aziz_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I got this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for a review. Positive reviews are never required--just honest ones.
This book is SO funny. It's light and easy to read and even on a cellphone screen the images are easy enough to see on the Kindle app that it doesn't take away from the experience. I kept laughing at work, leading my coworkers to wonder if I was crazy. But then I showed them whatever image I was looking at and if they were a parent they would laugh too. Going (and I quote) "Yup! That happens!" and "That's SO true!"
This is a great book to give and receive as a gift, especially if you're a little stressed out as a parent or have gotten Mommy War hate (you moms know what I'm talking about) that makes you feel Less Than. Dworkin takes every kind of parent and shows them through a Lens of Different Perspective, sounding at times like an alien undercover doing research on Moms in their Natural Habitat.
This was a really great book to brighten up my work day and I fully recommend it for anyone who has ever spent even an hour around kids--it doesn't matter what age.
This book is SO funny. It's light and easy to read and even on a cellphone screen the images are easy enough to see on the Kindle app that it doesn't take away from the experience. I kept laughing at work, leading my coworkers to wonder if I was crazy. But then I showed them whatever image I was looking at and if they were a parent they would laugh too. Going (and I quote) "Yup! That happens!" and "That's SO true!"
This is a great book to give and receive as a gift, especially if you're a little stressed out as a parent or have gotten Mommy War hate (you moms know what I'm talking about) that makes you feel Less Than. Dworkin takes every kind of parent and shows them through a Lens of Different Perspective, sounding at times like an alien undercover doing research on Moms in their Natural Habitat.
This was a really great book to brighten up my work day and I fully recommend it for anyone who has ever spent even an hour around kids--it doesn't matter what age.
gudzilla's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It started great and laughed out loud couple of times but it got boring pretty fast. Though author(s) have good imaginations and it is shown by graphical representation like flow-chart and graphs, I couldn't believe it is written by someone who already has 2 kids!
We all suffered from parenthood but this is extreme....
Following is true in my case though -
It started great and laughed out loud couple of times but it got boring pretty fast. Though author(s) have good imaginations and it is shown by graphical representation like flow-chart and graphs, I couldn't believe it is written by someone who already has 2 kids!
We all suffered from parenthood but this is extreme....
Following is true in my case though -
paperbackstash's review against another edition
4.0
"Toddler tantrums are as inevitable as death, taxes, and vomit down your back."
I received this free for review from Netgalley.
At first I was going to say this book is a pure humor source - it IS funny - but then I thought, well, it also possesses more honest, common sense advice than some of the horrible pregnancy and parenting books on the market. Seriously, some of those are so unrealistic they may as well be used as toilet paper instead. This book indulges in humor, anecdotes, cutesy drawings, dividing the illogicality of childhood behavior with mathematics and physics, but also gives good advice because it's what people can actually expect. It's certainly not all roses and compromise.
As example, the authors point out getting a child to eat food the proper way, first by saying how new moms will dream of their gourmet, health food cooking through the years, to possibly have to do shortcuts in the future as life proves uncontrollable. In addition to this there's the frustration children show when it comes to food - fun made-up (I think made-up?) surveys on kids with french fry proportion versus other veggies, refusing to try foods because they're a)weird, b)different, c) they suddenly don't like them anymore, or d)plenty of other reasons that don't make sense to poor parents.
"Still, our methodical research shows that you may relax and enjoy the ride once you realize that parenthood is designed to drive you completely crazy."
It doesn't give parenting advice but in a humorous way shows different approaches parents take and how life kind of slaps that away no matter what. Children are fun monsters, and this book is a good one for new parents to read as it really is realistic buried in all that humor, and perfect for those who have experienced it already, who like to look back and laugh while commiserating.
I think my favorite part was the section which detailed the types of moms out there, with each category breaking it down further. Fun stuff and some of it I can identify with. Such as: "Hands-On Mom is more active during the day, while Perfection Mom is nocturnal, preferring to stalk Pinterest boards late into the night."
All art is vector and graphic type, and thankfully the author is generous with it. We get cutesy art of kids being their messy selves and plenty of charts with options on how to proceed; they get an A + in art creativity for the book. Besides the art there are some multiple choice quizzes with clever answers.
I do wish the author would have covered the older years more, this is mainly for baby, toddler, and elementary school age. She does discuss the older stages in general terms, but I'd have liked to see more humor on teenager moodiness, middle school boy game addiction, etc.
Overall a great book - funny, a wonderful gift for new parents and those who love children, and hope for a future where this will eventually settle down.....some. A little.
jmanchester0's review against another edition
3.0
Most of this book falls into the category of "it's funny because it's true."
It's funny in spots, and a lot of the stuff is on point.
But sometimes it seems like they're trying to hard to be clever and they definitely tried to shoehorn too much stuff into a single book. They may have gotten quantity at the expense of quality.
Some of it was so relatable - like dealing with other parents.
And I can definitely say that Postpartum Discharge Disorder is definitely true:
The paralyzing anxiety that hits both mom and dad as soon as they wave buh-bye to the nursing staff in the maternity unit and pass through the hospital's sliding glass doors and out into the parking lot to buckle their newborn into his car seat for the drive home. One or more parents may be given to repeating, "Why would anyone let us take a baby home?" while banging their heads against a car window.
It's odd that none of the nursing staff ever want to come home with us for a few days with our first child to make sure we were doing it right.
Bonus points for the problems with Pinterest and a mention of that evil little Elf on the Shelf. (Ours is named "Jolly", BTW.)
Putting a scientific spin on all of the stuff we have to deal with as parents was really pretty creative. And some of it made me literally laugh out loud. But I think the authors would have had a much better book if they could have distilled it down to the funniest ideas.
Thanks to Netgalley and She Writes Press for a copy in return for an honest review.
It's funny in spots, and a lot of the stuff is on point.
But sometimes it seems like they're trying to hard to be clever and they definitely tried to shoehorn too much stuff into a single book. They may have gotten quantity at the expense of quality.
Some of it was so relatable - like dealing with other parents.
And I can definitely say that Postpartum Discharge Disorder is definitely true:
The paralyzing anxiety that hits both mom and dad as soon as they wave buh-bye to the nursing staff in the maternity unit and pass through the hospital's sliding glass doors and out into the parking lot to buckle their newborn into his car seat for the drive home. One or more parents may be given to repeating, "Why would anyone let us take a baby home?" while banging their heads against a car window.
It's odd that none of the nursing staff ever want to come home with us for a few days with our first child to make sure we were doing it right.
Bonus points for the problems with Pinterest and a mention of that evil little Elf on the Shelf. (Ours is named "Jolly", BTW.)
Putting a scientific spin on all of the stuff we have to deal with as parents was really pretty creative. And some of it made me literally laugh out loud. But I think the authors would have had a much better book if they could have distilled it down to the funniest ideas.
Thanks to Netgalley and She Writes Press for a copy in return for an honest review.
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