Savvy Auntie: The Ultimate Guide for Cool Aunts, Great-Aunts, Godmothers, and All Women Who Love Kids [Hardcover]

Melanie Notkin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2011

Savvy Auntie is the first go-to source for taking delight in the Savvy Auntie lifestyle, based on the popular website and written by America's foremost expert on modern Aunthood, Melanie Notkin. Whether she's an Auntie by Relation or Auntie by Choice, a Long-Distance Auntie or a Gay Auntie, America's fastest growing segment of women, the PANK (Professional Aunt No Kids), needs guidance and advice when it comes to the kids she adores. Why should their parents know all the secrets?

Savvy Auntie empowers sophisticated, educated, and independent aunts to connect with their inner-Savvy Auntie by sharing everything she needs to know from the minute she discovers her sister or friend is expecting, to confidently lending a hand with a newborn niece or nephew, to keeping up with the walking, talking growing-oh-so-fast bundles of energy, while coping with the occasional meltdown—including her own. Notkin provides a wealth of essential information and insight on child development, health and well-being, and spending 'QualAuntie' time with nieces and nephews. Plus she shares tips for baby showers, baby booty, birthdays and big kids.

Notkin also addresses the ultimate concern for the modern aunt: to have children or not, and if so, how? She offers savvy advice on living life to the fullest no matter the choice or circumstance. Chock full of sidebars, fun facts, and helpful anecdotes from every day Savvy Aunties, Savvy Auntie is the indispensable handbook for Aunties of all ages, and for every single, married or partnered woman navigating the ultimate celebration of life: children.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Savvy Auntie not only celebrates Aunties, it validates the unique and important role Aunts play in the lives of children who they ADORE. I highly recommend this book...
Rosemarie T. Truglio, Ph.D., VP, Education & Research, Sesame Workshop

What a wonderful gift this book is.... Read this book, embrace it, pass it along: 'Savvy Auntie', like the women it celebrates, is destined to be dearly loved.
Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed

...celebrates one of the most precious--and heretofore unsung--relationships on the planet. I love this book.
Christiane Northrup, M.D., ob/gyn physician/author of New York Times bestsellers: Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom and The Wisdom of Menopause


...in this marvelous celebration of savvy aunties' love for their nieces and nephews, Melanie Notkin shines a much-needed spotlight on a bond that brings so much happiness to so many people.
Gretchen Rubin, Bestselling author of The Happiness Project

... Invaluable...I understand what a gift it is for a child to be loved by...adoring grownups. On behalf of the kids and moms, thank you, SAVVY AUNTIE!
Tori Spelling, Bestselling Author and Actress

“[Savvy Auntie is] an ‘all-inclusive guide’ for what [Notkin] calls PANKs: Professional Aunts No Kids. It’s a rallying girl-call in high chick-lit style: lots of hot pink and cheerful advice.” (New York Times )

“A chic guide for new and experienced aunts that establishes their valuable family role . . . Communal childrearing at its finest.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“You’ll be blown away by Melanie Notkin’s expertise on America’s cool aunts, who are over-loved yet overlooked by marketers. If you want to gain the hearts and dollars of these kid-loving, high-spending women, SAVVY AUNTIE is a must read.” (Mary Lou Quinlan, CEO of Just Ask a Woman, author of What She's Not Telling You )

“Here’s a Jewish mother’s secret: having aunties around to love our kids and give us the support we need is priceless. Melanie’s book honors our sisters and friends and I can’t think of anyone more deserving.” (Jill Zarin, Real Housewife of New York and Co-author, Secrets of a Jewish Mother )

“Savvy Auntie is not only hugely informative, it’s great fun to read. Give it to all to your girlfriends--they’ll thank you, and so will all their lucky nieces and nephews. A great gift for anyone who loves kids.” (Melissa Kirsch, author of The Girl's Guide to Absolutely Everything )

“A joy to read. Savvy Auntie is a fun, comprehensive guide that no Auntie (of any kind) should be without! We can’t wait to buy it for our friends.” ("The Guncles" - Bill Horn & Scout Masterson )

“With this savvy guide, Melanie has changed the way we will begin to look at women and family in America. She’s identified the one thing all women - straight, gay, married, single, or partnered - have in common: an unconditional love for the children in our lives.” (Jenny Stewart -- Entertainment Journalist, Voted "10 Amazing Gay Women in Showbiz" )

“[Notkin’s] site and new book are filled with smart, frank advice about being a positive aunt for kids.” (Better Homes and Gardens )

About the Author

Melanie Notkin (a.k.a. Savvy Auntie) is the founder of SavvyAuntie.com and creator of the popular Savvy Auntie lifestyle brand—the phenomenon heralded by fabulous kid-friendly women everywhere as a celebration of modern, cosmopolitan aunthood. These PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids) aren't childless—they're childfull! And their love is a gift.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (April 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061999970
• ISBN-13: 978-0061999970
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melanie Notkin is America's premier Savvy Auntie, empowering the nearly 50% of American women who are not moms to celebrate all they do for the children in their lives, while living their own lives to the fullest. She launched SavvyAuntie.com, the first online community for aunts and godmothers, in the summer of 2008 to wide-acclaim. The website includes expert content designed specifically for aunts, activities, community and trendy gift ideas.

Melanie identified this influential segment of women, which she has dubbed PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids), when she herself became an aunt. In February 2009, she guest posted for Lisa Belkin's parenting blog in The New York Times to explain the value of aunts and godmothers in family life. The term has also appeared in More Magazine, TrendCentral.com, Washington Post, The Record, The Star Ledger, Dallas Morning News among others. On July 26, 2009, she launched Savvy Auntie's Day, the first national holiday to honor aunts and aunt-hood.

As child lifestyle expert and tastemaker, Auntie Melanie has been featured numerous times on NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, FOX News and BetterTV showcasing the coolest kid trends of the season. Notkin serves on the Toy Industry Association "Toy of the Year" committee.

She has worked with leading kid brands like Hasbro, Disney and Hallmark, and brands for women including Turner Networks/TNT, JCPenney and Tropicana. Her groundbreaking and effective advertising campaigns have been featured in Mashable.com, The New York Times, Advertising Age and The Wall Street Journal where she's been lauded as a 'trusted source' and spokesperson for America's top brands.

SavvyAuntie.com was 2009 Webby Award nominee for Best Family/Parenting site and is a Springwise.com Top 10 Lifestyle and Leisure Business Idea for 2008. Melanie is featured on Mashable.com's list of top 5 start ups in New York City's social media hub. She's ranked in the "Top 100 Most Powerful Women on Twitter" list and was named on of the "Top 10 Women in Social Media" in 2010.

As a successful business woman, she appeared as a regular panelist on FOX News' Strategy Room Business Hour. She also lectures at various conferences inspiring women, students and entrepreneurs on launching the business of their dreams. She's been featured on First30Days.com, Business Week and Huffington Post for her leveraging of social media to launch and grow her business. She has documented the launch of her own business at her 'auntrepreneurial' blog at blog.savvyauntie.com.

Before developing Savvy Auntie, Melanie was an interactive marketing and communications executive for global Fortune 500 companies, including New York Times Digital and American Express, as well as L'Oréal. She is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada where she was born.

She is a Savvy Auntie and Auntie by Relation (ABR) to a number of wonderful children who are the loves of her life. She is also an Auntie By Choice (ABC) to all of her friends' kids, who come in a very close second. Melanie resides in New York where she is surrounded by the very best the City has to offer.

You can find Melanie at MelanieNotkin.com, Twitter.com/SavvyAuntie, Facebook.com/SavvyAuntie, Youtube.com/SavvyAuntie, Blog.SavvyAuntie.com and of course SavvyAuntie.com.

Melanie Notkin can be reached at [e-mail].