[close] Practical information, advice, and sensible answers to sensitive issues characterize The Black Parenting Book, a comprehensive guide to baby and child care for black children during their first five years. Written by Anne C. Beal (a pediatrician at Harvard Medical School), Linda Villarosa (an editor for the New York Times), and Allison Abner (an acclaimed journalist), The Black Parenting Book combines medical know-how and expert parenting advice with perspectives unique to African American parenting. Black kids are more at-risk than white kids in matters such as obesity (more than 25 percent of black children are obese), asthma, death from falls, inadvertent poisoning, and loss of self-esteem, and The Black Parenting Book deals with these issues as well as covering the basics of baby and child care (feeding, sleeping, skin, hair, bathing, toilet training). The authors raise and answer questions such as "How can I find a pediatrician who shares my values?" "Are all-black preschools best?" and "Should I straighten my child's hair?" The authors help parents prepare their children for the pain of racism, handle racist incidents, select a preschool, give support to their children during stressful times (divorce, death, moving), deal with discipline without spanking, and support spirituality and family traditions. The book handles these issues--and far more--with sensibility and sensitivity. --Ericka Lutz [close]