Over the school holidays, this book was left on my desk whilst I was away on holiday. During this time, my secretary photocopied two chapters for an anxious general practitioner, a health visitor, and a junior doctor borrowed it and when I finally got time to read it, the book was missing because our locality mental health worker had taken it home. Reviewers normally read books in pristine condition, this one was distinctly creased and dog-eared. It therefore goes without saying that this is an excellent book.

Knowledge of the psychological and psychosomatic disorders of childhood is not an optional extra for primary care teams and paediatricians. In primary care settings in the United Kingdom, 2%–5% of children brought to the general practitioner by their parents have mental health …