The book was first published in the United States in 1963, followed by a British edition published in 1964 by Paul Hamlyn and reprinted in 1965. The Best Word Book Ever has been reprinted and revised many times since. The book has been translated into a number of other languages, including a bilingual edition in English and Spanish [3] and one in Ukrainian. [4] Editing the Best Word Book Ever [ edit ]

And indeed Mein allerschönstes Wörterbuch: Deutsch-Englisch-Französisch is probably one of the picture books of my childhood that I do remember the most fondly and also the most vividly, mostly because I truly did learn so much and so many words (and in three different languages at that) and that yes, author/illustrator Richard Scarry's illustrations were bright, fun and a great way to learn and practice the various featured nouns, verbs, adjectives etc. with both text and images. But of course, as a child I really only knew and cared that I enjoyed Mein allerschönstes Wörterbuch: Deutsch-Englisch-Französisch and that the pictures and mini-stories presented and shown by Richard Scarry were both fun and informative at the same time. However, I guess that my most treasured (and now full of delightful irony) memory with regard to Mein allerschönstes Wörterbuch: Deutsch-Englisch-Französisch is that one day after my mother had given my siblings and me a vocabulary lesson from the so-called supermarket and then the food section, I asked her why in the supermarket, the pig family would be purchasing sausages and other pork products and if that could not be deemed rather cannibalistic in and of itself, and also that the picture in the food section of Mein allerschönstes Wörterbuch: Deutsch-Englisch-Französisch of Father Pig cutting up a roast was really kind of creepy as well (and for precisely the same reasons). And yes, I do with a broad smile well remember that my mother was absolutely stymied that I would ask her that type of question and that she really did not know how to properly answer me except to say that perhaps I might have a point but not to dwell on this and certainly not to talk about this with my little sister who at that time and at her young age really liked (even loved) pigs as animals and had not yet made the connection that the pork roasts, sausages etc. we often consumed at mealtimes actually came from pigs, from living animals. Publisher: Random House Children's Books (with Giant Little Golden Book), September 1999, Hardcover ( ISBN 0-307-15510-2) And yes, I do find it absolutely annoying and in my opinion actually totally unacceptable that in the 2013 Best Word Book Ever edition the toy section has been so greatly reduced and that almost EVERY SINGLE TOY that in Mein alleschönstes Wörterbuch Deutsch - Englisch - Französisch and of course also (likely) in the older English language editions of Best Word Book Ever showed toys that generally would appeal to girls have simply not been included anymore. I mean, why are there no dolls, no depictions anymore of a little girl having a tea party and no doll houses in this here Best Word Book Ever? And why are there equally no longer a toy castle and a bow and arrow set being shown? Does the publisher somehow think that dolls and other "girly" toys are in and of themselves so gender biased they should no longer even be included in a list of toys and that toy castles and bow and arrow games automatically promote violence? Really kind of sad, because toys are toys and actually both girls and boys often and even today still enjoy playing with dolls and with castles etc. And really, if the publisher truly thought that some of the toys originally included in Best Word Book Ever were potentially problematic, well, that could have easily been remedied with supplemental notes etc. as just removing certain and by many children very much beloved toys such as dolls, doll houses, castles and the like, I for one do consider this rather ignorant and insulting at best.

My Book Notes

Emma has real doubts about that title. I fought for Richard Scarry, but I'm afraid the 5 year old girl might be right.

By 1980 the book had been edited to remove some of what became perceived as stereotypical roles for females and to update terminology. [6] At least 14 changes were made, including changing a male "policeman" to a female "police officer" on the front cover, and changing "handsome pilot" to "pilot" and "pretty stewardess" into "flight attendant." [6] Not only is this book fun-free, I couldn't even find my favorite character Lowly, an earthworm in a dashing little hat. Following his great success with Best Word Book Ever, Richard Scarry went on to create a large number of other children's books in the same style with similar animals, a similar dominance of the art over the text and even similar names, including Best First Book Ever, Best Little Word Book Ever and his last book Richard Scarry's Biggest Word Book Ever. Various Best Ever books were adapted to video and a television series, " The Busy World of Richard Scarry," ran on Showtime from 1994 to 1997.

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School is fun. There are so many things we learn to do. Kathy Bear is learning how to find a lost mitten.