Common Sense Media Review
By Darienne Stewart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Engaging classic makes work delightful.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
The first section's story introduces Farmer Alfalfa, who keeps some of the food he's grown for his family and sells the rest to Grocer Cat. This simple transaction sets off a chain of events: Alfalfa uses the money he's made to buy a suit from the tailor, a tractor from the blacksmith to expand his business, and gifts for his family, and puts the rest in the bank. The tailor, in turn, buys an egg beater, the blacksmith buys more iron for his shop. From there, the book explores the type of work done in diverse areas: construction, firefighting, a hospital, the postal service, train and ocean travel, farming, lumber, road construction, and a bakery.
Is It Any Good?
This is a beloved classic, richly layered with details children will enjoy and learn from for years. Scarry clears away some of the mystery about the adult world and explains the basics of how an economy works -- and makes it fun! Action-packed illustrations, crowded with familiar and funny Busytown characters, double as diagrams. A house, for example, is stripped to its frame to show the water and heating systems and wiring. A tree in the forest travels through a sawmill to become a board for Daddy Pig's bookcase, while others provide paper, boats, furniture, and fruit.
Young kids will savor the illustrations long after hearing the stories read aloud. They'll love searching for Lowly Worm and Bananas Gorilla on each spread and discovering the silly touches: the bull's-eye on the firefighters' safety net, Goldbug the cricket driving a bulldozer, a mouse swinging happily in the ship's mailroom. First published in 1968, the book shows its age with outdated occupations and passé gender stereotypes. But grown-ups can seize the chance to talk about how much has changed, and use the book as a springboard to talk about workers in our communities today.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the kind of work they do, at home and in their careers. Ask kids: What kind of jobs would you like to do when you're an adult?
What kind of work does everyone in the family do at home? How is it helpful?
Talk about the workers you interact with every day, and how they do their jobs.
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Richard Scarry
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Transportation ( Cars & Trucks , Trains ) , Animals
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Random House Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : March 12, 1968
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 3 - 7
- Number of pages : 64
- Available on : Hardback
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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