Trying to identify a book for a friend

January 27, 2013 2:39 PM

Help me identify this book? Hardback, with illustrations of towns & shops; lots of detail, kind of cartoony, escalators & stairs crossing. 1960s/70s? Know it's not much to go on, but it's all he gave me. Have at it guys.
posted by ulanbator3 to media & arts (8 answers total)

The description makes me think of the Richard Scarry books, maybe What Do People Do All Day? His books often had really intricate urban/suburban settings with animals doing people stuff. Does your friend recall a worm wearing a green trilby as part of the mix?
posted by macadamiaranch at 2:50 PM on January 27 [1 favorite]

Yes, Richard Scarry. Is it a kids' book?
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 2:58 PM on January 27

Could it be one of David Macaulay's books?
Castle, for example?
posted by sciencegeek at 2:59 PM on January 27

There are several thousand books that match your description. As mentioned, David McCauley is a possibility (although I would lean towards Underground since escalators were not depicted in Castle). The publishers Usbourne were known for these types of books for example. As children's publishing tends to be geographically separated - especially in the sixties and seventies - can you say what country your friend was in when they encountered the book? Most children's non-fiction of the time was hardcover, those that weren't were frequently library-bound, so the hardcover information is not too useful, but information like colour versus black and white illustrations is.
posted by saucysault at 3:13 PM on January 27

Richard Scarry was the first person I thought of too. Maybe What Do People Do All Day (as Macadamiaranch suggested), Best Word Book Ever, or Busy, Busy Town?
posted by SisterHavana at 3:26 PM on January 27

First thing I thought of was Busy Day Busy People by Tibor Gergely - specifically the first image on this page.
posted by neilbert at 4:19 PM on January 27

Longshot: Who Needs Donuts?
posted by Daily Alice at 4:52 PM on January 27

Piero Ventura's Book of Cities c.1975?
posted by cocoagirl at 6:08 PM on January 27