Customer Reviews

Fun and Educational Places to Go with Kids and Adults in Southern California

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

if you are looking for a guidebook of places to take your kids, this is the only one you'll need. it is thorough, gently opinionated, and most importantly, lists absolutely everything of interest from san diego to santa barbara. one really gets the sense that the author has actually checked out every listing - an amazing feat. if you are just visiting the area, this book will probably overwhelm. in fact, its length and breadth make it dense reading and not easily flipped through in the car. it is not organized by location which makes it somewhat hard to use, especially on the fly, but thats my only criticism. a great buy.

I've found the only and best way to travel ever!! I wanted a book that I could use easy fast and dependable, I found it at last! This book has a number of different ways to make travel easy. Everything is organized by category starting with Amusement Parks, Arts and Crafts, Beaches etc. After you find your category look for the city your in then just find the places and read the review. I've talked with the author and she said that her and her three boys and they've been to every place so they could write from personal perspective. In the back four more way to find an awesome place. Every review has hours admission and directions and much more. It's a travel Bible for so. CA. a must have for travelers!!

I am currently a teenager in Los Angeles. My parents bought this book when it first came out (when i was nine), and i must say that we spent a lot of family time together touring the places in Southern CA. There is a place in SoCal that every kid will like, and this book just helps parents find where that magical place is. I absolutely love the tour of the LA Times, which my family did not know was offered before we purchased this book.
Now that i am older, i still visit some of the places in the book with my family. The book is a helpful way to plan family time.
For teachers: this is a helpful book for field trip ideas!

This book is amazing. The lady who wrote it must have been such an adventurer! She took her kids all over the place! You can tell that she really went to the places because she describes the best things to do there and she's always correct! I have found so many wonderful new places thanks to this book. I've been to about 50 of the places recommended and I plan to go to more. The best thing about the book is that it leads you to unknown parks and beach areas and museums that are free. It's not just a touristy book promoting all the expensive glitzy things to do in each city. Instead you find wonderful "real" places that families from the area know are the loveliest spots.

I have bought this book at least 20 times - it is by far my favorite baby present, grandparent present, parent of kids present, etc. How great to get something that does not add clutter but rather fun to a kids life. The indexes are EXCELLENT as are the directions and website references. Susan Peterson is very funny in person - she spoke to our MOPS group and was just excellent.

I bought this one for a friend who's getting ready to have a baby. I got my copy shortly after my first child was born, and it was worth every penny! Even though I've lived in SoCal for 20+ years, the book lists many places I'd never even heard of. And I love that it lists places that have free days at certain times of the month.

This book has provided so many wonderful adventures and opportunities for our family! We have been able to take our kids to amazing, educational, fun and sometimes unheard-of places here in SoCal. And, the information Susan Peterson gives about each place is so valuable: prices, deals, appropriate ages, which season is best for them, and even little known facts or insights that will help you enjoy it more. We were thrilled to find this book, and always recommend it to friends, and loan it to visiting relatives and friends.

I ordered two guidebooks on what to do with children in LA, and this is by far the better of the two. For one thing, it's literally three times as big as the other one. At over 800 pages, it really and truly is the only book you'll need. Clearly the author really has been to them; she takes care to note important details like cost and hours, as well as appropriate age ranges. And it's full of really interesting places I'd never heard of even after 10 years of living in Los Angeles. I confess that after spending an afternoon scoping out places to take the little one, I had half a dozen places bookmarked that *I* want to see!

This book contains lots of valuable information from a person who has actually visited every single spot with her kids. I love that Peterson categorizes places in different ways (e.g. by City). I also find the calendar section extremely valuable because it's a perfect source for finding special events or festivals that are currently happening. I highly recommend this book to any parent!!

The book is very thorough and great ideas that every parent should have in their car. Found new parks that I would have never known. Love it!