Happy 3rd of July! “shhh. . . BOOM!” It is International Bag Free Day, the one day, when asked, “Paper or plastic?” you must take paper or bring  your own cloth grocery bag. I am a firm believer in cloth bags. .   ..     And you . . . ? Today is also Disobedience Day. “a day for civil or social disobedience as an act of protest,” but I am thinking of it as Disarray Day, (a state of disorganization or untidiness), a day of controlled chaos, of toys everywhere, a Busy Busy! day.

Busy Busy
Written and Illustrated by Lucy Scott
Creston Books    5/10/2016
978-1-939547-25-5
32 pages   8 X 8   Ages 3—5

.
“A toddler’s work is never done!
“Lucy Scott brings her humor and charming illustrations to the intensely busy world of a toddler in this follow-up to her best-selling ‘Doodle Diary of a New Mom’” [press release]

The Story
What does a “busy busy” day entail for a toddler? How about some creative dressing? Once dressed the toddler’s day really takes off with the construction of a city (Teddy and Zebra Rabbit want a high rising house). The budding creative then flourishes at art, painting pictures of mommy and daddy, sometimes at her easel, sometimes on her “canvas” floor.

The “busy busy” day continues with an early afternoon pirate invasion, pilfering the red and green sparkly treasure and . . . Piggy, she’s gone! A very brave toddler takes her entourage across a crocodile-filled river and through a leopard-infested jungle. The troup even meets a comic panda.

“What’s black and white and likes to eat bamboo?”

Before dinner, the toddler get “busy busy” writing a song—“The Shaky Bang Tinkle, Clickety-Click Wooooooop Woooooooooooop Song.”—to entertain her dinner guests. A bath is well earned after a leading a lesson in spaghetti eating. As helpful as always, the toddler baths three dolphins, two ducks, and one crabby baby—oops! one crab and one baby, (who may or may not be crabby). Finally, the toddler rides her camel across the desert, circling back to where she began her “busy busy” story.

The Review
Wow! The young toddler has certainly had a very “busy busy” day. Toddlers hearing and seeing the young girl’s creativity and imagination will be encouraged to use their own. The toddler’s structured day will please parents. Toys are everywhere the toddler goes, giving the spreads a natural, realistic feel. All of these items act as visual cues, which allow the child to retell the story when reading the book independently. Textual repetition reinforces memory skills, build a vocabulary, and get toddlers reading Busy Busy along with mom or dad.

For parents with equally exhausting toddlers, Busy Busy brings laughter and possibly some perspective on their own exuberant toddler. Scott’s illustrations having stunning detail, which make me very happy and gives toddlers much to notice, which reinforces independent reading. Smaller than most picture books, Busy Busy will be easy for small hands to hold. The pages are the same as one finds in picture books, but given the age of the intended reader, tougher, slightly thicker pages would make turning pages easier for little fingers. Glossy pages would be perfect for cleaning off errant meals and sticky fingers, not to mention slobber from all those animal-friends.

Busy Busy does a wonderful job representing a perfect toddler day; illustrating a typical day. The toddler is a good role model as she surrounds herself with friends, treating them nicely despite some of their behavior. She also shows kids how to entertain themselves. The toddler starts her day slumped over her camel, “just having a little rest.” This is no surprise given her exuberant day. I love how the toddler as narrator brings the story full circle by returning to the slumped position on her “camel” ending with the words “Busy Buszzzzzzz. . .” and then finding herself safely tucked in bed and imaginatively dreaming aboard an enormous and quite unusual submarine.

Did you figure out the comic panda’s punchline? “What’s black and white and likes to eat bamboo?” The only thing it could possibly be—“a silly penguin.”

BUSY BUSY! Text and illustrations copyright © 2016 by Lucy Scott. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Creston Books, Berkeley, CA.

Amazon—Indie Books—Creston Books

Find Busy Busy! on Goodreads HERE.

Lucy Scott:  https://lucyscottpictures.com/
Follow on Twitter          @lucyspictures

Creston Books:  http://www.crestonbooks.co/
Follow on Twitter          @CrestonBooks

.
Reprinted with permission from BUSY BUSY! © 2016 by Lucy Scott, Creston Books, Illustrations © 2016 by Lucy Scott.

.
Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

.
Busy Busy!
Written and Illustrated by Lucy Scott
Creston Books 5/10/2016
978-1-939547255