Richard Scarry
Encyclopedia
Richard McClure Scarry
was a popular American
children's author
and illustrator
who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million units worldwide.
Scarry was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where his parents ran a shop. The Scarry family enjoyed a comfortable life even during the time of the Great Depression
. Following high school graduation, Scarry enrolled in a business college but soon dropped out, finding it not to his liking. He then studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
, where he remained until being drafted into the U.S. Army
during World War II
.
Following the war, Scarry worked for the art departments of various magazines before making a career breakthrough in 1949 with Little Golden Books
.
. Scarry's characters were almost always anthropomorphic
animal
s. His books were popular with children throughout the world. Over 100 million copies of his books were sold, and they have been translated into dozens of languages.
While his books are largely populated by common animal species such as cat
s, rabbit
s, domestic pig
s, and mice
, he proved to be quite adept at giving human characteristics to a seemingly endless number of creatures. Beaver
s, raccoon
s, hippopotamus
es, rhinoceros
es, owl
s, bear
s, goat
s, elephant
s, fox
es, gorilla
s, crocodile
s, dog
s, wolves, anteater
s, hyena
s, baboon
s, chicken
s, worm
s, and insect
s were just some of the other animals to be featured in Scarry's works. Many of his later illustrations feature characters in traditional Swiss clothing and show architecturally correct drawings of half-timber houses. Examinations of drawings featuring mechanical devices, such as the rigging on a sailboat, also show that they were drawn with accuracy.
In the 1980s and 1990s, many of his Best Ever series of books were converted into popular animated videos, which are available on DVD
and VHS
. Some of these animated films include Richard Scarry's Best Silly Stories and Songs Videos Ever and The Busiest Firefighters Ever. The Busytown books were also adapted into an animated series, The Busy World of Richard Scarry
, which ran on Showtime from 1993 to 1996 and later reran in the late 1990s on Nickelodeon and Noggin. A further animated series, Busytown Mysteries
was commissioned by CBC Television
from the Cookie Jar Group in 2007, and airs on the Kids' CBC
Block morning program. Busytown was also featured at the Carnegie Science Center
from June 13 through September 8, 2002 in an interactive exhibit entitled "Richard Scarry's Busytown."
Titles reprinted since the death of Mr. Scarry in 1994 were significantly condensed from their original versions. For example, in "Best Word Book Ever" whole sections have been deleted: the section on painting was removed, as was the section on music making. The "Buildings" section was removed — it originally depicted a church, a cathedral, and a French Foreign Legion fortress. The "Out West" section removed as well. Other parts of the book were edited to show more women in the workplace and fewer cultural stereotypes. Examples in Best Word Book Ever include the Grocery section: in the old version, the grocer is a male bear — in the new version, the grocer is a female bear. In the Boats and Ships section, the old version showed a Native American in a canoe — in the new version, it shows a mouse in a pink sweater. In the "Work Machines" section, a male bulldozer operator became a female bulldozer operator with the addition of pink flowers on the sleeves. In the "When You Grow Up" section, a milkman becomes a female taxi driver. A Cowboy was replaced by a female gardener and a female scientist. A commuter-train conductor was replaced by a reporter and a female photographer. A soldier was replaced by a female judge and a small female cat.
In 1972 the Scarrys bought a chalet
in Gstaad
, Switzerland
. Here he founded his studio where he spent most of the day (from about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) writing and illustrating his books. His studio contained a single desk, lamp and chair. His wife was told not to bother him except for his hour break for lunch.
Scarry died of a foot infection in Gstaad at age 74 in 1994.
Scarry's papers and drawings are in the collection of the University of Connecticut
archives.
His son, Richard Scarry, Jr., is also an illustrator, sometimes working under the nickname Huck Scarry, sometimes working in his father's style as Richard Scarry. Huck is the nickname of Huckle Cat, one of the most commonly recurring Busytown characters. Scarry Jr. lives in Vienna
, Austria
; socialites Olympia and Fiona Scarry are his daughters.
Random House Videos:
The Busy World of Richard Scarry:
Richard Scarry's:
was a popular American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
children's author
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million units worldwide.
Scarry was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where his parents ran a shop. The Scarry family enjoyed a comfortable life even during the time of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Following high school graduation, Scarry enrolled in a business college but soon dropped out, finding it not to his liking. He then studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is an undergraduate and graduate college located in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the visual arts. It is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in partnership with Tufts University...
, where he remained until being drafted into the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Following the war, Scarry worked for the art departments of various magazines before making a career breakthrough in 1949 with Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books
Little Golden Books is a popular series of children's books. The first 12 titles were published on October 1, 1942:#Three Little Kittens#Bedtime Stories#Mother Goose#Prayers for Children#The Little Red Hen#Nursery Songs...
.
Busytown
Scarry's most famous series of books was about BusytownBusytown
Busytown is a fictional town inhabited by an assortment of anthropomorphic animals, as depicted in various books by the children's author Richard Scarry. Main characters of these books include the following: Huckle Cat, Lowly Worm, Mr. Frumble, police Sergeant Murphy, Mr...
. Scarry's characters were almost always anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s. His books were popular with children throughout the world. Over 100 million copies of his books were sold, and they have been translated into dozens of languages.
While his books are largely populated by common animal species such as cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s, rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, domestic pig
Domestic pig
The domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
s, and mice
Mouse
A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
, he proved to be quite adept at giving human characteristics to a seemingly endless number of creatures. Beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
s, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s, hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
es, rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
es, owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s, goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s, crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s, dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s, wolves, anteater
Anteater
Anteaters, also known as antbear, are the four mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua commonly known for eating ants and termites. Together with the sloths, they compose the order Pilosa...
s, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
s, baboon
Baboon
Baboons are African and Arabian Old World monkeys belonging to the genus Papio, part of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. There are five species, which are some of the largest non-hominoid members of the primate order; only the mandrill and the drill are larger...
s, chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
s, worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s, and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s were just some of the other animals to be featured in Scarry's works. Many of his later illustrations feature characters in traditional Swiss clothing and show architecturally correct drawings of half-timber houses. Examinations of drawings featuring mechanical devices, such as the rigging on a sailboat, also show that they were drawn with accuracy.
In the 1980s and 1990s, many of his Best Ever series of books were converted into popular animated videos, which are available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
. Some of these animated films include Richard Scarry's Best Silly Stories and Songs Videos Ever and The Busiest Firefighters Ever. The Busytown books were also adapted into an animated series, The Busy World of Richard Scarry
The Busy World of Richard Scarry
The Busy World of Richard Scarry is a Canadian/French animated children's television series, produced by CINAR Animation and France Animation in association with Paramount Television, which aired from 1994 to 1997, first on Showtime, later on Nickelodeon, and ran for 65 episodes...
, which ran on Showtime from 1993 to 1996 and later reran in the late 1990s on Nickelodeon and Noggin. A further animated series, Busytown Mysteries
Busytown Mysteries
Busytown Mysteries, also known as Hurray for Huckle!, is a Canadian animated television series created by Cookie Jar Entertainment. Currently the series airs in Canada as part of the Kids' CBC block on CBC Television, in the United Kingdom on the Tiny Pop channel and in the United States as part of...
was commissioned by CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
from the Cookie Jar Group in 2007, and airs on the Kids' CBC
Kids' CBC
Kids' CBC is a preschool commercial-free programming block aired weekday mornings on CBC Television.Currently, the hosts of the block are Patty Sullivan and Sid Bobb.-History:...
Block morning program. Busytown was also featured at the Carnegie Science Center
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
from June 13 through September 8, 2002 in an interactive exhibit entitled "Richard Scarry's Busytown."
Titles reprinted since the death of Mr. Scarry in 1994 were significantly condensed from their original versions. For example, in "Best Word Book Ever" whole sections have been deleted: the section on painting was removed, as was the section on music making. The "Buildings" section was removed — it originally depicted a church, a cathedral, and a French Foreign Legion fortress. The "Out West" section removed as well. Other parts of the book were edited to show more women in the workplace and fewer cultural stereotypes. Examples in Best Word Book Ever include the Grocery section: in the old version, the grocer is a male bear — in the new version, the grocer is a female bear. In the Boats and Ships section, the old version showed a Native American in a canoe — in the new version, it shows a mouse in a pink sweater. In the "Work Machines" section, a male bulldozer operator became a female bulldozer operator with the addition of pink flowers on the sleeves. In the "When You Grow Up" section, a milkman becomes a female taxi driver. A Cowboy was replaced by a female gardener and a female scientist. A commuter-train conductor was replaced by a reporter and a female photographer. A soldier was replaced by a female judge and a small female cat.
Personal life and family
Scarry's wife, Patricia Murphy, was a writer of children's textbooks who met Richard during collaboration when he was a textbook illustrator. She is credited with writing many of the stories in his subsequent children's books, such as Good Night, Little Bear, The Bunny Book, and The Fishing Cat.In 1972 the Scarrys bought a chalet
Chalet
A chalet , also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, native to the Alpine region, made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof with wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house.-Definition and origin:...
in Gstaad
Gstaad
Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Here he founded his studio where he spent most of the day (from about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) writing and illustrating his books. His studio contained a single desk, lamp and chair. His wife was told not to bother him except for his hour break for lunch.
Scarry died of a foot infection in Gstaad at age 74 in 1994.
Scarry's papers and drawings are in the collection of the University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
archives.
His son, Richard Scarry, Jr., is also an illustrator, sometimes working under the nickname Huck Scarry, sometimes working in his father's style as Richard Scarry. Huck is the nickname of Huckle Cat, one of the most commonly recurring Busytown characters. Scarry Jr. lives in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
; socialites Olympia and Fiona Scarry are his daughters.
Stories made to video
Golden Book Videos:- The Gingerbread Man and Other Nursery Stories (Golden Book 1985)
- Old MacDonald's Farm and Other Animal Tales (Golden Book 1986)
Random House Videos:
- Best ABC Video Ever! (Random House 1989)
- Best Counting Video Ever! (Random House 1989)
- Best Busy People Video Ever! (Random House 1993)
- Best Learning Songs Video Ever! (Random House 1993)
- Best Silly Stories and Songs Video Ever! (Random House 1994)
- Best Sing-Along Mother Goose Video Ever! (Random House 1994)
The Busy World of Richard Scarry:
- Summer Picnic and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- Sergeant Murphy's Day Off and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- The Best Birthday Present Ever and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- The Busiest Firefighters Ever and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- The Best Babysitter Ever and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- Mr. Frumble's New Cars and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- A Trip To The Moon and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- The Snowstorm and 2 other stories (Cinar 1993)
- The Best of the Busy World of Richard Scarry (Cinar and Minute Maid 1993)
Richard Scarry's:
- Sally's First Day At School and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- New Friend On The Block and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- The Best Birthday Party Ever and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- Now I Know My 123's and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- The Best Spelling Bee Ever and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- Practice Makes Perfect and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- Making Progress and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- Be My Valentine and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- The First Easter Egg Ever and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- The First Halloween Ever and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- The Best Christmas Present Ever and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
- The Best Christmas Surprise Ever and 2 other stories (Polygram Cinar 1993, 1994, 1995)
External links
- Books and Writers: Richard Scarry (1919-1994)
- The Best Word Book Ever, 1963 and 1991; a comparison of changes (though these were also present in the First Revised Edition, published in 1980)
- The Busy World of Richard Scarry (TV program)