Richard Scarry's Good Morning, Busytown!

 

Why not introduce your first readers to Richard Scarry's Busytown? You can now do that easily with the Good Morning, Busytown! board book, available January 6, 2021. All the familiar characters are running around town: Huckle Cat, Firefighter Smokey, Lowly Worm, and more.

Pages feature the residents depicted on the tabs. Join Huckle Cat and Lowly as they make their way across town to school, giving and receiving greetings along the way.

"Good morning, Postman Pig!"

says Huckle.

"Why, good morning, Huckle!"

says Postman Pig. "Have a

wonderful day!"

Take a visit to Richard Scarry's Busytown! There's so much to explore. 

Richard Scarry's Good Morning, Busytown!

by the Richard Scarry Corporation AG

Golden Books, 2021

October Big Kid Pick: Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books

There are times when we want to stop and say, "Thank you! Thank you, publishing house for collecting and reprinting our memories!" This is one of those moments. Many thanks go to Random House, Golden Books for collecting the  Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books. It's like walking back through childhood where we can also find broad image influences on current illustrators' work.

Mary Blair was the conceptual artist for several Walt Disney films: Peter Pan, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland. Her touch is found around both Disney World and Disneyland. And of course her dolls dance through "It's a Small World" ride.



Her flat, modern style with unusual color choices and open white spaces will appeal to the older sibling of your totz today. So find this treasure and enjoy Baby's House, I Can Fly, The Golden Book of Little Verses, The Up and Down Book, and selections from The New Golden Song Book. Relish this collection with Joan and me!

Mary Blair Treasury of Golden Books
Random House Books, A Golden Book
August, 2012

Baby Listens: Esther Wilkin

How often I wonder what classic work has influenced my own work for children. I found again Baby Listens by Esther Wilkin, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. First released in 1960, the reissue feels retro fresh. This work would have been for sale in the grocery store as my mother shopped, and I sat in the cart. Was it the one she picked just for me?

BUZZ-Z-Z goes Daddy's razor.
And BUZZ-Z-Z go the bumble bees.
SNAP goes Mommy's pocketbook.
JINGLE go her keys.



Explore what baby hears throughout the day with Eloise's soft watercolor images and Esther's rhymes. This classic may become a touchstone for your totz.

Baby Listens
by Esther Wilkin
illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
Golden Books, 1960, reissued 2012

Pat the Bunny: Peekaboo, Bunny!

If you and your totz can't get enough of patting that adorable first board book bunny, look for Peekaboo, Bunny! With illustrations in keeping with the original Pat the Bunny, your totz are challenged to find Bunny's friends beneath flaps. Where is Squeak, Teddy, and Cat? Each spread offers three flap possibilities for surprise and memory exercise on further readings.

It's so fun to revisit Bunny. And of course you must look for him/her on the last spread. Where is Bunny? He's hiding because he loves to play peek-a-boo with you! (Hm. Is Bunny a male or female?)

Peekaboo, Bunny!
Golden Books, 2009

Diane Muldrow: Somewhere So Sleepy

Do you know that somewhere, in a leafy tree, a little koala has just finished her supper?
(lift flap) Cuddle Up, Little Koala.

And thus begins this sweet lift-the-flap board book. I like books that slip in a little nonfiction information along with the fiction, and this book does that effortlessly. Each spread begins in the same way: Do you know that somewhere...

And then totz are lead to a cozy nest, a squishy swamp, a warm little house, etc. What will they find there? Lift the large flaps to find out. The book is sturdy board and the flaps are big, almost full page size. I enjoyed the surprise of the pull-down window shade on the last spread.

Artist Jui Ishida's site is really simple, but hints at wonderful art! I'd love to see more.

Very cute book!

Somewhere So Sleepy
Author: Diane Muldrow
Artist: Jui Ishida
Golden Books (Random House), 2010

The Grasshopper Hopped! Elizabeth Alexander

The grasshopper is looking for home and is unfortunate enough to explore the possibilities of a soup pot, a refrigerator, and more! With each effort, your totz will be delighted by the funny circumstance caught in rhyme by Elizabeth Alexander.

" The grasshopper hopped into the sea.
'The sea is too wet and salty for me!'
The grasshopper hopped out of the sea.
The sea was no place for that fool bug to be!
Hippity-hop, hippity-hop..."

It's refreshing to follow a plot in our beloved toddler/board book genre. Your totz will feel the journey of grasshopper from start to finish.

What also really strikes me about this new work from Golden Books, is Joung Un Kim's illustrations. While maintaining child appeal, the illustrations are sophisticated layers of various patterns. A bit of random text even makes its way into a few spreads. The clean sharp edges, and negative spaces make the layout crisp and accessible. The tabs to make grasshopper hop are an added delight.

Be sure The Grasshopper Hopped! hops into your lap with your totz!

The Grasshopper Hopped!
by Elizabeth Alexander
illustrated by Joung Un Kim
Golden Books, 2010