New Parent Reading Bundle

James J. McKenna Professor James J. McKenna, Ph.D. is the Rev. Edmund P. Joyce CSC Chair in Anthropology and Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. He also directs the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University. He has published extensively on infant sleep, breastfeeding, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and the evolution of human behavior with special emphasis on the differences between the behavior and physiology of solitary and co-sleeping-breastfeeding mother-baby pairs. His interests include how cultural factors influence infant and childcare practices, which in turn, affect maternal-infant health and well-being. The National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development fund his research. Currently, he is involved in a multi-site USA national prospective project examining first-time teen moms throughout their pregnancies and throughout the first three years of their infants' lives. His articles have appeared in refereed periodicals and academic journals around the world, and he is considered one of the leading authorities on scientific studies of infant-parent co-sleeping and breastfeeding, especially bed-sharing, having been the first to study the practice. He can be reached atJim@platypusmedia.com. Dia L. Michels is an award-winning internationally published science and parenting writer, she is the author or editor of over a dozen books for both children and adults. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Dutch, Hebrew, Chinese, and Korean. A popular speaker, she lectures frequently at conferences, universities, libraries, and schools around the country. She teaches classes on mammal reproduction and lactation at children's and science museums around the U.S. and is a commentator for Public Radio, International. Her articles have been published in People, Parenting, Mothering, Parents, Baby Talk, Family Fun, Nurturing, and the Washington Post. She lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, with her husband, Tony Gualtieri, their three children, and four cats and a dog. She can be reached at Dia@PlatypusMedia.com. Andrew Barthelmes, illustrator of If My Mom Were a Platypus, and designer of I Was Born to Be a Brother and many other projects, is a New York based illustrator and graphic designer. A graduate of The School of Visual Arts, his illustrations have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Ladies' Home Journal, Street & Smith's Sports, and The Wall Street Journal. In addition to the Platypus book, he also illustrated Herman the Loudmouth. He has been a children's book designer for Random House, Inc. and is currently creating new children's books for Reader's Digest. He lives in Peekskill, NY with his wife Barbara, and daughter, Julia. Mike Speiser's artwork has been featured on the covers of Wild Animal Baby magazine and on fundraising products for science organizations. His paintings have been displayed at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. He is involved with efforts to protect the natural world for future generations. He lives next to the Black Hills of South Dakota. He can be reached atMike@PlatypusMedia.com.