84 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
It's not about New York City. It's about Manhattan., April 2, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Who Knew Raising Kids in New York Could Be This Easy?: From playgrounds to preschools, strollers to sneakers, eateries to excursions-- everything a Manhattan Parent needs to know (Paperback)
The title of this book is misleading. Thinking of Manhattan as "New York City" is a typically yuppie-provincial view--but in line with the voice of the authors. In addition, this book adds nothing you can't find in more reliable and complete sources such as Fodor's guides or the very many NYC web sites and news channels.
They fail to mention many of the exciting and educational attractions outside of Manhattan (to note are the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Prospect Park, and the zillions of Staten Island events). They often leave out vital bits of information such as directions or phone numbers (perhaps they take taxis everywhere?) They mentioned one book store that I know has been closed for some time.
It was particularly disturbing that the majority of the book is spent on shopping and eating, and less on the variety indivudual nuances of libraries, museums, and music centers.
On a personal note, I found the authors style to be grating. To me, some of their phrasing, "Food and Whine" as the title for the restaurant chapter and "Here comes the Bribe" for toy stores, are tell-tale as to how they view and interact with their children. It's not a pretty picture.
This is not a book I would recommend to anyone, especially to Native New Yorkers.
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47 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Adding my two disappointed cents, June 30, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Who Knew Raising Kids in New York Could Be This Easy?: From playgrounds to preschools, strollers to sneakers, eateries to excursions-- everything a Manhattan Parent needs to know (Paperback)
Sure, raising kids in New York IS easy when you have the bucks these authors must have to shop at the stores they mention. This extremely yuppy guide smacks of elitism and left me feeling like an embittered "have-not" Additionally, there's not nearly enough information about the borroughs, not all of us are fortunate enough to live on the upper east side...
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Outdated, July 16, 2007
This review is from: Who Knew Raising Kids in New York Could Be This Easy?: From playgrounds to preschools, strollers to sneakers, eateries to excursions-- everything a Manhattan Parent needs to know (Paperback)
This book is outdated, so not very helpful. Moreover, the suggestions are pretty obvious - I was hoping for a book that gave more specific ideas on what to buy and where (in other words, as an apartment-dwelling mom, what products make sense given the space constraints and where can these be bought today in 2007), where to go (for example, child-friendly gyms), etc. Although there were some suggestions, the suggestions were very outdated.
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