Day 62: Busy, Busy World

If you have visited Google today, June 5th, you probably noticed the fabulous Richard Scarry Busytown logo.  Today would have been Scarry's 92nd birthday, so I felt it only appropriate to feature one of our favorite books of his.  Richard Scarry wrote over 250 books for children, including my son's absolute favorite, Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (featured on Day 8.)  We received Busy, Busy World as a hand-me-down from some of my in-laws' friends, and we just love reading it.  In fact, it has been living on our kitchen table for the past few weeks so that my son can read through it every morning while eating his breakfast.  Like many of Scarry's beloved books, the story lines are silly and fun, with comical illustrations to go along with each tale.  In Busy, Busy World, Scarry takes us across the globe with a variety of creative characters on different adventures:  Couscous the Algerian Detective, Pierre, the Paris Policeman, Officer Montey of Monaco, Manuel of Mexico, and more.  The book is also complete with a map of the world on the inside covers pinpointing where each character lives.  What I love most about this book, though, is the way it manages to intertwine world geography and culture into it's silly stories and illustrations.  (Disclaimer:  I am a geography teacher, so of course I love this book!)  But seriously, the more young children can be exposed to different countries and cultures, the better!   I just love that my son knows about countries like Israel, Belgium, and India and can even point to them on a map.  Just to warn you, though, when I looked this favorite up on Amazon, I found that it is out of print.  I don't know why publishers would stop printing such a wonderful book, but hopefully you can find it at your local library.  Happy birthday, Richard Scarry!