Posts Tagged book
Not For Parents New York City Book for Kids
In an ongoing effort to a) engage my children in helping to plan our family trips and b) encourage my son to read something other than the Wimpy Kid books, I got ahold of the brand-new Not For Parents New York City published by Lonely Planet. It’s designed for “young adult” readers, according to Amazon.com. I argue it’s a bit simple for teenagers, but I think the colorful photos, drawings and short snippets of information about the history and sights of the Big Apple are ideal for ages 8 to 12.
Author Klay Lamprell argues on the first page that this is not a guidebook, and I agree that it’s not a comprehensive listing of all there is for families to do in New York City. But the slim paperback (96 pages) does make the city incredibly interesting to curious kids, especially those who appreciate wacky facts and funny stories.
I’ve asked my children to flip through the book to check for any “must see” things they want to do on our trip to the city next month. I’ll be sure to pack the book, too, so they can read the facts pertaining to stops we’ve already planned: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Broadway and Little Italy. For example, did you know that Lady Gaga is the daughter of an Italian New Yorker, and that her real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanota? (I didn’t.)
Other fun stuff: The original 1907 taxis in NYC were painted shiny red and green, but fleet owner Harry Allen wanted them to stand out, so he painted them yellow. Toilet paper was invented by a New Yorker. The imaginary location on Sesame Street was inspired by buildings on Amsterdam Avenue, and on November 10, fans visit the area to celebrate the long running kids’ show; the same actor has played Big Bird since 1969!
Yep, my kiddos love these little bits of trivia, and I hope the book will inspire a love of New York City, as well.
Other Not For Parents city guides include Paris, London and Rome. Purchase on Amazon.com for $11.10.
More books for kids:
Posted by Kara in Kids and Family on October 25th, 2011
Klutz Book for Kids: The Slightly Odd United States of America
When it comes to clever activity books for kids, Klutz owns the market, hands down. This upbeat and irreverent publishing company produces all sorts of portable crafts, science kits, drawing pads and puzzles — many of which are great for traveling. (Minus the spiral-bound Bead Rings that comes with a daisy wheel filled with hundreds of seed beads that would not be fun to pick up off the floor of a plane or the backseat of a car.) The travel section of the Klutz website features such goodies as Doodle Faces, The Cootie Catcher Book, The Encyclopedia of Immaturity and Suction Cup Critters.
A new Klutz release this spring is The Slightly Odd United States of America. For ages eight and up, this book includes all sorts of wacky facts about every state in the nation. Each colorful page is dedicated to one state; my favorites are the ones that have the funny state illustrations: a corn-cob Iowa and a Swiss-cheese Wisconsin.
The book is peppered with historic facts (Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky) and off-the-wall information (Blue Earth, Minnesota, is the home of the first ice cream sandwich and Mr. Potato Head is Rhode Island’s official travel ambassador). Trivial, random information reigns supreme in this book — exactly the kind of silly stuff that kids love.
It also includes word searches and scrambles, quizzes and games to keep kids entertained through a multi-state road trip (though I’d love to see even more pages filled with activities). But this book won’t only occupy children in the car; it will teach them about the differences among the states (trust me there’s a whole heck of a lot of random stuff I didn’t know about the U.S.A.) I also see the book being used in our house to help with school research projects down the line.
Buy The Slightly Odd United States of America on the Klutz website for $12.95. On Amazon.com it’s reduced to $9.32.
More travel items for kids:
Posted by Kara in Kids and Family on April 16th, 2010
Lonely Planet’s Travel with Children
Travel with Children, authored collectively by nine Lonely Planet writers, covers everything from choosing the right vacation for your family and packing tips to keeping kids healthy on the road and tons of destination ideas. There are also sections on traveling as a single parent, with teenagers and with children who have special needs. But the 280-page book isn’t for everyone.
Now in its 5th edition, the first version was written by Lonely Planet co-founder Maureen Wheeler, when her children were just 4 and 2. She writes a lovely, reflective foreword filled with anecdotes about traveling with her young kids. (It would be fun to read that first edition to see how traveling with youngsters has changed in the last quarter century — no sanity-saving, portable DVD players back then!)
Loaded with tips and advice (the “Staying Healthy and Keeping Safe” section is particularly thoughtful), Travels with Children does serve as a primer for new parents who aren’t sure how to handle adding an infant to their world travels. It might also be helpful to parents who are brand new to traveling — but this is where the book’s focus skews a bit. If you’re new to traveling, more than likely you don’t need family vacation ideas in far-flung parts of the world.
More than half of the book is dedicated to destination ideas all over the globe. We’re talking about where to go and what to do with children in countries like Sri Lanka, Fiji, Senegal, South Africa and Lebanon. I don’t know about you, but my family vacation plans do not include stops in Beirut or the Cook Islands. With my vacation budget, I need tips on amusement parks and beaches to visit in the United States. (My beloved home state of Colorado and its Rocky Mountains aren’t mentioned at all!) But, if you are planning on saving your pennies for some world travel with your children — or you are dropping out of “real life” for a round-the-world family trip, the 150+ pages of worldwide destination ideas might come in handy.
Recognize, however, that entire countries are covered in just a few pages, so you’re getting thumbnail descriptions of what do do and where to stay in, say, New Zealand. You’ll want to seek out more detailed information from country (or city) specific Lonely Planet (or other) guidebooks for more thorough advice. Also note that the book is written in British English, so you’ll read of “nappies,” “cots” and “holidays” instead of “diapers,” “cribs” and “vacations.”
While I appreciate the opportunity to do some armchair traveling with the books’ list of Top 10 Outdoor Adventures and Top 10 Camping Holidays (I’d love to take my kids to Belize and Vancouver Island), Travels with Children doesn’t speak to me personally because of its broad destination focus. But, for those with more time, money, and inclination to introduce their children to worldwide cultures, it’s worth the $13.59 to buy Travel with Children on Amazon.com (retails for $19.99).
See other titles at the Lonely Planet Shop
Posted by Kara in Kids and Family on July 14th, 2009
