Crib Notes: A Random Reference for the Modern Parent

by Elizabeth Weil, Elizabeth Weil

Will the baby grow up to be the Dalai Lama? How do you twist balloons into dogs? Which countries offer the best maternity benefits? What are the most common baby names? What does a human face look like to a newborn? Crib Notes is the delightful, illustrated compendium of factsuseful and useless, and always fascinatingabout pregnancy and early childhood. This enchanting volume offers page after page of compelling trivia and practical information, made all the more playful by the juxtaposition of subjects. Growth charts, nanny salaries by region, ancient and modern gender predictors, bedtime story generators, and information and advice on scores of other topics make this whimsical book completely necessarya shower gift that will bring endless pleasure and the perfect cribside companion.

144 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2004

About the author

Elizabeth Weil is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, the writer Daniel Duane, and their two daughters.

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great voice throughout the book, and using actual data vs vignettes was refreshing. And the use of humor throughout kept it light.

[Vaishali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though short, this book takes some time to read because it's filled with so many fascinating anecdotes ... even comparing human baby factoids with other animal species. If you are a knowledge-junkie like me, you'll want to compare the stats with research on the web. Still, it's the best perusal book I own, and will always be close to my bedside.

My favorites :
1. The Ancient Chinese Birth Gender Predictor (50% accurate in me and my brother's case)
2. Marsupial mice coitus lasts 12 hours, while human coitus among North Americans lasts 4 minutes
3. Indian elephants gestate 624 days... almost 3 times longer than humans
4. The horse sperm takes 5-8 hours to find the egg. (Humans: 5-68 minutes)

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a collection of random facts related to child development and child-raising. Some of them are interesting, and some seem completely unnecessary, which I think is the point. The charm of the book is that it presents a wide variety of random information without any real sense of overall organization. But then, it didn't seem like the most useful of references, and I found myself skipping lots of parts. Occasionally funny and useful. Probably a better coffee table book than bedtime reading.

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a light-reading, funny, coffee-table type book. The info is totally random, but related to parenthood (culture or biology) and is quite interesting. For instance, the gestational period for elephants vs. humans, the cost of sending your kid to college, the ingredients in breastmilk, what they call poo poo and pee pee in other countries, how to tell a good bedtime story. fun

[Shaindel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend anonymously left this book in my mailbox when she heard I was pregnant. It's hilarious! Basically, this book is filled with useless baby-related knowledge--how to tell if your baby is the next Dalai Lama, pie charts of babies' activities at different points in their development (Note: a LOT of crying at 5 days old), etc.

A must-have for any quirky, intelligent parent-to-be.

[Maggie Downs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of funny and random information about pregnancy, child-rearing and parenthood -- some whimsical, some practical. My favorite parts included: "How to tell if your child is the Dalai Lama," "Primer for a good bedtime story," "Classic lullaby lyrics" and "Faces as seen by a newborn." Makes a cute gift for parents-to-be.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Purchased to give as a baby gift. Still waiting on the baby. This books tells you, among other things, how to determine if your baby is the Dalai Lama.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny little book we got for Christmas.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why people would give this as a gift. Some funny lists and charts.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, it's more of a coffee table book. It's alright, not great.