subtitled A Practical Guide to Happy Parenting, by Christie Mellor, is a very funny book that you probably have to be a parent to appreciate. As a commenter pointed out when I trashed Confessions of a Slacker Mom, this book captures a certain bracing tongue-in-cheek attitude perfectly, without the condescension and holier-than-thou feeling that drips from the Slacker Mom. Yes, Mellor goes a bit over the top sometimes. It's like those Saturday Night Live skits that are so funny, then just veer into poor taste. But overall, the whole thing is still damn funny and worth watching (or reading, in this case). Besides, it's short, only 143 pages. It would be a good choice to balance out the over earnestness of the Sears' Baby Book as a baby shower gift.Here's an illustrative excerpt from "The Family at Table" chapter:
We have all seen those glossy photo spreads in gourmet food magazines of the joyful yet sophisticated Italian family sitting down to a long table, alfresco, joined by aunts, uncles, and happy wide-eyed youngsters. The children are seemingly enchanted by their watered-down glass of wine, their plates heaped with blood sausage and fava beans. We are led to believe that the adorable Italian children do not pick the garlic and onions out of their food, nor do they bolt from the table after the five minutes it takes them to suck back nine noodles and a baby carrot, leavng you with gaping holes in the well-thought-out alfresco seating arrangement.
If you like this, you'll probably like the rest of the book. The retro pencil illustrations by the author are wonderful, and perfect for the book.
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