Last week, I sent out the notice that any and all readers are welcome to submit a guest post and was thrilled to get an immediate reply back from one much-loved regular. Delightful Children's Books is a sweet blog of booklists, and here, they highlight a classic from a recent Favorite Picture Books From My Childhood list. Joe Kaufman is a personal inspiration of mine, so I'm glad to see him getting love elsewhere on the Internet... Let's give Delightful Children's Books a hardy welcome and a heartfelt thanks for joining in the fun so eagerly. Enjoy!
Joe Kaufman's Book About Busy People and
How They Do Their Work
Joe Kaufman
Golden Press, 1968
Joe Kaufman’s Book About Busy People and How They Do Their Work was one of my favorite books when I was a child, and I am even more smitten with it today. Busy People introduces children to the working lives of eight individuals – Fred Fireman, Trudy Teacher, Peter Policeman, Doris Doctor, Zeke Zookeeper, Irma Installer, Carlo Clown and Perry Postman. (Great names!) First published in 1968, Busy People conspicuously avoids stereotypes; both the doctor and telephone installer are women.
One of the highlights of Busy People is Joe Kaufman’s colorful illustrations. Here are a few examples:
Doris sees some of her sick patients in their own homes.
Carlo Clown puts on his costume and paints a funny clown face.
At feeding time, Zeke throws fish to the seals.I also love the fun and fascinating information that Joe Kaufman shares with children. For example, Kaufman explains what happens to letters after they are sent, what to expect during a typical physical exam, and what countries zoo animals come from.
The dated tidbits are amusing. I especially enjoy Joe Kaufman’s introduction to the types of telephones available in 1968, which include telephones that hang on the wall, telephones with dials in hand pieces, and...
With some telephones, you can even see the person you are talking to.Imagine that!
Also by:What Makes It Go? What Makes It Work? What Makes It Fly? What Makes It Float?
Learning About Sizes
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5 comments:
This is a wonderful selection...and perfect for some girls I know. Also. your site, amongst the clatter and crash of my daily reads (world news so sad, politics so trying, and my own and others poetry and fiction so demanding), is a plate full of delight! Thanks
thanks ms....
What darling books! I would love to get my hands on a few to share with the girls.
And couldn't agree with Ms. more....
Hey, thanks so much for posting this. I've been trying to hunt down information regarding illustrator Joe Kaufman, and this recent post came up pretty high in my search.
I was wondering if you, or anyone, knew any current information about Joe Kaufman. Is he still alive? Biographical information about the man is tough to find, sadly.
Thanks!
I had this book as a child too & loved it! I suspect my parents bought it in part because it used a woman as the doctor...I remember thinking, however, that a zookeeper looked much more fun at the time.
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