Books for parents

Wes Anderson, The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work, by Ian Nathan is reviewed by Lesley Lodge.

Perfectly timed for the half term holidays and greater restrictions on our lives during the pandemic, comes Claire Balkind's Great Family Days In, reviewed by Anne Coates.

The Starting School Book by Sarah Ockwell-Smith reviewed by Anne Coates.

Tilda Timmers,  therapist and author of This is Postpartum: Free yourself from the perfect mother conspiracy published by The Dreamwork Collective, gives her five top tips to help you cope with PPD during a pandemic.

National Trust On Screen by Harvey Edgington and Lauren Taylor reviewed by Anne Coates.

Sibling rivalry and family relationships are the bedrock of so much of our media. A Tale of Two Sisters, a novella by Anne Coates explores family situations and how we can misinterpret what is happening. Plus there are two short stories included both dealing with very different family situations.

The Baby Feeding Book by Vanessa Christie reviewed by Joanna Roberts.

Celebrating International Women's Day with a review of Warriors, Witches, Women written by Kate Hodges and illustrated by Harriet Lee-Merrion.

Grandmothers by Sally Vickers is a beautifully written, witty and totally absorbing novel which looks at family relationships from the point of view of three older and very different women.

Seeing images of vegetables can boost children’s intake – new eBooks have been launched to encourage children to eat their greens. A variety of new resources, based on the evidence that children who are exposed to pictures of vegetables are more likely to eat them, have been launched as part of the See & Eat project, an initiative funded by European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Food, led by Professor Carmel Houston-Price at the University of Reading and supported by the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF).

Calm – The Magic of Sleep by Michael Anton Smith promises to tell you everything you've ever wanted to know about sleep but were too tired to ask. What does insomniac Anne Coates think of it?

Why Will No One Play With Me? author, parenting and social skills expert Caroline Maquire introduces the Play Better Plan to Help Kids Make Friends and Thrive.

The Wonder Weeks – A Stress-free Guide to Your Baby's Behaviour by Xaviera Plas-Plooij, Frans X. Plooij and Hetty van de Rijt is based on bround-breaking behavioural research in the Netherlands and has become a word-of-mouth sensation. New mum Jo Roberts found it a reassuring guide.

Advice From The UK’s Leading Nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville’s latest book Natural Alternatives to Dieting

Anne Coates reviews three chilling novels – On My Life by Angela Clark, Sam Carrington's The Missing Wife  and Ruby Speechley's début Someone Else's Baby – with babies at the heart of the narrative.

RHS Colour Companion: A Visual Dictionary of Colour for Gardeners reviewed by Christine Mayle.

Worst Case Scenario by Helen Fitzgerald is both dark and extremely funny writes Anne Coates. 

How to Raise Successful People by Esther Wojcicki - subtitled simple lessons for radical results – isn't a parenting guide telling you what to to but helps parents think about core values and to think about your parenting philosophy. Reviewed by Anne Coates.