Rating: 
Summary: for anyone with a toddler in their lives!
Review: A collection of stories about toddlers is bound to be an emotional rollercoaster - just like actually raising a toddler!
Some of the stories are funny, some sad, and just like toddlers, each is charming in its own way, so there's bound to be something there for anyone with a toddler (or an ex-toddler!) in their lives.
p.s. another good thing about short stories is that even parents of toddlers can read them without having to constantly catch up on the plot!
Rating: 
Summary: Curl up with this one
Review: A warm, cozy, sweet book. I read it almost cover to cover, which says so much for the selection and editing of the essays; nothing tripped me up or lost me along the way. I appreciated the inclusion of fathers and the variety of styles in general. The book managed to make me nostalgic for the toddler phase, which is hard to believe since my daughter is only four and I should still be panting with relief, but even more than that, it made me feel such tenderness for the parents, their earnestness, their candor, their ambivalence, their fierceness... what a compelling display of the capabilities of the personal essay.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ FOR ALL NEW PARENTS/GREAT GIFT
Review: Been tucking a copy into each present. Uniquely, not a how-to, but, a how-do compilation of 1st person essays reflecting the bittersweet parenting experiences of the amateurs, who, often
naively, take on this lifelong job. A candid peek into the daily lives and homes of toddlers and their bewildered, enlightened and amazed mommy's and daddy's. Margulis, frustrated by her unsuccessful attempt to find a
REAL book on the subject for her own toddler-raising, enlists the heartfelt tales of those who have and are experiencing this most important, least prepared for, task on earth. a grandma in Atlanta. (wish I would have had this way back when)
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ FOR ALL NEW PARENTS/GREAT GIFT
Review: Been tucking a copy into each present. Uniquely, not a how-to, but, a how-do compilation of 1st person essays reflecting the bittersweet parenting experiences of the amateurs, who, often
naively, take on this lifelong job. A candid peek into the daily lives and homes of toddlers and their bewildered, enlightened and amazed mommy's and daddy's. Margulis, frustrated by her unsuccessful attempt to find a
REAL book on the subject for her own toddler-raising, enlists the heartfelt tales of those who have and are experiencing this most important, least prepared for, task on earth. a grandma in Atlanta. (wish I would have had this way back when)
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to Dollhouse
Review: Finally, a literature of Toddlers! Like teenagers, they teeter at the edge of blissful ignorance and knowledge of the world. That makes them full of insight and wonder -- a bridge to consciousness from which we all can learn. These stories keep the full dramatic promise offered by this new genre: they entertain and mystify, providing us all with the wisdom those lucky enough to be parents get from their children. (Full disclosure: I knew the editor-in-chief back when she was a Toddler)
Rating:
Summary: every parent needs this toddler!!!
Review: Having perused countless parent-lit collections (and having three children under six) I like to think I've got a pretty good radar for the cloyingly sentimental or overly preachy or too narrow or too out-there anthologies in print. This collection is none of those things. It is SOOOO good. The stories span a wide gamut and have a range of tones--every one of which spoke to this dedicated and thinking and at-times beleaguered parent! There is some racy stuff, some endearing stuff--everything from the highly inspirational to the down-right edgy. This is one "toddler" you'll actually want by your bedside at night! Get a copy now and, like me, you'll be back for a dozen more for all the parents out there who really need to read this book. It's an absolute gem.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended - Entertaining and Insightful!
Review: Having read pretty much all of the available how-to's concerning toddlers, I was pleasantly surprised that this book is actually a nonfiction collection of essays by both moms and dads about the hilarious and heartbreaking ups and downs of raising a toddler. As the mom of a 2-year-old, I sometimes have days where I want to throw my hands up in frustration and scream. This book showed me that it really does happen to everyone, and that there is always some humor to be found in these situations. My favorite essays in the book were: "Lessons From Snake Boy" by Karen C. Driscoll (the first three pages, about a trip to the zoo and foray into a public bathroom, had me rolling on the floor); "Potty Prattle" by Kerri Peterson (she is a family physician who has 4-year-old triplets that refuse to use the potty); and "Bedtime for Milo" by Ayun Halliday (about nursing her son numerous times per night - I totally related to this). I recommend this book to all moms and dads!
Rating:
Summary: I played hooky and read this book!
Review: I have to admit, I picked up this book, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing hooky. I suffered later (the things that pile up!), but I couldn't stop reading this often funny, often poignant, always thoughtful collection of true stories by the parents of toddlers. This book reminded me how deeply toddlerhood -- that most wonderful and maddening time between babyhood and childhood -- is a time of radical change and growth FOR THE PARENTS - a time when we learn to stand on our feet, spend whole days being busy and distracted, and recapture our ability (lost somewhere between our own toddler and adulthood) to firmly, unequivocally, say "NO! Jennifer Margulis was wise to keep her authors on a tight rein - each essay, in bite-sized proportion, is just the right length for overstressed parents. With over 40 pieces, it's hard to select favorites. Here are a few: Catherine Newman writing of her son's world "suddenly peopled by malevolent forces - lions, reptiles, the _beep, beep, beep_ of a truck backing up"; Leanna James's daughter's struggle against the world's injustices; Jennifer Niesslein's contemplation of the world of rules her son (and each of us) faces. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: best policy
Review: I love this book. The stories are great. Honest, happy, funny, sad. But mostly honest and that's always good to read.
Rating:
Summary: Hair Raising/Child Raising
Review: Jennifer Margulis has assembled a delicious collection of stories about raising toddlers. Each piece reflects with hilarious and sometimes chilling accuracy the work and love we put into our children. It's an easy, pleasurable read and it's always nice to know that we are not crazy! Raising toddlers is one of the most difficult, challenging and rewarding tasks on the human agenda.
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