I'm Two Years Old: Everything Your Two-Year-Old Wants You to Know About Parenting

The title of this unusual paperback is followed by the telling attribution "By Me--As Told to Jerri Wolfe." Jerri Wolfe, a child development specialist, works from the idea that the best person to tell you about your 2-year-old's attitudes, problems, and overall behavior is... your 2-year-old. Not literally, of course. But the book is written in the first person, and resolutely from the perspective of the child. The format couldn't be simpler: an alphabetical list of sections, each a couple of pages long, covering topics that range from "Activity Level (High)," on through "No!" and "Nudity," to "Whining" and "Why?" On the subject of imaginary friends, Wolfe's 2-year-old narrator says, "I have a new friend. Her name is Ashley.... You seem a little confused about Ashley. Maybe if you knew more about her you wouldn't be concerned. Don't worry, there is nothing wrong with me." Some adults will find page after page of this a bit too cute, but Wolfe does offer bewildered parents a different kind of reference that offers some genuine help in empathizing with and understanding the mind of a child. --Richard Farr