Busy Busy documents a jam-packed day in the life of a young child.
Illustrated across each double page spread, is a familiar scene of a child at play. The accompanying text describes the activity as seen through the child’s eyes.
In the author’s words -‘as my daughter’s language developed, she would describe to me what she was doing as she played. What seemed like a gentle game of jumping from cushion to cushion took a dramatic turn when I learned of the crocodiles and tigers that lived in the spaces between. A game played at one time or another probably by all of us, I had just forgotten.
The pace of her play and learning is dramatic. She never stops! The insights she gives me into her imaginative world come thick and fast and have inspired this book’.
Chosen by The Children’s Book Council for their April 2016’s Hot Off the Press reading list.
Reviews:
Toddler-PreS –A sleepy girl tells readers about her busy, busy day. Each page shows the behavior of free play, the unobstructed view of imagination, discovery, and fun. The adventure begins with breakfast as she eats at the zoo, builds a city out of LEGO blocks, and paints all the things she knows: “I drew Mommy. Then I painted Daddy, then Rosie the Pussycat….and a horse (which was tricky).” At lunch she plays with her kitchen set as she cooks for all of her 10 stuffed animals, realizing “I barely had time to eat my own lunch!“ With the help of her stuffed animals and cats (sometimes unwilling companions), she learns about how socks work, putting them on her cat’s tail and even trying on her daddy’s sock, which “made a nice hat but it was a bit smelly.” After a long day, and a clean bath, she falls asleep and we visit her dreams with tropical fish and a fun submarine adventure. The endpapers are cleverly covered with scribbles of a toddler, reminding us of the boundless, vivid world of a young child’s day. The digitally created illustrations bring the child’s imagination to life. VERDICT A sweet story to share one-on-one with a special, busy child. Recommended for most public library collections.–Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI, School Library Journal, June 2016
Busy, busy, fun, fun! Kirkus, March 2016
“Busy Busy!” is a mind-boggling portrait of a day in the life of an active, imaginative, creative, especially busy toddler. The warmly detailed color illustrations reveal exactly how challenging keeping up with such a busy child can be! Kids will adore picking out the telling details in every page, even the colored text for the last sentence of each page of text: “I had a Busy Busy Day!” Only a truly talented child can create quite so much daily chaos while happily exploring her world of toys and play in her Busy, Busy day. Adult readers will imagine in profound detail exactly how tiring and challenging it could be to supervise and care for a child as imaginative and busy as this little girl. After painting the floor with pictures, smearing spaghetti on her stuffed animals, strewing her mother’s jewelry about the place, making delightful sounds with noisy music/percussion instruments, and playing in the jungle with more stuffed animals, the little girl scrubs at a particularly dirty penguin in her bath until she finally falls asleep riding a (toy) camel across a sandy desert, interrupting her last “Busy bzzzzzzzzzzz)” to drift in dreamland with an underwater fantasy show. “Busy Busy!” is absolutely top notch for children’s bedtime reading (and incidentally parent survival manual) kudos. The Midwest Book Review, March 2016
In Doodle Diary of a New Mom, Scott documented some of parenthood’s more challenging moments, from breast-feeding in graffiti-filled bathroom stalls to date nights that involve passing out on the sofa. In her first children’s book, she shows why all that effort is worth it. Parents are nowhere in sight as a toddler with floppy brown hair, peach skin, and gray overalls recounts her “busy busy day” in narration that gives a strong sense of the largeness of the girl’s imaginative world. “I built a city!” she announces as her stuffed animals perch on tall towers of blocks. “I cooked lunch for ten!” she says while she stirs pots in her play kitchen before a crowd of plush toys. The artwork is lovely from start to finish; Scott’s illustrations have a delicacy and precision reminiscent of Helen Oxenbury’s work. Telling, true-to-life details, such as the row of pillows serving as a path across “a river full of crocodiles” and the cat retreating from the cacophony of the child’s one-girl band, will resonate with children and parents alike. Ages 3–5. Agent: Isabel Atherton, Creative Authors. (May) Publishers Weekly, March 2016
“Lucy Scott perfectly conveys the chaotic beauty of a young child’s imagination and creativity. The vibrant illustrations and simplistic yet insightful text give the reader a true sense of seeing life through the eyes of a toddler and can’t help but make you smile at their curious adventures. Busy Busy is a lovely debut and I very much look forward to Ms. Scott’s future creations!” – Soraya Silverman-Montano, Youth Services Librarian, Las Vegas-Clark County.
“Busy Busy captures in stunningly detailed illustrations the glory that is an energetic toddler. Kids will adore seeing what a mess the nameless busy, busy narrator can make in this quirky, fun book.”
-Martha Pettit, Folio Books
“In the delightful BUSY BUSY parents are sure to recognize their own child, whether she is an explorer, an architect, a master chef, or just plain tired.”
-Jim Averbeck, author of One Word from Sophia
Foreign rights sold:
Korean language rights – Bookstory, KOREA MANHWA CONTENTS AGENCY (KOMACON)
“Isabel Atherton helped me find the best place for my first picture book – the award winning ‘The Only Child.’ She is not only a experienced and professional book agent, but also a trusted friend, who guides like a friend and shares ideas. The process of book publishing with Isabel was a really sweet and smooth journey for me.”
Guojing, Creative Authors Client.
