Best Baby Books For Parents: 25 Best Books About Babies (2020)

Want A FREE 10-Step Speed Reading Cheatsheet?

Get a FREE 10-step cheatsheet to help you read faster and remember more of what you read based on the classic guide, How to Read a Book.

SEND ME MY CHEATSHEET

The Art of Living will never share your email. Unsubscribe easily anytime.

Looking for the best baby books for parents of all time? You’re in the right place!

Whether you’re struggling with sleeping at night, baffled by breastfeeding, floundering in the fourth trimester or just looking for some help raising your little one, you’ll find all the information you could need in the list of best books for new parents below.

Bonus: You might also like these best books on pregnancy and this list of the best parenting books of all time.

The 25 Best Baby Books For Parents Of All Time

Why these books about babies and not others? The best baby books for parents below are the top picks from my master database, ranked by a combination of Goodreads rating, the number of Goodreads reviews and first publication date. The goal is to balance what’s most loved, what’s most popular and what’s proven timelessly relevant advice.

Think something’s missing? Leave a comment or email me and I’ll add it to the next round of updates. I honestly love hearing from you so please, do get in touch!

1. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (1958), La Leche League International
   463 pages. Rated 4.2 over 8,300 reviews on Goodreads.
2. The Baby Book (1993), William Sears
   Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two
   784 pages. Rated 4.2 over 7,100 reviews on Goodreads.
3. Brain Rules for Baby (2010), John Medina
   How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five
   305 pages. Rated 4.3 over 9,800 reviews on Goodreads.
4. The Nursing Mother’s Companion (1985), Kathleen Huggins
   336 pages. Rated 4.1 over 3,100 reviews on Goodreads.
5. Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood (2000), Jim Fay
   200 pages. Rated 4.1 over 5,400 reviews on Goodreads.
6. The Attachment Parenting Book (2001), William Sears
   A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby
   192 pages. Rated 4.2 over 3,200 reviews on Goodreads.
7. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child (1987), Marc Weissbluth
   528 pages. Rated 3.9 over 10,300 reviews on Goodreads.
8. What to Expect the First Year (1989), Heidi Murkoff
   832 pages. Rated 3.9 over 15,700 reviews on Goodreads.
9. Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding (2009), Ina May Gaskin
   352 pages. Rated 4.4 over 2,500 reviews on Goodreads.
10. Becoming Attached (1994), Robert Karen
    First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love
    512 pages. Rated 4.2 over 1,200 reviews on Goodreads.
11. Baby 411 (2004), Denise Fields
    Clear Answers & Smart Advice for Your Baby’s First Year
    512 pages. Rated 4.3 over 2,400 reviews on Goodreads.
12. Child of Mine (1983), Ellyn Satter
    Feeding with Love and Good Sense, Revised and Updated Edition
    536 pages. Rated 4.1 over 900 reviews on Goodreads.
13. Why Love Matters (2003), Sue Gerhardt
    How Affection Shapes a Baby’s Brain
    256 pages. Rated 4.3 over 1,300 reviews on Goodreads.
14. The Wonder Weeks (1992), Frans X. Plooij
    How to Stimulate Your Baby’s Mental Development and Help Him Turn His 10 Predictable, Great, Fussy Phases Into Magical Leaps Forward
    493 pages. Rated 4.0 over 4,500 reviews on Goodreads.
15. The Happiest Baby on the Block (2002), Harvey Karp
    The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer
    336 pages. Rated 3.9 over 21,900 reviews on Goodreads.
16. What’s Going On in There? (1999), Lise Eliot
    How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life
    544 pages. Rated 4.1 over 1,900 reviews on Goodreads.
17. Bringing Up Bébé (2012), Pamela Druckerman
    One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting
    432 pages. Rated 4.0 over 44,700 reviews on Goodreads.
18. Cribsheet (2019), Emily Oster
    A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool
    352 pages. Rated 4.1 over 7,100 reviews on Goodreads.
19. Secrets of the Baby Whisperer (2000), Tracy Hogg
    How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby
    352 pages. Rated 3.8 over 8,100 reviews on Goodreads.
20. Baby and Child Care (1946), Benjamin Spock
    992 pages. Rated 3.8 over 2,000 reviews on Goodreads.
21. Be Prepared (2004), Gary Greenberg
    A Practical Handbook for New Dads
    240 pages. Rated 4.1 over 2,300 reviews on Goodreads.
22. Your Self-Confident Baby (1997), Magda Gerber
    How to Encourage Your Child’s Natural Abilities — From the Very Start
    256 pages. Rated 4.1 over 800 reviews on Goodreads.
23. Mayo Clinic Guide to Your Baby’s First Year (2012), Mayo Clinic
    From Doctors Who Are Parents, Too!
    576 pages. Rated 4.2 over 900 reviews on Goodreads.
24. How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids (2017), Jancee Dunn
    289 pages. Rated 4.1 over 3,800 reviews on Goodreads.
25. Heading Home with Your Newborn (2005), Laura A. Jana
    From Birth to Reality
    306 pages. Rated 4.1 over 1,600 reviews on Goodreads.

Enjoyed this list of the best baby books for parents? You might also like…

II. Best Books Of All Time

These are the overall best books to read (by type).

III. Best Nonfiction Books (A-Z)

These are the best nonfiction books to read (by topic).

IV. Best Fiction Books (A-Z)

These are the best fiction books to read (by genre).

Arthur Worsley

Arthur is a thinker and writer who helps people who want more from their lives learn to be more productive, find more balance and live life more meaningfully. Want to know more? Take this 2-minute quiz to discover your Productivity Quotient (PQ) and learn how to get BIG things done. Take the Quiz →