Busiest People Ever by Richard Scarry

Busiest People Ever by Richard Scarry
Buy Busiest People Ever by Richard Scarry at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Summary: This immediately became a current favourite story in our house, although we don't actually read the story - we just spend ages looking at all the amazing pictures!
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 48	Date: July 2014
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
ISBN: 9780007546367
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I suspect lots of us grown ups feel a certain amount of nostalgia when we come across a Richard Scarry book. He has such a distinctive style that you recognise it immediately and find yourself hunting for Huckle the pig and Lowly worm. This book tells us all about Busytown and the different things that are going on there. I actually didn't get to read the story properly until I sat down to write this review because although this has become a firm favourite with my two year old son he has no patience for the story and instead just wants to spend all his time looking at all the many, many different kinds of vehicles there are throughout the book!

For those of you who aren't dealing with a stubborn toddler then it's worth knowing that the book is divided into a collection of different stories, all quite short, and really it is the pictures that are important. The words just tell us what is going on and who is being 'busy' on each page. We follow Huckle and Lowly though the town as Lowly is a policeman, then a railway worker, then they are both television stars before visiting an airport and the harbour. Everyone is very busy! Although the stories are good I think the longevity of these books is down to the artwork. There is so much to see that I discover new things each time I am asked to 'read this!' There are lots of characters and it's fun to look and see what everyone is getting up to, not just the main characters.

One of the stories is Mr Frumble's Bad Day, which we have come across before in Best Bedtime Stories Ever. It loses nothing in being repeated here since it is a wonderful story all about poor Mr Frumble who bumbles his way from one disaster to another. I like to look out for Mr Frumble in the other stories too since he's just always getting into trouble! I also personally like the story of Grandma coming to visit as she comes by cargo plane with her own truck full of apples (to make apple pies, of course!)

We like to spend our time looking for motorbikes, and pencil cars, and diggers and dumper trucks and helicopters and, well, you get the idea! For a vehicle-mad child the book is heaven as there are cars and trucks as well as made up vehicles on every page. There's lots to see, in the shops, in the streets and in the houses and just one page can take a good five minutes to look at thoroughly. I've been over and over this book now since it arrived in our house, and it's still lovely (even if I did only just read the story properly today!) It certainly stands up to the re-read test, and it's given my son so much enjoyment already, and I can see it continuing to be very popular for many years to come.

For more Scarry delights try Best Bedtime Stories Ever and What Do People Do All Day?

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