Richard Scarry
Richard Scarry was an influential American children's author and illustrator, best known for his engaging and educational books featuring anthropomorphic animal characters. Born in 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts, he had a supportive upbringing that fostered his artistic talents. Scarry attended the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts before serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he worked as an informational art director. After the war, he embarked on a successful career as a freelance illustrator and married fellow children's book author Patricia Murphy.
His first book, *Two Little Miners*, was published in 1949, and he quickly gained popularity with series like *Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever*, which sold millions of copies. Scarry's storytelling often featured culturally neutral settings, allowing his work to be translated into multiple languages, making it accessible to a global audience. In 1968, he and his family relocated to Switzerland, where he continued to create beloved children's literature until his eyesight began to fail in the 1980s. Scarry passed away in 1994 in Gstaad, leaving behind a legacy of over three hundred books that continue to delight and educate children around the world.
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Richard Scarry
Author
- Born: June 5, 1919
- Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
- Died: April 30, 1994
- Place of death: Gstaad, Switzerland
Biography
Richard McClure Scarry, better known as Richard Scarry, was born in 1919 in Boston, the son of Barbara McClure Scarry and John James Scarry, a department store owner whose family lived comfortably, even through the Depression years. After a happy childhood in a loving family, Scarry attended the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts from 1938 to 1941, at which time he entered the U.S. Army. For the next five years, he served as an informational art director, editor, and writer in North Africa and Italy as part of the army’s Morale Services section.
When World War II ended and Scarry returned to the United States, he settled in New York City and began his career as a freelance illustrator for children’s books and magazines. He married Patricia Murphy, a children’s book author, in September, 1949, and they had one son, Richard McClure Scarry II, whom they nicknamed Huck. Two Little Miners, the first of Scarry’s more than three hundred books, appeared in 1949; he provided the illustrations for the text written by Margaret Wise Brown and Edith Thatcher Hurd. During the 1950’s, Scarry wrote and illustrated some of the Little Golden Books, including many books authored by his wife, Patsy Scarry, and by Kathryn Jackson. As the books progressed, Scarry’s illustrated animals, for which he became known, took on human qualities, behaviors, and plots.
Scarry and his family moved to Westport, Connecticut, in 1959. Scarry fatefully published Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever in 1963. The large book, the first of about one hundred books with the words “Richard Scarry’s” in their titles, contained more than one thousand illustrations of labeled objects; the book was very successful, selling seven million copies in twelve years. Other widely popular books included Storybook Dictionary, published in 1966. While writing and illustrating his own books, Scarry continued to illustrate many other popular writers’ works as well and in the late 1960’s, after already acquiring a stunning portfolio, he left Golden Books for Random House.
In 1968, following a skiing trip that left them in love with the country, Richard, Patsy, and Huck moved to Switzerland, one of the many countries in which Richard Scarry’s books became popular. His animal characters, with their culture neutral settings and experiences, transcended boundaries and allowed for translations into several languages, including Chinese, Finnish, and Lithuanian. In 1972, Scarry bought a Gstaad chalet and there set up his studio. Four years later, he received an Edgar Allan Poe nomination for children’s mystery with his book Richard Scarry’s Great Steamboat Mystery.
The Scarrys traveled throughout Africa and the Far East during the 1970’s. Scarry’s eyesight began to fail steadily during the 1980’s, but the author was still able to complete the illustrations for Richard Scarry’s Biggest Word Book Ever! in 1985. Scarry died in Gstaad on April 30, 1994.