New York City with Kids, 2nd Edition (Special-Interest ... (ISBN 0761515984)

Terrific for those living here as well:
I moved to NYC recently so I'm not exactly the target audience for this book which is really geared at those visiting the city on vacation with kids. But I nonetheless found it very valuable as a new resident in terms of where to take my kids and the overall approach to keeping kids happy in New York. Certainly it would be even better for the tourist. In particular it has much information specifically targeted at teens which is an age group the other books on this subject mysteriously omit altogether in favor of younger kids. This one covers all age groups and is very well indexed plus terrific maps that I use even as a resident. It happens to be well written by someone who seems very expert and experienced. This same author has written a book on relocating to the New York area and it contains some more information about kids that is specific to residents such as how to find good schools and how to understand the public school system. This one is all the fun stuff, though.

A wonderful guide for families visiting NYC:
I highly recommend Ellen Shapiro's book. I just returned from a trip with 7 family members to New York and I used the book to help decide where to stay and planned our daily outings based on her excellent recommendations. The book is well organized and fun to read. Ms Shapiro's reviews of resturants and shopping areas are particularly helpful. I used this book along with the green Michelin Guide to New York City which contains wonderful maps and descriptions of the sights. These two books gave us everything we needed to have a wonderful stay in NYC!

Wrong information in this book:
When you are limited on time the last thing you want to do is waste it going to places in which have changed thier hours and days they are open. Some stores had moved. It should have only been a 2001 guide not 2002! There were to many errors! They might have been related to 9-11 as far as the hours changing However, it is not fun to waste precious time.

New Edition, New Information:
The new 2003 edition of this great guide book contains a ton of new, updated information -- particularly openings, closings, and new hours and events in light of 9/11 and the major resulting changes in downtown Manhattan. It's still a good idea, as the book says in many places, to call ahead before you make plans based on hours and locations printed in any source, but the information has been right 100% of the time that I've used this new, fully rewritten edition.

What does it mean?:
What does it mean when you write a book about New York, cover every 'neighborhood' you can think of, yet don't mention Harlem? For the author's information, Harlem is undergoing dynamic change and does have some wonderful restaurants to enjoy, i.e, Copelands, Sylvia's, Amy Ruth's! I just visited New York and did go to Harlem, but this book wasn't the resource. In general, I thought it fell short in alot of areas. I found more updated and useful information in the AAA guidebook and WHERE magazine. Save your money!