Praise For The Perfect Baby Handbook

Most of it quite nurturing…

This hilarious, satirical look at super-parenting had me laughing so hard, I almost spilled my wine. If you want to make absolutely sure your child doesn’t grow up to be ordinary or you just want to laugh, I highly recommend this book.”
Stefanie Wilder Taylor,
author of Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay

Wickedly funny…lampoons the herd mentality of insecure adults, lays out dos and don’ts, how-tos and cautionary tales, accompanied by richly detailed charts, graphs and illustrations.”
The New York Times

Hands down the funniest book about children that Spy magazine never wrote.”
Douglas Coupland

Deliciously satirical!”
The New York Daily News

Dale Hrabi’s The Perfect Baby Handbook arrives at the perfect time. America is in the grip of, not so much baby madness, but acute parenting neurosis. His deadpan, fondly skewering send-up of the industry that preys on modern parental anxiety provides must-read comic relief for new moms and dads—and all the people who lovingly put up with us. Not only did this book leave me in uncontrollable hysterics, the absurd illustrations distracted my two-year-old for several hours.” Miranda Purves,
Living Editor, ELLE Magazine

The perfect guide for all those new parents and parents-to-be who are starting to realize that the “perfect baby” may not, in fact, exist in nature. A delightfully absurd diversion, with hilarious illustrations to match, The Perfect Baby Handbook is thoroughly imaginative and very funny.”
Christie Mellor,
author of The Three-Martini Playdate

Brilliant [and not entirely un-highbrow].”
New York Magazine, The Approval Matrix, March 30, 2009

Offers parents what they really need: a lot of good laughs.”
Eric Messinger
Editor, New York Family

Hilarious…worth checking out.”
Cookie

In researching his satirical manual The Perfect Baby Handbook, which details yuppie parent phenomena, Dale Hrabi found that sometimes even the slightest intervention can help moms and dads see the absurdity of their ways.”
W Magazine, “Uncensored”

[This] satirical guide to raising kids [is] the perfect anecdote to your anxiety (since heavy drinking is out).”
Daily Candy Kids 2009 Maternity Guide

Reads like the demon offspring of Spy Magazine and The Preppy Handbook, raised by the editors of American Baby. With sections devoted to advanced slumber strategies, the secrets to overcoming developmental plateaus, and a color-coded analysis of normal versus “problem” poop, the book’s deadpan mockery also reveals a seriousness of purpose.”
Babble.com

Sifting through the stacks of books on conception, pregnancy, and parenting to find the ones that are actually worth their price on Amazon is damn near impossible, but [this one] caught our eye…The Perfect Baby Handbook is just what you need when the crushing sense of responsibility you feel when creating a life gets you down. This spoof on traditional baby guidebooks (and a certain kind of overprotective, affluent parent) offers advice on everything from ‘The thin line between ‘cute’ and ‘cruel’ baby hats” to ‘How to read your baby’s thoughts by scrutinizing her obsessively,’ not to mention helpful sections on naming, baby-proofing, and co-pooping…it’ll make you laugh out loud by page 5.”
Curves Magazine, April, 2009

Hrabi’s hilarious handbook is a life-saving antidote to the ‘the mommy crazies’…its mix of gin-fizz wit and razor-sharp humor perfectly skewers our obsession with the cult of parenting.”
The Vancouver Sun

A compendium of everything superparents need to turn their brilliant progeny into uber-geniuses.”
The Oakland Tribune

When I first heard of The Perfect Baby Handbook, I thought it would be just another book telling me all the things I’m doing wrong as a parent. Boy was I wrong! This hilarious look at raising a child is just what the doctor ordered…a great distraction from the seriousness of parenting a newborn.”
An Island Review

A refreshing mockery of all the “how to get the perfect kid” talk we hear and read…I laughed so hard my eyes were watering.”
Nerd Family Things

I found myself laughing at…well, myself…as [Hrabi] perfectly described several situations I’ve found myself in—a section on “competitive breast feeding,” which you just have to read, and a lesson on poop colors and your child’s health. (Come on.. you know you checked the color of your baby’s poo too.) Once you start it, you won’t want to put it down.”
Kelleys Family Jewels

The must have parenting book of the year!”
The 160 Acre Woods

By far the funniest baby book I have ever read! We have all been there as parents…going way over board, being excessively motivated. I kept interrupting my husband’s reading to snort, giggle and share with him a piece of parenting wisdom that somehow got by us. With my next baby, I am so going for “Competitive Breastfeeding: Seven Ways to Nourish with Distinction.” (And, seriously the illustrations that go along with these outrageous concepts are totally fun!)
Creative Thoughts by Chelle

Every once in a while, I get to read a book that is so clever and funny that it makes me smile for weeks after I read it. Not only is the Perfect Baby Handbook hilarious, but it is very well done…the artwork and colors are terrific, and the content is well-researched and intuitive. Hrabi spent serious time getting this book “just right” for our enjoyment and it shows…a MUST HAVE for every parent and parent-to-be.
Hybrid Mom Insider

From the moment I cracked this book’s cover, I was laughing out loud. Even more fun, however, was identifying snippets of excess that I’ve seen in parents around us. I do suspect that a copy of this book my very well make its way into every new baby gift, that I give. Relatable and highly laugh-out-loud funny, this book could easily become the fad gift of our moment.”
Rainy Day in May

Even if your children are older, you’ll still get a laugh”
Upscale Baby Blog

Dale Hrabi’s The Perfect Baby Handbook: A Guide for Excessively Motivated Parents offers a satirical look at type-A moms and dads. The author, an established writer for publications like Details and Radar, guides readers through the process of preparing for a flawless child, from brain testing to grooming. Offering cautionary tales (”Bartholomew’s parents accidentally let him touch an unnatural fabric at a theme restaurant”), advice on where to look for baby names (IKEA products, racehorses) and tips to identify the perfect baby (grows wary of lobbyists), this not-so-serious approach to the all-encompassing baby guide gives anxious parents a little breathing room — and a laugh.”
Urban Baby

Every page is filled with riotous advice on how to mold your precious baby into perfection. Who doesn’t want a baby whose multifaceted coos stun the pigeon community? From expanding co-parenting outside the family bed (Co-pooping? Co-unicycling?) to competitive breastfeeding to hiring unique entertainers for your baby’s first birthday like a dead 19th century American poet, the beautifully illustrated guide smacks with a tongue-in-cheek comedy you won’t find anywhere else.”
The Full Mommy

Can I just tell you how much I love The Perfect Baby Handbook? Seriously, it’s hilarious and had me laughing from the start…at the pressures you feel when trying to become the “perfect parents” and trying to raise the ”perfect children.” This book will teach you important things like how to help your infant develop a signature walk, secrets to immortalizing your miracle on film, how to baby-proof everything on earth and more….”Little Window Shoppe

Brilliantly funny —hands down the funniest parenting guide I’ve read (and I just may have read them all). Addressing the phenomena of the over-the-top yuppy parent and spoofing the run of the mill how-to parenting book, Canadian born Hrabi pokes satirical fun at…well, everything about parenthood. He leaves no stone left unturned. He’ll teach you how to babyproof the planet, perform an imbalance awareness drill, hire dead entertainers for your baby’s first birthday, adopt the ultimate schedule (down to the minute), induce “advanced slumber”, and color code poop. The artwork is terrific – as funny as the text, perhaps – and the entire book makes me want to hang out with Dale and laugh and myself and everyone else who has ever spawned. If you know someone on bedrest awaiting their first child, this is THE book you need to buy for them. If it doesn’t make them laugh, they need some major therapy. Bedrest or not, I think this book would make an awesome addition to any baby gift.”
Much More Then a Mom

“If you are already obsessing about colleges, let this book remind you not to take parenting (or yourself) so seriously… packed full of parenting satire and biting wit.”
Momtrends

I thought I’d read every baby handbook on earth. And, I admit it, I became really jaded and snooty about them. Let’s just say there’s a lot of rehashing going on in the baby humor world and it’s hard to find a fresh perspective. The Perfect Baby Handbook is totally different. Talented ex-Radar writer and Details creative director Dale Hrabi has produced a half graphic novel, half biting satire that had me at “competitive breastfeeding.”
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