As a textbook, the information is clear and well-laid out. The writers of the books should have stopped there; unfortunately, they instead insisted on threading the textbook with ongoing vignettes about 3 families of "diverse" backgrounds. As an earlier reader noted, it is multiculturism gone terribly wrone. It is HORRIBLY cliche - especially in the case of the token fictional African American family. This family, whose members include "Malcolm and Momma Jo Williams" and who say things like "you gon' be one sorry chile," represent stereotype and prejudice at its worst. Its surprising that DeHart and her colleagues didn't include fried chicken and watermelons in descriptions of the family diet.

This book follows hypothetical situations of 4 kids, the writer's aging them as the chapters go thru developmental ages. The box has very good information, but is hard to read and a bit dry. I did learn a lot from the book, which is the purpose and would recommend it to others.

I felt the need to submit a review on this textbook, since the other reviews I read on the text not only didn't do justice, but didn't seem to have much thought and consideration put into them. Perhaps the reviewers with poor opinions on the text were using the book for a course they didn't care much for, and were taking merely to fulfill a general education requirement. In classes where instructors know most of the students are taking the course merely to fulfill a blank slot on their transcript, a more elementary and less expensive text could be considered. So, I would call that poor thinking on the school or professor's part. *I* took the Child Development course which I did, not only to fulfill some credits I still needed, but because I'm very interested in the subject as well as a degree in child developmental psychology or other psychology related degree. I didn't find the text to be in the least bit dry. I thought it was extremely well thought out and put together. This was one of the very few textbooks I actually read cover to cover during my 5 years of college. I even read a few chapters at the end that our class didn't have time to cover, purely for interest's sake. I go back to this book again and again. I have let friends with young children borrow the book after having highlighted sections for them to read which I thought would be helpful in their everyday understanding of their own children. This book will stay on my shelf until it is completely outdated, and will be reviewed and looked at again often. It is invaluable to me.