Customer Reviews

The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a must-must have guide for your kids and you (you can save a lot of time in video store). I am not sure why it took so long for us to have this kind of book. I have three complaints, for which the author should correct in its future edition: (1) The title shouldn't be "Mom's guide". It should be either "Dad's Guide" ( :-) ) or "Parents' Guide". If she doesn't fix it, I am pretty sure that someone will come up with a better book with the title of "Dad's Guide ..."(2) I am not sure whether the author really tested the movies for the age groups. I think that she guess-timated age groups for the movies. I find some of them are not really appropriate. For example, My Fair Lady is rated for kids 6yr or higher. But even my 10yr old daughter, who had great verbal skill in her age group had hard time in understanding the movie and eventually got bored. I hope that authors correct age groups appropriately. (3) "Questions to ask", and "Activities" are

invaluable addition to the book. Unfortunately, these are missing in many movie descriptions.

This has been a great time consuming tool for me and my children. Many times I have racked my brain for a GREAT movie to watch with my kids on a Friday night or an appropriete babysitting movie with little success. This has saved time and arguing with my kids. If the book says its okay they can watch it then they can watch it.

As a parent of two young girls, all I can say is, "Finally!" I have found this book to be a wonderful resource -- I only wish it had been published sooner. Ms. Minow's descriptions of the movies provide invaluable guidance when determining what movies are appropriate for my children to see. I especially appreciate her warnings about violent or scary scenes. Her reviews clearly reflect her perspective as a parent and not merely her impressions of the movies.

This guide to family movies is a tour de force by a loving parent who also loves movies. Anyone who has sought advice through the net from Movie Mom should buy a copy of this book. Anyone who has not sought such advice should also buy it. Indeed, anyone who loves both children and movies should buy copies for the whole neighborhood.

This is not just a guide; the quality of Nell Minow's writing makes it a page turner as well as THE definitive guide for family movies.

So nuke some popcorn, and get ready for a very satisfying read!

Wonderful collection of commentaries and suggestions for selecting videos for those rainy days with the kids. I used a highlighter to mark the movies we should get, but most of the book ended up highlighted!

This book is a great gift. It provides access to a culture form - uniquely American - that we have been in danger of losing to violance and vulgarity. Nell Minow has managed to create a way for people of all ages to have access to the miracle of visual communication. There is a great deal of insight and wisdom on virtually every page of this book. Thank you, Nell

Whenever an architectural structure is too narrowly segmented and the population using it needs to improve communications, there will emerge a multi-purpose room--some place where different experiences can combine. This book does precisely that. It is a multi-purpose room that brings together the author's considerable wealth of experience in different sectors--including family life, the business world, and even national policy. Readers can use it in all three domains and many more. Don't be fooled by the "soccer mom" type bio on this page--although Nell Minow is a devoted mother of two who has worked only part time throughout her children's youth. Nothing in this world is greater than being a mom or dad, but Nell Minow's parenting is all the better because she has ventured outside the home. She is a well-known (and extensively published) participant in some of the great economic and social movements of our day. (Look her other books up on this site.) Her father, Newton Minow, was perhaps the single most influential force in improving American television, which he once called a "vast wasteland" and worked to redeem. Nell will have the same impact on Hollywood. This book has so much more than commentary on movies. It contains wise words on duty and responsibility, honesty and integrity, emphathy and compassion, courage, courtesy, and all the other things that really matter in this life. It also offers practical tips on how to communicate with our children--or, better said, love them more competently. For example, she advices us never to tease a child who is watching something too "young." Great advice, and there's lots more of it. Not coincidentally, this book is about the same size as the Holy Bible--and believe me, when it comes to movies for my children and grandchildren, it will be mine.

This book has lots of constructive suggestions and creative ideas. I thought the movie reviews would be childish, but they were actually pretty clever and fun to read.

Yippee!Finally kids like movies that adults like,too!I'd like to give this ten stars.I like all the movies,and the kids think that it doesn't matter that there's no color in movies like Mr. Smith goes to Washington.I think people should read this book A.S.A.P.!

I have tried many video guides for children with very poor luck. The latest to avoid is one put out by the New York Times. Since December, my 10 and 12 year olds and myself have watched 8 movies together from Ms. Minow's recommendations together. What fun we have had. I'm a fairly old-fashioned mom, and it is really nice to have a guide that allows me to select movies to watch with my children that are fun and not embarassing for any of us. Buy it. It is well worth the cost of a few videos.