon.com

Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12
by Edward L. Schor

Puberty, divorce, drugs, masturbation, eating disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are all waiting to ambush the unsuspecting parent in a midchild crisis, and each one is thoroughly addressed in this encyclopedic tour of the years between infancy and adolescence. In fact, the chapters that cover traditional medical problems--ear infections, stomach aches, hives, broken bones--are in the minority. Most of the clear, simple writing is devoted to social matters and the psychology of parenting. What should you do if your child is being bullied? Is it OK for a child to attend a funeral at this age? How do you control temper tantrums? Does it help to repeat a grade if your child isn't doing well in school?

The second in a three-volume series, this revised and updated guide culls advice from more than 60 pediatric specialists. As a result, it assumes a middle-of-the-road stance meant for the average parent. For detailed information about complex topics, such as learning disabilities and chronic illnesses like asthma and diabetes, parents may need to search for more specialized titles. But as a first reference and general guide, this book fills the parenting advice void in the middle years with a reassuring voice.
Review by Jodi Mailander Farrell , Amazon.com

Is our baby eating enough? Is this much crying normal? How do I know when she is really sick? This hefty, 671-page guide to your baby's first year is brought to you by the creators of the bestselling What to Expect When You're Expecting .The three authors, all mothers themselves, are calm, clear, and encouraging as they tackle the first year of child-rearing, month by month. The easy-to-absorb, chronological format includes sections such as "What Your Baby May Be Doing," "What You Can Expect at This Month's Checkups," "Feeding Your Baby This Month," "What You May Be Concerned About," and "What It's Important to Know."

Part Two addresses special concerns such as illness, first aid do's and don'ts, the low-birthweight baby, the adopted baby, becoming a father, and sibling relationships. You'll also find discussions of breastfeeding and bottlefeeding, selecting a physician for the baby, diapers and clothing, safety, and many ways of stimulating the baby's development. The recipes for babies and toddlers in Part Three are useful, as are the recommended home remedies; charts on common childhood illnesses; height and weight; and the thorough index. (A particular strength of the book is the authors' careful attention to diet and nutrition for both mother and baby, incorporating the American Academy of Pediatrics' latest recommendations on infant nutrition.) While some of the authors' perspectives are controversial (such as whether to let your baby "cry it out" or not), this book remains one of the most comprehensive resources for new parents as they toddle through their baby's first year.
Review by Ericka Lutz, Amazon.com