With its glossy red jacket and 2½-pound heft, this hardcover volume, intended for new parents of children younger than 3 years, resembles a fat cookbook. Its 570 pages are divided into 81 short chapters collected into 7 sections: "The Newborn," "Nutrition," "Well-Baby Care," "Tips for Parents," "Common Medical Concerns During Early Childhood," "Safety and First Aid," and "Additional Help and Information" (a glossary and list of resource organizations and Web sites). Every chapter is a reprinted article or document, from sources as diverse as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Mental Health, and Department of Health and Human Services to Barton Schmidt, Channing L. Bete Co Inc, and the Vegetarian Society. Copyrighted articles from Parenting magazine and Pediatrics are also included.