Brave New Stepfamilies: Diverse Paths Toward Stepfamily Living. Susan Stewart, $49.95

Brave New Stepfamilies takes readers on a tour through the diverse and changing landscape of modern stepfamilies. Research on traditional and not-so-traditional stepfamilies is presented in an accessible, practical manner for counselors, therapists and family life professionals.

A Career Girl’s Guide to Becoming a Stepmom: Expert Advice from Other Stepmoms on How to Juggle Your Job, Your Marriage and Your New Stepkids. Jacquelyn Fletcher, $17.50

“A Career Girl's Guide to Becoming a Stepmom is an interactive guide that combines tips from professional women who have already taken the stepfamily plunge with expert advice from academics and marriage and family therapists. Author Jacquelyn B. Fletcher is a stepdaughter and stepmother of three who knows why you married or moved in with that man and his kids. It's simple. Love and hope.”

Daddy's Getting Married. Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, illustrated by Marta Fàbrega, $8.50 (ages 4 to 7)

Children of divorced parents are sometimes confused or troubled when one parent decides to remarry with gentle text and sweet illustrations, this book offers them reassurance.

It’s an Aardvark-Eat-Turtle World. Paula Danzinger, $7.50 (ages 10-14)

“What could be better? Rosie and Phoebe have been best friends since they met on the divorce express, shuttling between their parents on weekends. Now Rosie’s mom and Phoebe’s dad have fallen in love and they’re all moving in together. Rosie has always dreamed of having a real family, but having Phoebe as a sister and having Phoebe as a friend are two very different things. And having an extra parent around isn’t easy for anyone to get used to. It seemed like the perfect setup, but can their friendship survive in the same house?”

Love Him, Love His Kids: the Stepmother’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in a Blended Family. Stan Wenck & Connie Hansen, $15.99

With Love Him, Love His Kids, readers will find the strategies they need to safeguard a new relationship and establish a happy, peaceful, new blended family.

Making Adult Stepfamilies Work: Strategies for the Whole Family When a Parent Marries Later in Life. Grace Gabe & Jean Lipman-Blumen, $21.95

"If you are among the growing number of families in which adults with grown children have remarried later in life, you are probably familiar with the conflicts and complicated emotional dynamics that can result. Parents expect that remarrying will be easier because the children are grown up. But the reality is that these remarriages can cause painful struggles between parents and their adult children. Based on in-depth research by a psychiatrist and a sociologist, Making Adult Stepfamilies Work trains a revealing lens on the sources of these conflicts and teaches the skills required to manage them."

My Father Married Your Mother: Dispatches from the Blended Family. Anne Burt, editor, $18.50

Eye-opening essays by esteemed writers about the rich and complicated lives of stepfamilies. These poignant, heartfelt, sometimes biting tales remind us of the outdated myth of the perfect nuclear family while shedding light on what it means to forge relationships with stepfamily members.

Remarried with Children: Ten Secrets for Successfully Blending and Extending Your Family. Barbara LeBey, $16.99

It may not be the family you always dreamed of — but it’s your family now. This honest and hopeful book shows you the secrets at the heart of a happily blended family.

Stepmonster: a New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Fel and Act the Way They Do. Wednesday Martin, $33.95

Stepmonster illuminates the harrowing process of becoming a stepmother, considers the myths and realities of being married to a man with children, counteracts the cultural notion that stepmothers are solely responsible for the challenges they encounter, identifies the "Five Step-Dilemmas That Create Conflict," and considers the emotional and social challenges men with children face when they remarry.

Finally, in an unexpected twist, Martin shows why the myth of the Wicked Stepmother is our single best tool for understanding who real stepmothers are and how they feel.

Stepmothers & Stepdaughters: Relationships of Chance, Friendships for a Lifetime, Karen Annarino, $16.95

This is a celebration of the unexpected gifts of the stepmother/stepdaughter relationship. Compassionate and poignant, this book helps dispel the myth of the wicked stepmother and encourage strong and lasting friendship.

Despite the fact that more than 40 percent of Canadian marriages end in divorce each year, over 70 percent of divorced people eventually remarry and fail again — over 50 percent of the time. Among the many reasons for the failure of these second marriages between supposedly older and wiser participants, the problems stemming from step-parenting and the blending of the families ranks high, explains psychologist and author Scott Wooding in this comprehensive and groundbreaking look at the challenges faced by couples starting over again.

Starting with the break-up itself, and after outlining the pitfalls and hurdles surrounding the love which most adults assume will lead to new found happiness, Dr. Wooding presents a comprehensive roadmap, a one step-at-a-time guide to successful remarriage for parents and children alike.

Understanding Stepmothers: Women Share their Struggles, Successes and Insights. Elizabeth Church, $19.95

"Moving beyond prescriptive, cookie-cutter how-to books, Understanding Stepmothers is like an empathetic and informative session with a hundred women friends — all stepmothers — but with diverse expectations and experiences."

The Wonder of You: a Book for Celebrating Baby’s First Year. Nancy Tillman, $21.95

This is the perfect gift to welcome the little ones in your life. The Wonder of You celebrates milestones and creates memories in this exquisite and fully inclusive baby book.