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Pamela Druckerman is a journalist and the author of Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting (The Penguin Press) and the U.K. edition of the same book, French Children Don’t Throw Food: Parenting Secrets From Paris (Doubleday).

One book, two titles.

“Fascinating…gripping…extremely funny…Druckerman’s book is a desperately needed corrective to received wisdom about child-rearing and what having children is supposed to do to a woman’s sense of self. I loved it. It made me want to move to Paris.”—India Knight, The Sunday Times

“The author is a delightfully droll storyteller with an effortless gift of gab that translates well to the page. She backs up assumptions and associated explorations with historical parenting examples and comparisons that temper her skepticisms with an authoritative air. ” —Kirkus Reviews

“Druckerman neither sneers at nor fawns over the French way, but approaches the topic with high interest, prodding the advice with the curiosity of a great journalist, then writing it all down with the humor and detail of a great storyteller.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Self-deprecating, witty, informative…But however much she admires ‘the easy, calm authority’ French parents seem to posess, will Druckerman manage it herself? Her efforts to do so add a compelling narrative to this fascinating study of French parenting.” —The Guardian

“…a riveting glimpse into a calmer, rational, sage way of raising children.” —Publishers Weekly

“This is not a shrill or preachy book. It’s a carefully observed memoir tied into a larger conversation about how a less intense – but still structured – parenting style may deliver happier parents and children.”—Houston Chronicle

“…if half of what she says about anglophone parents is true, her book should be dispensed on prescription.” —The Spectator

“This engaging work of self-declared ‘investigative parenting’ will strike like a stiletto heel into the quivering gelatin of middle-class parental anxiety. …Ms. Druckerman’s modest manifesto should not put well-meaning parents on the defensive. If they’re open to reason, they’ll take “Bringing Up Bébé” as a message of liberation: Don’t sacrifice your life in a quest for a child’s happiness. In fact, kids become happier if you don’t try to manage their every move.”—The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“…a charming and funny memoir of what it’s like to raise a child immersed in a culture not your own, which also manages to challenge assumptions on both sides.” —The Guardian

“Written with verve and humor…” —Sue Baker, The Bookseller
 

“It was exactly what I hoped for: a friendly yet instructive look at how we can pick up tips on child-rearing from our less harried cross-channel sisters.” —Cathy Rentzenbrick, The Bookseller

“In engaging storytelling prose, American Druckerman describes a French ‘society of good little sleepers, gourmet eaters, and relaxed parents,’ and with her bicultural glasses sees a few telling contrasts, for better or worse, with how she is doing things the American way.” —Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat

“With a notebook stashed in her baby’s nappy bag, Druckerman observes, questions and analyses exactly what the French are doing differently. She speaks to her Parisian friends and neighbours and also interviews French teachers and childcare experts. The book also charts, very amusingly, Druckerman’s own experiences with her baby as ‘Bean’ faces such challenges as eating unfamiliar vegetables and starting at creche. Among the questions covered in the book are: how do French babies manage to sleep through the night from three months? Why do French children eat what is put in front of them from a young age? And how do French children manage to amuse themselves without constant parental intervention?” —Alice O’Keeffe, The Bookseller

“I couldn’t put Bringing Up Bébé down! It’s smart, funny and fascinating, insightful, provocative, and genuinely eye-opening. I love Pamela Druckerman’s honesty, rueful humor, and her premise that parents of all cultures should be able to learn from one another.” —Amy Chua, Yale law professor and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother