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WEB But where is Farmer Jones?

Published 50 years ago this simple satisfying story is illustrated in Richard Scarry's early…

… Richard Scarry's Best Little Word Book Ever.

It has since sold 15 million copies in more than 20 countries, but it only ever had one problem.

The final word in the book is “zoo”. We see some kids on a merry-go-round in front of the zoo, and the story is over. But Scarry's editor pointed out that there was one place you might expect to find after the zoo: a farm.

The book could end there, a happy family waving goodbye to the reader from their tractor, but again, there would be more logic to it than narrative.

A zoo has a more definite end than a farm. An animal reserve, perhaps or a botanical garden, or a pet cemetery, but a farm describes a way of life that doesn't really have an end.