Parenting & Families Books - Page 5

Baby Blues: This is Going to be Tougher Than We Thought

Rick Kirkman, Jerry Scott

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 85 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The best gift for new parents you'll find... 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

We received this as a gift from friends when we had our first child, and could not stop laughing as we gained a new appreciation for what it meant to be parents. Whether you're new parents, know someone who is, or have been parents for years and want to remember what it was *really* like, this book needs to be on your list.

We've now given this book as a gift to four other couples who've had babies recently, and all agree that it's their favorite new book on the shelf. It covers everything - changing the first diaper, the first visits from the parents (both sets), sleepless nights, and the joy of teething, to mention a few.

Buy this book. You'll laugh for a long time, and will probably end up sharing it with your other friends fortunate enough to have kids of their own.

True to Life! 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I have been a fan of Baby Blues since my daughter was born, eight years ago. I sometimes think that Mr. Kirkman and Mr. Scott hide outside my windows and take notes, because so many of their strips are right on the mark! If you have small children, are thinking about having small children, or just want a good belly laugh, I highly recommend the entire series of Baby Blues collections. Enjoy!

Editorial Review:

"Keep this cartoon book with Dr. Spock and all the other baby-care tomes.... You'll like the whole book." --Booklist

Best and Second Best of Car Talk: with Click and Clack

Tom Magliozzi, Ray Magliozzi

List Price: $18.95 By: Highbridge Audio Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $6.57

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

cars and stuff 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

It would be a mistake to evaluate this double-CD as a stand-alone product.

Instead, it is the byproduct of an authentic American phenomenon. I've been fortunate to live all over. Believe me: Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers on National Public Radio could only happen here.

I find these guys hilarious. Not everyone will. To make a long story short, these Boston greasepit goons (one of them has a PhD from MIT) started a call-in radio show years ago in New England called 'Car Talk'. The audience would call in to ask questions about their cars, which these two brothers would answer after a bit of Socratic questioning from their seemingly limitless knowledge of automobile innards.

Little by little, people's car problems became the thin edge of the wedge for things much more interesting, personal, and hilarious. NPR picked up the show and it became required Saturday morning listening for gazillions of devotees.

Like any media phenomenon that inspires intense loyalty, Car Talk also generates detractors. They are legion.

But it would be a mistake not to give Click and Clack and their self-deprecating humor a chance. They so obviously love what they do. I love what they do, too. Some people don't. That's OK.

Just give'em a chance. My hunch is you'll soon be helpless with laughter along with the Magliozzi brothers and their cameo-appearing Mom.

Editorial Review:

It's a laugh-out-loud collection of wisecracks, automotive first aid, and roadside philosophy. Tom and Ray have gathered the most outrageous and humorous segments from their weekly call-in radio show, including "Eggs Prestone," "Bad Hair Days," "Clinton Sends Vowels to Bosnia," "Gail, the Tollgate Fugitive," and the Tappet Brothers personal favorite, the tale of Max and his little Schnauzer.

Car Talk Maternal Combustion: Calls about Moms and Cars (Car Talk)

Tom Magliozzi, Ray Magliozzi

Amazon Price: $11.16 List Price: $13.95 Usually ships in 7 to 12 days By: Highbridge Audio Amazon Marketplace: 34 new & used starting at $1.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fans and newcomers of CAR TALK won't be disappointed 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Magliozzi brothers (a.k.a. the Tappet Brothers) here answer calls about and from mothers, giving funny advice on cars in their latest issue Car Talk: Maternal Combustion. In case you don't know them or their show, the brothers narrate the award-winning 'Car Talk' radio broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations across the nation, accepting call-in questions addressed with a heavy dose of humor. Fans and newcomers of CAR TALK won't be disappointed in the one hour program of hilarity offered on Maternal Combustion: Calls About Moms And Cars.

Car Talk Maternal Combustion: 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Was a real pick me up on a recent road trip. Lost my Mom 8 months ago and it was nice to hear how other mothers delt with the everyday problems we all experiance with our cars.

There's Only One Mom 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I guess you either love these guys or you hate them. My wife finds them incredibly annoying when she hears them on the radio. After hearing this, you know their mother loves them!

Myself, I love them, too. Their accents are not off-putting to me, and I love how they laugh together.

What I've learned over time, though, is that the 'straight' answers they provide are actually pretty authoritative. They actually know what they're talking about, based not only on their extensive formal education but also based on their hands-on work with many, many cars.

If I personally found anything annoying, it's only their constant self-referencing which gets old. However, it's a part of their "shtick" which we would not want to do without...

Editorial Review:

Moms have served honorably in the minivan wars. Negotiated conflicting advise between husbands and fathers. Now brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi give mothers their due respect in this new collection of calls from Car Talk.

Baby, Mix Me a Drink (Baby Be of Use)

Amazon Price: $9.00 List Price: $9.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McSweeney's, Irregulars Amazon Marketplace: 30 new & used starting at $4.51

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Hilarious 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book is fun, fun, fun! You have to have a sense of humor to enjoy it. When my kids know the difference, it will be put up onto the adults only book shelf but my one year old enjoys the pictures and I enjoy the thought of a yummy cocktail.

a big disappointment, a baby could have done better 2 out of 5 stars.
2 of 7 people found this review helpful.

What a disappointment. A great idea seems to have been ruined by the attempt to be too hip for words. I was hoping for the creativity and wit of LET'S NOSH or the SUSHI board book. At least those rhyme ("Miso in my Sippy cup"). Instead we are left with an unrhyming, mean spirited, too hip for words board book. I expected more from this publisher. Still... it is a great concept, and a good gag gift, but worthless as a bedtime book.

Editorial Review:

Many people are parents, and many parents are thirsty. Yet too many parents allow their infant sons and daughters to lie about idly: napping, drinking milk, and whatnot. Why not put them to work? Observe how tots enjoy the shapes and colors, all the while learning how to mix a variety of basic cocktails. Thanks, Baby!

Yes, You're Pregnant, But What About Me?

Kevin Nealon

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperEntertainment Amazon Marketplace: 88 new & used starting at $2.66

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

At fifty-three, Kevin Nealon thought he had it all: a massive international celebrity with legions of loyal fans; a fabulous modeling career; hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank; and the most recognizable face on the planet. Nealon had accomplished the impossible: a thirty-year career in show business with only limited trips to rehab. But just like every other celebrity, he felt that was not enough. The perpetually insatiable Nealon wanted more, and for him "more" meant a little addition that drooled, burped, and pooped (no, not a Pomeranian).

Now, in his first-ever book, Nealon tells the outrageous story of how he battled through aching joints, Milano cookie cravings, and a rapidly receding hairline to become a first-time dad at an age when most fathers are packing their kids off to college. Offering hysterical commentary about his fickle, often hormonal, road to belated and bloated fatherhood, Nealon guides you through the delivery room and beyond, discussing how his past, his wife, and his neuroses all converged in a montage of side-splitting insecurities during the months leading up to the birth of his son.

In Yes, You're Pregnant, But What About Me?, Nealon details his trip through all the emotional stages of pregnancy—uncomfortable, denial, hungry, sleepy, self-conscious, hungrier, confused, cranky, not-quite-as-hungry but still craving something, sweaty, covered in cookie crumbs—all while struggling to keep his blood pressure down and find the time to read the latest issue of the AARP Bulletin. Wrestling with the dilemmas and fears that fathers have been dealing with for centuries (Can I duct-tape a crib together? How often can I reuse a disposable diaper? What if the baby looks like me and not my wife?), Nealon never fails to entertain with the frequent lunacy and inevitable joy that punctuate his story about parenthood.

Laugh-out-loud funny and remarkably poignant, Nealon's entertaining perspective and his wealth of sarcasm provide a take on fatherhood that is as fresh as it is universal, always reminding you that half the fun of being a parent is getting there.

Humongous Zits: A Zits Treasury

Jim Borgman, Jerry Scott

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Andrews McMeel Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $4.25

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Zits is the best 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This is a fun Treasury - if you don't have the previous volumes. Except for some extra non-essential art work, there are no new panels. If you don't have the other volumes and want a book with a nice selection, good choice - otherwise, don't waste your money.

Editorial Review:

Adolescence is a time of painful growth and unpredictable change, when kids come packaged in a jumble of baggy jeans, rolling eyeballs, and grunting communication. Cartoonists Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman have captured the humor of that challenging time with Zits, in which they chronicle the life and times of the typically exasperating yet ever lovable Jeremy Duncan.

In this first Zits treasury, faithful fans of Jeremy's world will get a glimpse behind the scenes with never-before-seen sketches and the stories behind the strips. Sunday cartoons appear in full-color, highlighting the strip's acclaimed drawing style. Even though the teenage terrain is rocky, Zits is warm and sympathetic.

"The highest compliment we hear from readers is, 'You must have a camera hidden in our house!'" says Borgman.

The Family Circus by Request

Bil Keane

List Price: $12.95 By: GuidepostsBooks Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $11.43

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Bil Keane: middling illustrator, awful humorist 1 out of 5 stars.
8 of 18 people found this review helpful.

There are those who will tell you that Bil Keane is a waste of perfectly good internal organs and comics page space--heck, see the reviews of that nature attached to this book.

But that's dismissing what is in my mind an interesting question. Keane has his talents as a cartoonist. He's got a distinctive if head-squashed style. His renderings of figures and everyday objects are clear and concise. His skill at drawing dotted lines over landscapes is state-of-the-art in the comic industry. What would Bil Keane have become if he recognized his total and complete limitations in the non-saccharine humor and non-maudlin story department and hooked up with a Harvey Pekar-ish writer? Great Odin's raven, the things that pair could have accomplished!

But he didn't, and they didn't, and what with his years of building the Family Circus into the weakest comic portfolio this side of Jack Chick, I'm sure it's far too late for old Bil to start now.

As for this book: like all Family Circus material, it's seven flavours of awful. Don't buy it, don't add it to your wishlist, and if you have the misfortune to have it come into your possession like a bum nickel, look at the cover and wonder what might have been had Keane simply known his limitations once upon a time.

Editorial Review:

Daily positive reminders of family love through Bil Keane's Family Circus.

Babies and Other Hazards of Sex: How to Make a Tiny Person in Only 9 Months, with Tools You Probably Have around the Home

Dave Barry

Amazon Price: $12.95 List Price: $12.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rodale Books Amazon Marketplace: 221 new & used starting at $0.01

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

THE ONLY BOOK YOU WILL NEED...... 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I have always been a fan of Dave Barry.
When my baby's mama got pregnant I spent the better part of three months in a drunken haze. "WHAT WILL I DO?!" I constantly asked my friends. None of them knew. I had just barely turned twenty one and none of my friends were or ever had been in the same boat.
Truth of the matter is, nobody can tell you what to do in this circumstance. The object is to go with the flow, from the time that chick of yours gets pregnant to ... forever.
I was THRILLED when I found this book, and it did not dissapoint. Without it I may have lost my mind and killed that chick with a hatchet.
Very funny, and it will make you forget that you are in HELL! Must have for suprised "expectants."

Editorial Review:

In this classic crack-up of a book, Dave Barry gives his wacky perspective on sex, childbirth, parenting and other forms of slow, cruel torture.In Babies and Other Hazards of Sex, Dave exposes natural childbirth for what it is: a pop phenomenon of the 1960s that, along with paisley bell-bottoms and creative sideburns, deserves a rest. He examines the new federal law requiring prospective fathers to free themselves from their self-made macho prisons--to laugh, cry, love and just generally behave like certified wimps.Dave also reveals, for the first time in print, the secret chant for painless childbirth.Then learn why no secret chant could possibly take a woman's mind off the fact that she is in such pain that she wants a gigantic comet to crash into the earth and kill her and her husband and the dotor and the nurses and everyone else in the world.

Father Knows Less Or: "Can I Cook My Sister?": One Dad's Quest to Answer His Son's Most Baffling Questions

Wendell Jamieson

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Putnam Adult Amazon Marketplace: 77 new & used starting at $1.93

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

How a New York Times editor set out to answer the peculiarly marvelous questions of his precocious young son-and wound up on an unexpected journey of his own.

Wendell Jamieson's son, Dean, has always had a penchant for . . . odd questions. "Dad," he asked, apropos of nothing, "what would hurt more-getting run over by a car, or getting stung by a jellyfish?" "Dad, why do policemen like donuts?" "What's it feel like to get stabbed?" "Does Mona Lisa wear shoes?" "Can I cook my sister?"

Because "Dad" was a newspaperman, he decided to seek out answers-and got swept up in the hunt. He spoke to movie directors and ship captains and brain surgeons and stabbing victims and lottery winners and museum curators and politicians and judges and compulsive shoppers and mothers-in-law and magicians-even Yoko Ono and a dominatrix.

But what began as a lark quickly grew into something larger. Blending a charming father-son journey with the surprising, sometimes hilarious questions and answers it spawned, Father Knows Less offers a heartwarming exploration of that childlike curiosity that lives within us all.

Making Lite of Myself

John Pinette

Amazon Price: $11.55 List Price: $16.98 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Uproar Entertainment Amazon Marketplace: 3 new & used starting at $11.45

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Couldn't stop laughing! 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the first comedy CD's that is funny all the way through the end. John Pinette had me laughing so much,I was crying. People were staring at me on the freeway wondering what was going on. John uses no profanity nor does he tear down anyone but of course himself. I've been passing this CD on to my family and friends and they love it too!

Wonderful Comedian - Nice Guy 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I took my wife to see John, he's the only comedian she likes. Not because of his fat jokes but because he's really funny. He rarely uses profanity and his joke construction is on par with the best in the business. If you are a true fan of comedy and comedians you'll be able to tell the difference between a fat comedian who tells jokes and John who works on his material and changes it up until the final construction is perfected then he records that typically. He does change up the jokes at times pulling unnecessary pieces out but the basic concept is still intact. He's no George Carlin when it comes to volume of work and overall joke construction but look at some of George's early work and it's not too different from John's. A lot of repetion but that is what people want to hear from him. When you go to see Carlin you expect a different show with the occassional old routine thrown in for good measure. When you go to see John you go for the same reason you go to a music concert to hear the things you like. I've bought this CD even though I already own DVD's which contain the same material because I love listening to John in the car on trips. It's relaxing and is a great way to start a vacation.