Book excerpt: From the universally admired author of the bestselling classic Your Baby and Child: “a masterful work [that could] revolutionize the way America cares for its young children and bring about a radical improvement in the lives of children and their parents” (The Boston Globe). Who is caring for today’s children? How well are they succeeding? What does care cost, and who is paying for it? Leach answers these and other urgent questions with facts and figures gathered from the most current research, brought to life by the voices of parents, including those involved in her own five-year study. She highlights the urgent need in America today for measures to raise the quality of child care and to make the best care we can provide available to all families, just as it is in most other developed nations. Setting out clearly and candidly what is known about every aspect of child care—including the often hidden feelings and fears of parents—Leach presents a critical case for change.