Richard Scarry
| Richard Scarry | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 5, 1919 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | April 30, 1994 (aged 74) Gstaad, Switzerland |
| Occupation | Author and illustrator |
| Genre | Children's books |
| Notable works | Best Word Book Ever |
Richard McClure Scarry (June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was a popular American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million 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. After the war, Scarry worked for the art departments of various magazines before making a career breakthrough in 1949 with Little Golden Books.
In Irish, his surname is pronounced /ˈsˠkaːɾˠə/, originating on the west coast of Ireland, but English-speakers often pronounce it "scary," and this is the pronunciation used in popular video and audio renditions of his books and stories.
Scarry's most famous series of books was about Busytown. Scarry's characters were almost always anthropomorphic animals. 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 cats, rabbits, rats, domestic pigs, and mice, he proved to be quite adept at giving human characteristics to a seemingly endless number of creatures. 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 or a fighter jet, also show that they were drawn with accuracy.
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