Lonely Planet Not For Parents Paris [Paperback]

Klay Lamprell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2011 | Series: Not For Parents

Introducing Lonely Planet’s brand new Not for Parents series!

This is not a guidebook. And it is definitely 'not-for-parents'. It is the real, inside story about one of the world’s most famous cities – Paris. In this book you’ll hear fascinating tales about creepy stone gargoyles, ghostly railway stations, huge castles and amazingly pampered pets. Check out cool stories about stuffed animals, caves filled with bones and the deadly guillotine. You’ll find cyclists, junk collectors and musicians, and snails on the menu for dinner.

• Where can you pretend you’re at the beach in the middle of the city?
• Who smiles at 6 million people a year?
• Who had her own life-size village built just to play in?
• Which famous building was built inside out?

This book shows you a Paris your parents probably don’t even know about. Featuring over 12,000 words and 400 photos, maps and illustrations, Lonely Planet’s new Not for Parents: Paris opens up a world of intriguing stories and fascinating facts about one of the world’s most exciting cities.

Be sure to also check out Not for Parents London, Rome and New York City, as well as the Not for Parents Travel Book – a journey through every country in the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet (October 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1742208177
• ISBN-13: 978-1742208176
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to whet your child's appetite for travel October 21, 2011

By Julia Flyte TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Targeted at children, this new series from the Lonely Planet francise introduces some of the world's great cities. The focus is on "stuff that's cool to know" and the books are a terrific introduction to each city. My boys are aged 7 and 11 and they both have really enjoyed these books.

"Paris: Everything you ever wanted to know" covers a wide range of topics: the history of the city, key architectural highlights, interesting streets and districts, quirky shops, famous works of art, the everyday lives of Parisians and key inventions . The book is in full colour with many photographs and illustrations and includes a comprehensive index.

While there's plenty of educational text, it's written and presented in an upbeat and quirky way. Some of the many cool facts that my kids enjoyed reading about are the hotel for dogs, crazy French food, the bone-filled catacombs, the Tour de France, the way that the Basilica of Sacre Coeur cleans itself and the french habit of jumping in fountains on hot days.

Whether you're preparing for a trip or just interested in learning more about the world, this is a fantastic addition to a child's library. The entire series is terrific, but this one is especially good. My seven year old is now desperate to go to Paris!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Novel Approach but Too Spastic for My Taste January 26, 2012

By Kathy K VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Full disclosure: I'm not a kid, but I'm not a parent either. What I am is an adult who has long harbored a fascination with and love for all things French, and Paris in particular. All of that out of the way, I'm conflicted over "Not-for-Parents Paris." On the one hand, I like how it's geared toward youthful sensibilities and I was particularly fond of the Want More? sections on each topic that encourage readers to research (with links) those subjects that interest them. I also learned some interesting tidbits along the way that made me wish I'd gotten my hands on this book before visiting Paris for the first time.

On the other hand, I found the spastic, graphic-novel-esque approach off putting. I know the series is trying to capture the attention of a reading group who've grown up in the Internet age and become bored after 30 seconds of anything, but I'm not a fan of the ploy. There's just too much going on on the page, to the point where frequently I didn't even know where to begin. Moreover, I found the jokes corny and several of the cartoons downright inappropriate, even for someone of my age, let alone a kid. Take for instance the man lying in a pool of blood with his tongue hanging out of his mouth and a sword impaling him to illustrate how Louis XVI's chef killed himself. And don't even get me started on all the bloody decapitated heads.

Still, I do plan to revisit this book before traveling to France again, and anything that piques young people's interest in a culture I adore holds some merit with me. "Not-for-Parents Paris" isn't for everyone, but it probably is something parents, despite the title, will want to approve before passing along to younger kids or those of a sensitive nature.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Especially configured for a child's inclinations. February 19, 2012

By Tom Brody VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

PARIS EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW is a 96 page book printed in full color on glossy paper. The table of contents lists about 40 chapters, including, "That Smile," "Pooches in Paris," "That's Mr.Eifel to You," "Square of the Guillotine," and "Asterix the Gaul." "That Smile" is a 2-page chapter which has color photos of the Mona Lisa, a crude cartoon drawing of Leonardo Da Vinci, a cartoon drawing of a burgular holding a cloth sack containint the Mona Lisa, a color photo of tourists gauking at the Mona Lisa, an archaic photo of guards busy guarding the Mona Lisa, and a reproduction of a painting that is hung near the Mona Lisa, namely, WEDDING AT CANA by Veronese. We learn that WEDDING AT CANA is the biggest painting at the Louvre. A tiny cartoon drawing of a boy is situated next to the reproduction of WEDDING AT CANA, and the boy says, "Why wasn't I invited?" The text in this 2-page chapter is scrunched in between the pictures. In the margin, is the web site address of The Louvre Museum.

Moving on a bit, we encounter a chapter called, "Guarded by Gargoyles."(pages 280-29) Once again, we find about ten picures with text scrunched in between. There is an architectural drawing of Notre Dame, with a small cartoon character of the Hunchback of Notre Dame standing in front saying, "Had a hunch you'd be here." There is a color photo of the Portal of the Last Judgement, in Notre Dame. There is a photo of one of the gargoyles, perching on a high ledge. The gargoyle has a cartoon thought balloon, and it is thinking, "I msut do something about my posture." There is a photograph of a disc embedded in the ground in front of Notre Dame, which indicates the geographical center of Paris. There is a photo of a stained glass window in Notre Dame, where the text reads, "This is one of the three stained glass rose windoes in the cathedral that have survived almost 800 years of fire, war, revolution . . ." There is a cartoon drawing of the larged of the bells in Notre Dame, and the text tells us that it is, "the Emmanuel Bell, which tips the scales at over 28,000lb (13,000kg), not including its hammer, which weighs as much as a Citroen 2CV." (the reader is supposed to know that the Citroen is a French automobile.) There is a colorized photograph from the film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the text informs us that, "the main character is the cathedral's bell-ringer, Quasimodo."

This book is especially configured to have an intellectual appeal and an emotional appeal for children. The wealth of obscure facts, once read, will give the juvenile reader the impression that he or she is more aware of certain facts than his parents. The array of graphic styles, that is, straight drawings, cartoon drawings, color photographs, archaic black and white photos, and photos with cartoon characters integrated into the scene, is attractive to children. As I recall, from my own reading of children's books, during the 1950s, is that I liked the RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT books, which are infested with little drawings and obscure facts, and that I liked science workbooks, where cartoons and serious facts are integrated together. PARIS EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW is indeed a kid's book, and it is a very attractive one. However, unlike other books from LONELY PLANET, it does not contain maps, lists of restaurants and hotels, and there is no attempt at any inclusive disclosure of museums and such. Only select highpoints are shown in this book.