Bub, or, The very best thing Book

There is something very magical about the illustration in this book. Natalie Babbit has blended a tapestry of medieval landscape with a very modern day twist of faces encompassing people that could have leapt out of your very own photo album.

Like parents of today, the King and Queen are trying desperately to find what the "very best thing" is for their son the Prince. Their arguments have not been able to sort it out, so as the King looks through books for the answer, the Queen and her son journey through the kingdom in their own search.

From vegetables to sleep, to sunshine, to songs, to talking, each person they come across has a different idea of what "the very best thing" could be. Having run out of reputable sources, the royal family comes upon the Cook's daughter. When she replies, "have you asked him", they family is shocked. What could this girl know?

"The one and only very best thing is bub", the parents are at a complete loss. What does that mean, so off they go again trying to find the answer, when in fact, it was there the whole time, they just needed to ask and understand what their young son was telling them.

I loved the Ahhh moment at the end of the book, where the explanation was so simple that I had to sit back and wonder how many times I had missed the obvious when I was raising my children.

Read this book; take your time with the illustrations and the lesson that is being taught.