Published in association with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), this guide provides information for parents of children up to the age of 11 years. It includes all aspects of physical growth and health as well as emotional and intellectual development. The color-coded sections make it easy to find specific information, and the illustrations demonstrate both symptoms and proper techniques for care and treatment.

The book starts out with sections for infants and young children. Each includes information about growth and development and diagnosis charts for common symptoms. There are also sections on diseases and disorders by organ system and on first aid. "Making Sense of Health Care Information" is a useful essay that tells readers how to evaluate what they find in books, online, and in advertisements. A resource list provides contact information for government and nonprofit agencies offering information about children's health, but there is no bibliography.

Although the fourth edition of AAP's Caring for Your Baby and Child: Birth to Age 5 was published in 2004, the new DK title is more recent than AAP's Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5-12 (1999) and Guide to Your Child's Symptoms (1997). It is a useful addition to public and consumer-health library collections and priced so that those with sufficient funds could purchase both reference and circulating copies. It is also a good choice for the home.
— Booklist