Non-Fiction Pick of the Week: Bringing Up Bébé

Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman

When American journalist Pamela Druckerman and her British husband Simon decide to settle in Paris and start their family, they begin to notice some big differences between American children and French children. It all starts to dawn on Druckerman when she and Simon take their eighteen-month-old toddler on vacation. As their little girl loses her mind while out for dinner at a coastal restaurant, Druckerman notices the French children are remarkably well behaved and even eating their vegetables!

By researching French parenting experts and interviewing parents on both sides of the Atlantic, Druckerman delves into the major issues and stages of raising young children from the French perspective. From hot topics like breastfeeding, early child care, disciplining children, and more – Druckerman offers the French view, which may seem like a dream come true for North American parents. Told in a humorous, storytelling manner, Bringing Up Bébé illustrates that values surrounding parenting are in many ways a cultural construct, and having alternatives will be appreciated by many parents and may be beneficial to the entire family.