Fodor's Family "New York City With Kids": a big guide to the Big Apple

The Fodor's Family "New York City With Kids" guide isn't physically big, it's big on ideas, tips, and inside knowledge for parents planning a family trip to New York City. The guide is almost pocket-sized, so it is easy to bring along and use to plan as you go. 

This guide includes trustworthy advice and ratings from local parents who know the city best. The guide covers everything from age ranges to admission prices to telephone numbers and e-mails for easy booking in advance. The guide gives ratings on hotels, restaurants, and sights. It even contains a treasure map and other games to keep kids entertained during waits or downtime (although this guide could keep you going on your feet all day!). 

The guide covers the basic, touristy sights of NYC with some off-the-beaten path finds that only a local would know about and that you shouldn't miss! Whether it's your first time to New York City, your fifteenth time, or your first time with kids, this guide makes a handy sidekick to your trip, full of unusual surprises on where to go and what to do with kids. The guide also has where to stay and eat on any budget, with cost icons next to each hotel or restaurant. 

The guide begins with a list of icons and symbols that are used throughout the book to represent ratings of a place, what credit cards are accepted there, directions, and other important information, such as meal plans in a hotel and whether or not reservations can be made at a restaurant. The guide allows you to structure and pre-plan your trip down to the minute or just look up helpful tips while you explore.

The book begins with when to go, displaying a chart of monthly average temperatures, what to do if the weather turns bad, top sightseeing spots, and even a whole page on what to do for free! The guide then gives an introduction to the Big Apple for first-timers, with descriptions of each area and easy-to-follow maps to get you familiar with the city as a whole. The more detailed maps are clear and conveniently located next to thearea being discussed. Each map only take up a page so you can focus in onwhere you're going and glance at it as you go. The maps also have snack spots and playgrounds for stops between your plans.

The guide gives fun suggestions for kids with special interests, such as the princess or the techno-gadget zealot.The guide then goes into detail in a few different sections: exploring Manhattan, side trips, museums, performing arts, shopping, eating, where to stay, and traveling smart...it really does cover everything a trip entails! The guide also has an index to look up specifics on the fly and transportation tips, especially when traveling by subway, bus, taxi, or car. 

The Fodor's Family "New York City With Kids" guide is like the in-the-know friend that you just can't go on your trip without! This guide covers everything from tourist attractions to secret finds. It's easy-to-follow, concise, organized, and can be used as a planning tool before you leave or an on-the-spot reference guide for where to head next when you're already there. This all-in-one guide can make a family trip to NYC fun and adventurous -- without the stress or chaos.

You can buy the "New York City With Kids' guide at www.amazon.com.

Mom Central received a review copy of "New York City With Kids."