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!

Day 19: I Am a Bunny

This is another wonderful story that was given to us as a baby shower gift.  (Thank you, Alisa!)  Our first featured Golden Book, I Am a Bunny follows the adorable red-overall-clad Nicholas throughout the seasons.  We have the sturdy board book version, which is perfect for even the youngest readers.  The story, written by Ole Risom, is very simple -- we learn about all the different things Nicholas likes to do throughout the year such as watch the birds, chase the butterflies, blow dandelion seeds into the air -- but it's Richard Scarry's amazing illustrations that really make this book for me.  We love many other Scarry titles, too, but in my opinion, this is his best artistic work by far.  The pictures are beautifully drawn and his attention to detail is amazing.  I just love the way every butterfly, bird, and frog is different, and his wonderful use of color makes it seem like I can feel the seasons changing as we turn the pages.  I even love the illustration on the back cover of Nicholas lying in the grass admiring a cricket.  It is a soothing and peaceful book to read and a great way to teach little ones about the seasons.  It's a perfect story to read before bed, too, as in the end, Nicholas curls up in his hollow tree to dream about spring.  What better book to feature on this first full day of spring as we watch the snow falling outside?  Hopefully we'll all be outside picking flowers soon, just like Nicholas.

Day 8: Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

This might be my son's favorite book of all time.  He has loved it so much, in fact, that we are actually on our second copy.  The first one was given to us as a hand-me-down and was in near-perfect condition, but the poor book was soon loved to shreds.  Literally.  Even mass amounts of heavy duty clear packing tape couldn't save it.  Granted, we probably shouldn't have given my son a non-board book when he was still only one, but he was so obsessed with cars and trucks that we couldn't resist reading it to him.  Needless to say, it was an instant hit.   It features drawings of every kind of vehicle you could possibly imagine and then some (would you rather drive a carrot car or a banana mobile?) and a rather silly story line about the Pig family's day trip to the beach.  It's long -- almost 70 pages -- but jam-packed with vehicular delight.  We love following that naughty Dingo Dog, too.  If you have a child in your life who is like mine and is obsessed with all things wheeled, this is bound to be a favorite.  Don't forget to find Goldbug on every page!