SuitabookWhat Do People Do All Day
Richard Scarry
- Reading
- Read a section at a time, pausing to trace what happens before and after each job. Use the illustrations as diagrams, then invite the child to compare the book’s work patterns with people and services they know.
- Themes
- Work as connected community activity: The book links farming, shops, manufacturing, transport, construction, healthcare, postal work and other services, showing workers contributing to families and the town. Work and cooperation are presented positively: the opening says people work so families have food, housing and clothing, and the sections show jobs relying on one another.
- Gendered roles in an older setting: Most jobs are described as being held by men, while mothers are shown doing domestic tasks; one mother receives a new dress for doing housework well. The role pattern appears treated as ordinary within the 1968 Busytown setting, rather than questioned by the book.
- Everyday danger and rescue: The book includes a house fire, a collision at a train crossing and a fishing boat sinking during stormy weather; firefighters and rescuers help those involved. These incidents appear within explanations of jobs and services, with rescue and practical action foregrounded rather than prolonged distress.
- Worth knowing
- Some depictions belong clearly to the book’s 1968 setting. Most jobs are held by men, and domestic work is associated with mothers; one mother is rewarded with a new dress for housework. Discuss this rather than treating it as a modern model.