Home > Facts > Authors Facts > Richard Scarry Facts

Richard Scarry Facts

Richard Scarry Facts
Richard Scarry was an American children's author and illustrator best known for his Busytown series. He was born Richard McClure Scarry on June 5th, 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts where his parents owned a shop, allowing him a comfortable childhood even during The Great Depression. Richard Scarry graduated from high school but dropped out of a business college, instead enrolling at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He was drafted into the army during World War II and worked in North Africa at the Moral Services Section of Allied Forces HQ. Richard worked for various magazine art departments before getting his break with Little Golden Books. His first published book was First Book Ever (1950).
Interesting Richard Scarry Facts:
Richard Scarry illustrated books for Patricia Murphy, Margaret Wise Brown, and Kathryn Jackson before getting his break with Little Golden Books.
Richard Scarry married Patricia Murphy in 1948. She was one of the authors that for whom Richard had been creating illustrations.
Richard Scarry had many children's books published before his first bestseller in 1963 Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever.
Richard Scarry's books often included anthropomorphic animal characters, and later books often included Swiss-clothed characters and half-timber houses. These influences are likely due to the fact that Richard moved his family to Gstaad, Switzerland in 1972.
Richard Scarry founded a studio in his chalet in Switzerland where he worked most days from 8 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon.
Richard and his wife Patricia often spent time traveling to the locations mentioned in Richard's book Busy, Busy World.
Richard Scarry's eyesight began to deteriorate in the 1980s. Despite the issues with his eyesight he completed the illustrations for his 1985 book Biggest World Book Ever.
In the 1980s and the 1990s a number of his books from the Best Ever series were adapted into animated videos.
In the 1990s Richard Scarry's Busytown series was adapted into an animated series.
In the late 1970s Playskool created plastic figures of Richard Scarry's vehicles and characters as part of Richard Scarry's Puzzletown playsets.
Some of Richard Scarry's books were changed in later years to reflect changes in social values to avoid his books being seen as offensive to gender, race or religion.
On April 30th, 1994 Richard Scarry died of a heart attack in Gstaad, Switzerland.
Richard Scarry's drawings and papers are in the University of Connecticut's archives.
Some of Richard Scarry's most notable works include Busy, Busy Town, Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, The Adventures of Lowly Worm, The Greatest Pie Robbery and Other Mysteries, Richard Scarry's Great Big Schoolhouse, What Do People Do All Day?, Good Night, Little Bear, Mr. Frumble's Biggest Hat Ever, A Day at the Airport, and A Day at the Fire Station.
Richard Scarry published more than 300 books during his career. Those books have sold more than 100 million copies, and continue to sell more each year.
Richard Scarry's son Richard Scarry Jr. also became a children's illustrator and writer. He sometimes uses the name Huck Scarry.


Related Links:
Facts
Authors Facts
Animals Facts
Literature
Literature Summary
Literature Quizzes