Vicki Lansky was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 6, 1942. She received a B.A. from Connecticut College in 1963. She worked as a buyer for a New York City clothing store, as a freelance photographer, and as a childbirth education teaching assistant. In 1974, she and several other mothers collaborated on a babyfood cookbook. When none of the publishers they approached were interested in the book, Lansky and her husband decided to publish the book themselves and distribute it from home. Their creative promotional efforts turned Feed Me! I'm Yours into one of the bestselling cookbooks in its category.
Lansky found her niche as a writer and publisher of parenting materials. She wrote more than 30 books during her lifetime including The Taming of the C.A.N.D.Y. Monster, Practical Parenting Tips for the First Five Years, KoKo Bear's New Potty, and Fat-Proofing Your Children. She received the 1990 Parent's Choice Award for Vicky Lansky's Divorce Book for Parents: Helping Children Cope with Divorce and Its Aftermath.
In 1979, she began publishing a bimonthly newsletter called Practical Parenting, which led to a nationally syndicated radio feature. She was the founder and owner of The Book Peddlars, a publisher and literary agency. She was also a columnist for Family Circle magazine and for Sesame Street Parents magazine. She died from nonalcoholic cirrhosis on January 15, 2017 at the age of 75.
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