Richard Scarry BusyTown Mysteries

I recently had the opportunity from One2OneNetwork to review the Richard Scarry series of BusyTown Mysteries on CBS Saturday Mornings (schedule and local air times in your area HERE). To be quite honest I had never heard of Richard Scarry, let alone BusyTown Mysteries but if CBS felt the series of childhood books worthy to air for children then I knew I had to take a gander.

Plus what can I say, Michelle @ One2One rocks and she wondered why I wasn't in on the campaign...and I cannot let them down right? I mean they have the coolest reviews that in my opinion are family fun and friendly. (Love you guys!) Okay enough of my schmoozing.

I literally just received the disc and Big G and I popped the DVD in to watch the thirty minute program, comprised of two 11-minute stories per episode. I thought it was great! Very reminisce or Sesame Street, late 70s early 80s TV programming. You know the programming I am speaking of, the ones we all grew up on that were just great shows! Nothing mind numbing and at times painful like SpongeBob. While I like SpongeBob and Patrick one liners, definitely not a cartoon for children.

We watched BusyTown Mysteries all the way to the end and Grant wanted to watch again. And again. And again. Until I finally told him that the show is on Saturday's so we set up the DVR to record just for him. Could you tell he liked the show? I know I did and he was head over heels. He even knew "GoldBug" one of the beloved Richard Scarry characters. I began to wonder how he was so familiar and fond of "GoldBug" and then while cleaning for the day shortly after they watched the movie I found this:

 

If you look quite closely you will see this is an ORIGINAL Richard Scarry book! The beloved characters of GoldBug, Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm in the books and the series are lead by these cute and lovable characters. The book, copyright of 1974, is my husband's book from when he was a child. So imagine my surprise when The Chad saw the show and was like "OH HEY! GoldBug!" Just like Big G, my dear husband also shares a love and special place for Richard Scarry characters and stories in his life. In fact, Richard Scarry’s books have sold over 150 million copies and have been translated into 30 languages over the last 40 years (One2OneNetwork.com, 2009), so you can imagine how many different generations have grown up on these wonderful books.

The Scarry book that is losing her binding and a treasure in our home is Cars and Trucks and Things That Go and my boys LOVE this book, so I was enamored at the fact that the series would be a big winner in my house, especially if The Chad will watch with Big G, great bonding time for them.

If you kids are more interactive Busytown also entertains and educates fans at home with the fun, interactive website BusytownMysteries.com where kids can explore different neighborhoods in Busytown, interact with the Busytown characters and play 14 games and activities designed for preschoolers, including interactive games, a Fan Club and “My First Email,” which lets little ones email their progress to pre-approved friends and family addresses (One2OneNetwork.com, 2009)

Thank you One2OneNetwork and CBS programming for providing me with a copy of the series to view with my family, I am so glad they were already fans and now I am as well!