The Mother's Book

Originally published in 1831, these instructions for mothers on raising children are still applicable to today's parents.

Lydia Marie Child (1802-1880) was a celebrated American author, abolitionist, and women's rights activist. Born in Medford, MA, her grandfather's house still stands near the Mystic River as a tangible reminder of her most memorable poem.

Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880) was an American abolitionist, women's rights activist, Indian rights activist, novelist, and journalist. Her 1833 book An Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans was the first anti-slavery work printed in America in book form, while her American Frugal Housewife, first published in 1828, was a wildly popular nineteenth-century manual for homemakers. Other works from Child, who is best remembered for her Thanksgiving poem "Over the River and Through the Woods," include The Mother's Book, The Girl's Own Book, and The Family Nurse.