Browsing the parenting section of any bookstore reveals a wide variety ofcommercially available baby books. In spite of their popularity, the baby book format has rarely been used to develop materials that support the transition to parenting. This article describes the development of a baby book for this purpose, the phenomenological scholarship and research findings that shaped its design, and the results of an evaluation study that assessed its appeal, use, and readability by low-income parents. Forty-four low-income parents who had received the baby book were asked to describe their use of the book and to rate its appeal and readability during phone interviews. Parents’ suggestions for revising the baby book and their thoughts about sharing journal entries with clinicians were also elicited. The baby book text, written with the baby’s voice, appealed broadly to parents, suggesting that this format shows promise as an educational tool.
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