Richard Scarry author page

Richard Scarry biography

Richard McClure Scarry was an American children’s author and illustrator, born on June 5, 1919, in Boston, Massachusetts. After attending the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from 1939 to 1942, he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. Serving as a second lieutenant in the Special Services unit, Scarry was stationed at Allied Headquarters in Algiers, where he produced illustrated newsletters and morale-boosting materials for troops.

Following his discharge in 1946, Scarry moved to New York City to pursue a career in commercial art. In 1949, he began illustrating for Little Golden Books, with his first project being Two Little Miners by Margaret Wise Brown. He married Patricia “Patsy” Murphy in 1948, and the couple collaborated on several children’s books, including The Bunny Book (1955).

Scarry’s first self-authored and illustrated book, The Great Big Car and Truck Book, was published in 1951. His breakthrough came with Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever in 1963, which sold over seven million copies within 12 years. This book introduced readers to the fictional world of Busytown, inhabited by anthropomorphic animal characters such as Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm. Over his career, Scarry published more than 300 books, selling over 100 million copies worldwide and translating into more than 30 languages.

In 1968, Scarry and his family relocated to Lausanne, Switzerland, later settling in Gstaad in 1974. The Swiss landscape and architecture influenced his illustrations, evident in books like What Do People Do All Day? (1968) and Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (1974). His son, Richard “Huck” Scarry, continues his father’s legacy by illustrating books featuring Busytown characters.

Richard Scarry passed away on April 30, 1994, in Gstaad, Switzerland. In 2012, he was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators.