Being in the most privileged and fortunate position to be able to review children's books in your spare time is a fabulous wondrous thing. Not only do you get to relive your childhood, revisit the books that you loved and cherished, and pass on that love to your children - you get the opportunity to discover new works by legends in children's publishing. Like Richard Scarry for instance, a man who firmly left his mark on children's books, became a massively influential figure, who left behind an astonishing body of work that still has the power to thrill and enthral children today.

"Best Lowly Worm Book Ever" is based on a set of manuscripts that Richard Scarry's son Richard (Huck) Jr discovered amongst Richard Sr's things.
The manuscripts placed a peripheral character, Lowly the fantastic Tyrolean-hatted uni-footed worm, front and centre and detailed his daily goings-on in trademark "Scarry" style.

We see Lowly getting up and getting dressed, brushing his teeth (Charlotte always finds it slightly puzzling that Scarry characters always brush their teeth BEFORE breakfast!) and enjoying the day with his friend Huckle and the Cat family.

Scarry fans definitely won't be disapointed with this new work, it bears all the hallmarks and brilliance of his other books - including the things we always look out for, those wonderfully imaginative vehicles that always feature in Scarry books (Lowly drives a fab little Apple car!)

Timeless, endlessly appealing, crammed with detail and like the slightly moth-eared but very well loved Scarry books I've passed down to Charlotte, a book that she'll be able to keep and pass down to her own children and grandchildren one day.

Charlotte's best bit: The anatomy of a worm (yes, even worms have bottoms!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: A fantastic "lost work" brought to life and a welcome addition to Scarry's huge catalogue of fabulous timeless books.

(Kindly sent to us by HarperCollins Children's Books)

We may look like we're slightly biased towards Mr Scarry this week. Quite rightly so, because if one children's book writer / illustrator absolutely NAILED the glorious creative and imaginative vehicles we all use to get around, it was Richard Scarry. You name it, he probably turned it into a wheeled winged or seafaring vessel of some sort.

Now, this book is big. REALLY big. It survived a good whumping from the lazy courier (who lobbed it over our fence rather than leaving it somewhere safe when it was delivered), and I don't think anyone's got a book case that can hold this sucker. We certainly don't but we're considering leaving it in the garden and renting it out as a second domicile.

Of course the great thing about a book this big is that you really can do other things with it other than read it...!

You could camp in it...(if you're small!)

Or perhaps use it as a screen to change into your superhero costume behind!

Or soar like a hang glider?

As we've mentioned, it is filled to the brim with brilliant modes of transport. All our favourites crop up in this book, from huge diggers and earth movers, to ferries and aircraft carriers, through to the tiniest little dinky pencil and crayon cars driven by awesome little mice (LOVE those!)

It's a big 'first words' book for babies, who can actually crawl across its surface finding all their favourite little details (it's a big board book so it wipes clean - just in case you were worried about any accidents!)

All your favourite busy town characters crop up within its mighty pages. Huckle the Cat is here, as is Lowly (the worm who graces the cover), and so many other folk going about their daily business as children read and learn different words.

It's a brave, bold and overwhelming book format but it's magical (just seeing Charlotte's face when she unwrapped it was hilarious!)

We're huge Richard Scarry fans, particularly when his books are blown up to mammoth proportions. Fab! Just hope it doesn't give your postie a hernia when he delivers it!

Charlotte's best bit: The sheer size of this book, it's overwhelming but so brilliant and full of wonderful Scarry stuff!

Daddy's Favourite bit: I've always loved Richard Scarry's books, and his crazy vehicles, but this takes things to a whole new level. How on EARTH are we going to store this thing?

(Kindly sent to us for review by HarperCollins Children's Books)

We couldn't have a #ReadItMD13 theme week all about awesome animals without featuring at least one book by the grand master of fab animal characters himself. Richard Scarry's sublime "Best Word Book Ever" was one of the first 'new' books I was ever bought as a child. I distinctly remember this book being so well loved, read so many times, and (shhh) scribbled in that it literally melted away to nothing (I think if books could crumble to dust in your hands like some ancient Indiana Jones relic, this book would've done exactly that!)

Seeing the reprint with a new set of eyes sitting on my lap reading it with me was magical. All the reasons I loved it are all the reasons Charlotte loves it too. It's not just any old word book, it's a word book that sets out such beautifully detailed scenes. We see crazy things happening, we see ordinary everyday animal folk going about their business. We see them driving brilliant vehicles, doing fab jobs, brushing their teeth or preparing dinner for 12.

With each turn of the page you feel like you're learning a little more about Scarry himself, his creative processes, the values he held dear and the fact that his work has stood the test of time.

This new reprinted version features some of the last 'changes' made to the book, back in the 1980s Richard Scarry reworked some of the drawings - perhaps with the foreknowledge that political correctness would demand that his work would get a subtle tweak here and there. Oddly though some of the reworked drawings are quite jarringly bizarre looking, sticking out like a sore thumb. Take a peek inside this version and see if you can spot what I mean. There are bits where Scarry has reworked drawings or copied existing animals and poses to use for another character. It's very odd.

But even this doesn't detract from one heck of a fabulous book, and one that will thrill and engage your child just like most of Scarry's fabulous back catalogue do. A timely reprint of a book I've loved since childhood, and wonderfully well received by my child, couldn't be better.

Charlotte's best bit: Doctor Lion who has always trod a fine line between being awesome and scary for Charlotte.

Daddy's Favourite bit: So nice to see this book again, like greeting an old friend. Wonderful anniversary edition, even in spite of those bizarre reworked drawings

(Kindly sent to us for review by HarperCollins Children's Books)

When I was a kid, the thing that attracted me to the Richard Scarry books was the plethora of different vehicles that appeared in his various works. Cars and Trucks and Things that Go collects them all together in a sort of rambling rolling 'story'. Just about everthing with wheels is included. Fire engines, ambulances, even a rather cool Pickle Tanker (you did know that pickles were transported in huge tankers didn't you? That were shaped exactly like giant pickles? Of course you did!)

Charlotte's best bit: The toothbrush / Toothpaste cars

Daddy's favourite bit: Spotting how many vehicles had 'faces' on

Rating: 4 out of 5

Mum was clearing out her loft and found this long forgotten classic hidden amongst the books. It was a book picked up from one of Nan's endless jumble sale outings and I remember the 11 stories being a haphazard mix of Richard Scarry's excellent drawings coupled with simple tales for younger readers.

The book needed repairs but once it was ship-shape, I let Charlotte loose on it.

She instantly found a couple of favourites among the teeny tiny tales (the sad pony and fishing cat) and it's testament to Scarry's skill that the stories are timeless and still appeal to kids today. 

Charlotte's best bit: Fishing cat ending up getting very wet or Sad Pony going for a ride. 

Daddy's favourite bit: Farmer Junco. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Finding an old Richard Scarry book at the in-laws recently, I remembered how I got a huge "Busytown" book for christmas when I was a kid, and how that book was read, and pawed and basically trashed over the space of a few years because it was so well loved. 

Though Richard Scarry sadly passed away (see an earlier blog post about this), I thought I'd grab a couple of his books as they're A) still in print on Amazon and B) ridiculously cheap. They're still ace, just as they were when I was little, and my daughter loves them too. Key to their success is the sheer amount of crazy little details shoehorned into each page. A Day at the Airport shows children just what busy and interesting places Airports can be (obviously Richard Scarry never spent 6 hours waiting for a delayed flight in one, but hey..!)

So much to look at and such a brilliantly daft story and setup. Definitely worth the asking price. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

 When I was a kid, I remember being given a huge book one christmas morning that was filled with all sorts of crazy animal characters going about the normal everyday things that us humans get up to. There are a ton of anthropomorphised animal character books out there, but for me, no one's really come close to holding a torch to Richard Scarry. Sadly he passed away in 1994 but spent a long career both in commercial illustration and advertising before finding his niche in children's books. 

The infamous "Busy Town" books are just that (A Day at the Airport is pictured above) and are part of Scarry's trademark of mixing superbly illustrated animal characters with super-detailed scenes. Like any fantastic painting or illustration, there's always some tiny detail or new thing to discover in any of Scarry's work. 

Carrying on his father's legacy, new "Richard Scarry" books are still being published, often drawn and written by Scarry's son (also named Richard but also sometimes published under his nickname "Huck"). Taking on his father's illustration style, Huck's books are just as busy and detailed and there are also some superb collections of classic Scarry stuff still in print. 

If you spot any of these at car boot sales, or in your local library, snap them up. They're superb fun and if you remember how excellent they were when you were a kid, you can bet your own kids will love them too.