Review by Susan Gaissert, The Expanding Life

Jan Hunt is the director of The Natural Child Project, which promotes attachment parenting, unschooling, and all kinds of good things for families with children. Jan Hunt is also a psychologist and an author, as well as an "I Love Lucy" fan (like me). We "met" on the Internet because of my Things I Learned From I Love Lucy posts, and Jan asked me to review her book, A Gift for Baby. I said I would be honored.

A Gift for Baby is as much a book for parents as it is for children. Both the text and the illustrations, by Sunny Rosanbalm, operate on two levels. For babies and young children, they present a colorful, peaceful home filled with happy faces and a simple story full of such positive statements as "I like to stay close to Mommy and Daddy."

For parents, the beautiful illustrations are examples of how their home life can look, if they choose attachment parenting. My favorite picture shows the parents and baby outside on the lawn, cozy and comfortable, sitting on a blanket, enjoying the butterflies.

The text is a basic beginner’s course in attachment parenting. From reading this book, one learns that babies love: being snuggled, nursing, co-sleeping, and being held — all things that really mean being with their parents. I won’t tell you what baby’s gift is, but I will say that it firmly validates that point!

Last but not least, A Gift for Baby is also Un Regalo para Bebe; the text appears on each page in both English and Spanish.

Little ones will love the suspense and repetition, while parents will feel inspired by the concepts and the sense of bliss this book provides. A Gift for Baby is a gift for everyone.

Note: Need I mention that the only way to read this book to your baby is while holding him in your lap?