[.ca] Birnbaum's Walt Disney World for Kids, by Kids 2004: ... (ISBN 0786854111)

Truly for Kids!:
I purchased this book after quickly previewing it in the local bookstore and finding that it had A LOT of pictures for my four year old son to look at. I thought that it would be a great bedtime read for us as we anticipate our trip. Although we have pretty much enjoyed it, it is really not that kind of book. Some of the pictures were a little scary for him (the witch in Snow White-- too realistic and eerie- and the photos of the Haunted Mansion) and many other pics were cartoons rather than actually pics of the parks. The intended audience is kids who can read and complete written activities alone or with little assistance. The language is geared for this age group without being too simplistic and there are great games, activities and ideas for kids getting ready for a WDW vacation(you write right in the book!). An awesome book for the count-down days preceding the trip but an EVEN BETTER book for the long plane, car, or bus trip! What a fantastic idea! Needs more pics of the parks but even still a great activity with interesting page layouts. We'll be saving this book for when my son is a little older.

The Happiest Place on Earth:
When most people think of Walt Disney World, they think of joyful times and having happy thoughts. But that's not always the case. Disney can also be an extremely frustrating and confusing place with so much there to see, you might never get to see it all, but not anymore! Walt Disney World: For Kids, By Kids is the perfect guide for kids to this magical place. It's a hit with all children because it gives advice from others as well as descriptive sections about Disney World! This book is good for anyone because it has so many pictures, descriptions, behind-the-scenes facts, and more. About every few pages there are games and activities that you can complete on the way to Disney. Almost every ride profile has a photograph that shows what the ride looks like on the inside. There are also "attraction reactions" that tell how dark or scary a ride is going to be. There's even a place in the back of the book for character autographs! Children of all ages will love this book because it gives you the information in a fun, but descriptive way. Less complicated words are used so that even the youngest of readers can understand it. All kids will enjoy seeing what the attractions will look like before they ride them. Even the book says it was "made especially for kids." The book seems to flow with the heart and atmosphere of Disney and it gives it to you in a fun, uncluttered way. Past guests write the whole book and they say which rides are for what age groups. Other kids even tell you their advice on which rides to go on. So the next time you plan a trip to Disney World, you should remember to take this book with you and have a great time!

Our Kids Loved It!:
With only so much time to spend at the parks, we found the child-authors' ratings of the rides/shows helpful in creating our "short-list" of must-dos. The parks weren't crowded during our visit, so we didn't have to worry about entertaining the children while in long lines. If the lines had been longer, our children would have spent more time on the activities and trivia in the book. The autograph section let us avoid buying and carrying around an autograph book in addition to the guide book. Next time we go to WDW, I will buy the latest version of this book.

Great idea, lousy execution.:
"Hey Uncle, look at this book! It's written all STUPID! Whoever wrote it must think kids are dumb." That was the first exclamation I heard the moment I discovered my two *very* young nephews reading this while at the local bookstore. They were looking at it with shocked wide eyes and were saying the above comment not in rudeness, but in amasement and seriousness. After flipping through it, I could see why. Talk about false advertising! What the title promises is a great idea, but it's not really "by kids, for kids". Rather, it's the editor writing all over the place about where to go and what to do while only having small white boxes filled with kids' actual comments on the side. My nephews are right: the editor is talking DOWN to children here in a forced, self-conscious "gosh, golly, gee whiz!"-style dialect that is flat out insulting. Kids are NOT stupid! Not surprisingly, only the preciously short comments by the featured kids are worth reading here because they're simply writing and talking naturally (unlike the editor). Other two complaints my nephews had: first of all, the book is far too short for it's own good. And the second... well, they want me to describe it this way as I sit here typing this. The moment they flipped through the book, the first thing they exclaimed in disbelief was "Where's the index?" That's right, there is NO index in this book, another serious sign that the editor grossly underestimates the intelligence of this book's intended audience. For pete's sake, even the classic Disney encyclopedias and Charlie Brown Super Books had indexes for kids to use! In the end, the boys were terribly disappointed, then proceeded to pull out one of the "ordinary" Disney travel books off the shelf to flip through instead. They told me they liked it much better because it had all the information they wanted. Back to the draw board!

Great Book For Children!:
I love these books! I have all of them since 1996. Now that I am 14, I feel that I may be too old for them! I still Love them anyway! I do recomend this book if you are planning a trip to Walt Disney World with you Children and I hope you have a wonderful time there I know I would!!