What is happiness? Why does happiness matter? Vanessa King, lead psychologist at the charity/non-profit Action for Happiness, discusses how developing ours and our children’s happiness skills can have benefits for our own lives and for society as a whole.

The Millennial cohort is often characterised as a shallow, social media-obsessed generation that puts avocado toast ahead of the future. But in reality they are overeducated, underemployed and beset by anxiety, says Malcolm Harris, millennial and author of Kids These Days. Here he selects five books that paint a more accurate portrait of the first generation to come of age in the 21st century.

Dr Genevieve Von Lob talks to Five Books about the pressures and strains on family life today, and how a mindful approach can help us all.

Depictions of fathers in children’s books have leapt forward in recent years, says illustrator Paul Howard. He talks us through his favourite visions of modern dads, from the ultimate macho man to fathers at their most vulnerable.

Aristotle tells us that all politics starts in the family, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the infamously fraught relationship between mother and daughter. Here, the novelist, playwright and poet Deborah Levy chooses five books – or rather, four books and one film – that explore motherhood.

In her book The Rival Queens, historian Nancy Goldstone explored the destructive relationship between Marguerite de Valois and her mother Catherine de’ Medici. Here she chooses five different memoirs that best explore the emotionally complex dynamics that characterise mother-daughter relationships.

The professor of perinatal psychobiology at Imperial College, London tells us how our understanding of foetal development and the importance of mother-child bonding has changed in recent decades

Author and psychology professor, Alison Gopnik, tells us what’s going on in children’s minds – and that it’s a lot more than we may think

Fathers and mothers play very different roles in a child’s development, says professor of child psychiatry, Kyle Pruett. He recommends essential reading on fatherhood—for both parents.

If you’ve stepped inside a school recently, you’ve probably heard teachers talking about the importance of  a ‘growth mindset.’ Here psychologist Carol Dweck, who pioneered research into this key concept, explains what it’s all about and recommends books—other than her own—that shed light on it.

From an early age, girls learn to be pretty in pink while boys are marketed a prepackaged masculinity. The author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter explains how parents can give their children a broader, more imaginative outlook

Play is a vital learning experience. But not all play is equal. Some helps children develop their imagination and learn cooperative behaviour. Some doesn’t. The Yale psychologist explains all

Education writer Peg Tyre says many parents don’t understand how children learn and so don’t know what to look for in a school. She recommends five books to bring parents up to speed.

The anthropologist explains how infants are socially aware and why behaviour thought inevitable in some cultures, such as tantrums, can be uncommon elsewhere

The author of the self-satirising memoir on ambitious “tiger mothers” talks us through the books about motherhood that have made the most impact on her.

Clinical psychologist, author and broadcaster discusses the stigmas attached to mental health problems, and asks whether, as a society, we are really doing what’s best for our children

Poet, writer and Bafta winning TV and film producer, Henry Normal, talks about his experiences bringing up his autistic son, the need for acceptance and why we should all embrace our human imperfections. Along the way he recommends five books that inspired him as a young man and continue to inspire him today.

The Consultant Psychotherapist at The Tavistock Clinic explains the history of Child Psychotherapy and walks us through the five books that have influenced her most