500 Words to Grow on

We purchased this book about a year ago at a yard sale. My son has LOVED reading this book from about age 2 1/2 to 4. However, this copy is quickly wearing out and we wanted to get another copy for my younger daughter. We could not at the time find another 1973 version. So we bought the updated 2005 version by Kristin Kest. Overall, we are pleased with the new version. It has retained much of the charm and good illustrations found in the original. My only complaint when comparing the two versions is that in the new version, they changed the family drawing. The original showed a family with daddy standing and Mommy sitting and holding the baby and the rest of the children on the sides. This is the way that they still take family photographs if you go to Olan Mills or other photographers. However, in this new version, the author puts Mommy standing with a business like suit on and Daddy sitting and holding the baby. True, nowadays many Mommies do work. But the way this picture is drawn it just looks strange to me. I could think of several ways the author could have done this drawing and still got the point across that Mommies do work outside of the home (both parents standing, both parents sitting, etc.) Because of this change, I would recommend people try to get the 1973 version first. It is just a better book. But if you cannot locate an old copy in readable condition, then consider getting the new version of the book knowing the family picture issue I described above. Either edition would be a great learning tool for the 2-4 year old age group.

500 Words to Grow On All three of my kids loved this book. They wore out the first one so we had to replace it. They are 27, 28 and 29, and I'm saving this book for my grandchildren.

I need to give this book 10 stars. It's that good. I had three copies of this book and wore out all of them. So many wonderful words. So many wonderful pictures. If you must buy one word book for your child, this is it. This is the A-Number One book on my booklist for my early childhood class in the fall when I starte teaching.

We bought this book 3 years ago for my first and it really helped with his vocabulary. It was misplace so now we are buying it again. Worth every penny. Great for travel, small and light.

Clear drawings of objects needful to know. Concise labeling. This book could not be better unless it were just made longer!