This book is written in the form of a diary from the point of view of a baby named Joey, writes Daniel N. Stern. The diary form enables the author to answer questions that are frequently asked about the inner life of infants. What goes on in infants’ minds when they stare at someone’s face, gaze at a ray of sunlight on a wall, or look at the bars of their crib? How do infants experience hunger? What do they feel when they are breast- or bottle-fed? What do they feel when you play with them? How do they experience separation?

The author has been trying to find answers to these questions for more than thirty years. Much of his time during those years has been spent in the company of babies. As a father of five, he has firsthand experience of infants. As a specialist in child psychiatry, he has been concerned with the relations between infants and their parents. And as a scientist, he has observed and studied infant development.

An internationally renowned expert in development psychology, Daniel N. Stern is professor of psychology at the University of Geneva and adjunct professor at Cornell University Medical Center-New York Hospital. He is the author of many acclaimed works, including The Motherhood Constellation, The Interpersonal World of the Infant and, with his wife Nadia Bruschweiler-Stern, The Birth of a Mother.