kid stuff

As if being entertainers and parents weren't enough, both Will Smith and Josie Bissett recently put on their writer's caps and penned books about their respective child-rearing experiences. Smith's Just the Two of Us (Scholastic, $17), illustrated by Kadir Nelson, is based on his song of the same title and was written in celebration of his 8-year-old son, Trey. "I want my kids to learn a few small gems of wisdom that I think are very important ['Hold doors, pull out chairs, easy on the swears']," says Smith, also father to Jaden Christopher Syre and Willow Camille Reign. Bissett's project, Little Bits of Wisdom (Compendium, $15), is geared more toward grown-ups, as it delivers advice to parents, from parents. "After putting Mason [her toddler son with actor Rob Estes] to bed, I spent hours e-mailing parents around the country," says Bissett, whose own tip—keep shampoo out of a baby's eyes during rinsing by diverting his attention with a dangling stuffed animal—made the cut. The actress notes that parenting is the role where "the reviews matter most." —I-Lien Tsay