Boston's Book Nook Blog~The Not-So-Scary Truth About Richard Scarry

Throughout history, the task of teaching children the realities of life have proven
challenging for many who are unsure how to separate the illusions of fact from
fiction. As most children are surrounded by fairy tales of "Hansel and Gretel" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," one Boston-bred writer/illustrator sought to educate his readers about "real world living" by creating books reflecting the essence of average daily activity. 

By incorporating entertaining animal characters of hippopotamuses, crocodiles, cats, dogs and several others, Richard Scarry developed a magnificent learning platform to increase a child's understanding of adult responsibilities including employment, self-sustainability and cooperation within a community. 

Most recognized for "Busy Town," the author spent more than 40 years composing literature dedicated towards giving young readers a glimpse inside the world of adulthood. Not unlike many other literary geniuses, Scarry travelled an interesting path towards becoming one of the highest gifted children's book writers of the 20th century.  

Richard McClure Scarry was born on June 5, 1919 into a loving and caring family who were proprietors of a local shop in Boston, Massachusetts. Although eventually becoming effective in educating generations of youngsters, conventional methods of studies did not agree with him. Described as a terrible D/F student, the teenage artist often skipped school, visiting burlesques in order to practice his hand in sketching human form.

Taking five instead of the usual four years to graduate high school, he was forced to attend a business college where he soon dropped out after a single semester.  Shortly afterwards, Scarry was admitted into the Museum of Fine Arts program where he flourished but had his lessons cut short when he was drafted into the Army during World War II. After being moved from radio repair (a job that he failed miserably) to the signage department, the young cadet learned to develop both his writing and artistic skills by becoming the editor and art director, making moral boosting pamphlets and massive promotional signs. 

Once his military career ended, Scarry found his first job working for art departments and publication firms, notably Vogue magazine, where he was fired after only two weeks for being the "wrong fit" for the position. In 1945 he was given his first break, illustrating "Two Little Miners" which was published by Little Golden Books. 

The artist preferred to use the "factory line" method in his artwork, coloring all the blue features of the piece then red and so on. His writing style was equally odd, as he typed out phrases and then glued them into the appropriate spots on the page.  After spending several years as a contracted illustrator, he composed and drew his first book in 1963 named "The Best World Book Ever" which sold more than 7 million copies and contained more than 1400 pictures.

Relocating to Gstaad, Switzerland after marrying a fellow writer, Patricia Murphy, the characterized "ladies man" went on to create more than 300 books including the "Busy Town" series which were converted into animated programming in the 1990s, airing on Nickelodeon and Showtime.  Although his work found mostly praise amongst his targeted audience, he was once accused of sexism and racism by drawing minority ethnicities and female characters engaged in submissive work professions forcing Random House to re-edit large sections of text.   

For the most part, Richard Scarry enjoyed a long and happy career writing and illustrating books within his studio from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon until vision problems began to interrupt his progress. His wonderful style of humor in conjunction with his motto of never treating his readers "stupid" or "talking down to them" made him a hero in the children's literary world although never once winning a single award for his talents. 

Passing away from a heart attack driven by complications of cancer of the esophagus on April 30, 1994, his memory has been carried on by his manuscripts which have been reprinted and adapted into several different mediums of cartoon and interactive exhibitions.  While his "seldom left white" pages continue to grace millions of bookshelves, his son, Richard Scarry Jr. also carries on the family name by illustrating his own books under the pen name Huck Scarry, a character used by his father in "Busy Town."  All in all, the divine work of the Scarry family proves that their gentle and kind personality which passes noticeably onto their children's book is not-so-scary after all...