After a few weeks of a ridiculous lack of sleep, I decided it was time to do something about it. And do something I did--with much success--thanks to Bedtiming: The Parent's Guide to Getting Your child to Sleep at Just the Right Age , an…
I can't stop reading Kirtsy Takes a Bow: A Celebration of Women's Online Favorites . And rereading it. And going back to make sure there's nothing I missed. The thing is, it's not just me. An art director friend shirked work for an hour …
I've let my own wine knowledge atrophy since falling in love with someone who makes a point to say that actually, he prefers Northern Rhone wines. (Seriously.) So I was excited when I first got wind of Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl's new tome,…
When I told my parents I was expecting, I didn't tell them I was expecting. I told them we'd done some interesting sightseeing, and did they want to see pictures? And then I gave them my ultrasound photos. If The Grandparents Handbook ha…
Evidently reading to your kids is more than just reading to your kids. And seriously pedigreed educational consultant Diane W. Frankenstein explores her concept of "conversational reading" in her excellent resource, Reading Together: Eve…
Browsing the Picasso Museum gift shop in Barcelona last week (I know, totally rubbing it in) I came across the most wonderful little book called Oh ! by Josse Goffin . I had an idea that my two year-old wouldn't be able to put it down an…
To say that I was a neurotic mess with my first baby would be an understatement; every sniffle and bruise had me wondering if I'd broken her. By the second baby, I figured I was an old hand . . . except that he was convinced he could fly…
Pat the Bunny is the essential baby gift book for about a zillion people--including me--so it's not surprising that it's spawned a number of parodies. Now there's one more to add to the list: The very funny Pat the Beasti e . Henrik Dres…
We're already fans of the clever, caustic writing of author and fellow parenting blogger Stephanie Wilder-Taylor, so I figured I could give her newest book, It's Not Me, It's You , a good skim and craft a review. As it turns out, as each…
We love Oliver Chin, author of the Tales from the Chinese Zodiac Series. In his latest book, Baltazar and the Flying Pirates , Chin teams up with illustrator (and blogger!) Justin Roth in this, um, high-flying tale of adventure and fortu…
With the kids heading back to school , the birthday party circuit will be starting up again. If your kid is old enough to read, you may understand my temptation to give other kids books rather than more toys. The problem is that while th…
After researching my proposal for my own parenting book ( Ahem, Sleep Is for the Weak , shameless plug, shameless plug ) I thought I'd read every baby handbook on earth. And, I admit it, I became really jaded and snooty about them. Let's…
We love Melissa Conroy's Wooberry dolls. The originals are not only designed from her child's sketches, they're also handmade. And beyond adorable. In a move that touches my writerly heart, the dolls have gone meta and returned to their …
Fellow blogger and Vanity Fair contributor Brett Berk has unleashed on the world his parenting perspective with The Gay Uncle's Guide to Parenting: Candid Counsel From the Depths of the Daycare Trenches . Berk obviously has no uterus and…
Whether you need a last-minute Mother's Day gift or just want to appear more stylish than everyone else while waiting for the pediatrician, I love the Posh Puzzle books by The Puzzle Society. These are the people who bring you nationally…
For years, I've saved the emails my mom has sent me. Some are funny, some are sweet, some are nothing anyone else would appreciate besides maybe my brother. I thought I was the only person nostalgic enough to do such a thing, until I dis…
What happens when you need to find a book on heroes the night before your kid needs it for kindergarten? After you've exhausted our favorite children's books , you can do what I did and check out the selections in What to Read When , by …
When I go to teacher conferences, the thing I hear the most about my son-- always said with great reverence-- is, Wow, he sure likes to read ! I come from an entire family of readers, so this doesn't seem odd to me... but it is odd, beca…
I suppose they could've come up with a different name for Better World Books , but when you're really making a better world for everyone through a love of books, well, the name fits. Perfectly. Next time you shop for books, consider the …
Giving the gift of bibliophilia just became effortless--certainly more effortless than spelling bibliophilia. Left to my own devices, I'd pick an assortment of books for a kid and wrap it up and call it good. GiftLit definitely makes it …
If How to Traumatize Your Children had been available when I remarried, I totally would've bought it as a wedding present for my husband. I think it would've been a fitting welcome to (step)parenthood for him, and I also plan to give it …
Like tons of practical moms like me, my favorite gift to give or to get is a book. And if you want to get fancy about it, check out Bookworm Baskets , where the great book is just the beginning of a fantastic gift. It starts with a fabul…