The Busy, Busy World of Richard Scarry

Richard Scarry, Photo retrieved from Famousauthors.org

Richard Scarry was an artist from the start. Born in 1919 to a middle-class family, he didn’t have the financial struggles that many others faced. He was able to attend school, enjoy free time, and buy art supplies. But having financial comfort did not eliminate challenges from his life. Scarry hated school. He became a troublemaker, forged absence notes and earned dismal grades. He was active all the time, pausing only when his art absorbed his mind and body.   

His father, a successful business man, hoped that Scarry would attend an Ivy League college and eventually follow in his footsteps. Without the scholastic strength or intrinsic desire to go a school of such intensity, Scarry spent a year at a Boston business school. No happier there than he had been in primary and high school, he transferred to the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. Finally able to focus on developing his artistic talents, Scarry found joy. In 1942, one year shy of graduation, however, he was drafted into the American forces, effectively ending his formal art education.

When the army asked his profession, Scarry professed himself an artist. It seemed to make no difference, though, as he was sent to radio repair school. His dismay was evident. “He failed the exam miserably… earning the unheard-of lowest score in the history of the class: minus thirteen” (Richard Scarry, n.d.). His commanding officer realized that allowing Scarry to repair radios would be a disaster in the making, so he reassigned him to a much more palatable position: artist. His position quickly grew and he became the “military’s ‘art director’” (Richard Scarry, n.d.), in charge of designing propaganda and support messages, as well as disseminating news updates.

Scarry loved the position and his ensuing role as “editor and writer of Publications for the Information and Morale Services Section of the Allied Force Headquarters” (Richard Scarry, n.d.). He was not only able to utilize his creativity, but was given the opportunity to travel around the world. Professional circumstances could not have been better for a man who thrived on movement and activity. 

With such experience under his belt, Scarry had no problem finding illustration jobs after the war—with Little Golden Books. Scarry’s portfolio, filled with “cartoonish human characters” capture the imaginations of executives at Little Golden Books and in 1948, they offered him a very lucrative, one year contract for $4800 (Richard Scarry, n.d.). Over the next decade, his characters evolved into the zany, hard-working, madcap, often accident-prone residents of the halcyon town of Busytown that would catapult him into children’s literature history. 

Photo retrieved from https://thephoenixremix.wordpress.com

But Scarry’s characters were only part of his grand success. Because of a possible learning disorder that made standard learning practices unmanageable, Scarry developed an insight into how children might better learn. The rigidity of teaching practices in the 1930’s prevented Scarry from learning in the manner best suited to his needs and as result, his entire early education was nothing but torturous. Despite this, Scarry recognized the extreme importance of education and as an illustrator, wanted to present information to children in a world of humor, pathos, color, brevity, and movement (Richard Scarry, n.d.). He wanted to meet young children where they are at, make education fun and approachable and entertaining. His goal was to “be funny without being stupid. Don’t do it in a way they’ve seen a million times before. And whatever the cost, don’t be boring” (Richard Scarry, n.d.).

Photo credit: Alan Taylor

            Scarry didn’t allow standard publishing formats to curtail his creativity. Standardization (both in education and the military) hadn’t worked for him in the past, so he looked to create his illustrations with innovative and inventive techniques. In fact, his brother, Jack Scarry, said, “[Scarry] didn’t care that he didn’t conform” (Scarry Good, 1994). He dreamed of creating “a new kind of dictionary which arranged words by categories instead of the alphabet” (Richard Scarry, n.d.) and wrote many of his narratives without plots so that readers could use their imaginations, making up their own plots, creating their own scenes for dramatic play, starting conversations with family and feel comfortable imagining the ridiculous. Because he didn’t tie himself to a single plot in each book, he could extend the illustrated narrative into as much detail as he desired. Richard Scarry’s Best Word Book Ever, the first of his themed dictionaries, included over 1400 “solo panels of slapstick anthropomorphic behavior [and] lots of new characters” (Richard Scarry, n.d.). Each panel is filled with movement, zany adventures and slapstick humor. Scarry meticulously designed each character and scene to capture imagination, filling pages with countless details. He wanted his young readers to find something new to learn, something different to enjoy each and every time they looked at a page. “Children learn from a story and they grow attached to it,” said Scarry. “That’s why the usually want it read to them night after night” (Richard Scarry, 2012).

            While young children continued to adore his books and illustrations, a simmering backlash erupted around 1970. Society started pinpointing Scarry’s illustrations as sexist and racially stereotyped. “Feminists accused him of being a misogynist because his female characters wore dresses and were mainly housewives” (Avignon, 2012).  Given the society in which he was raised, in which women’s roles were very much relegated to the home, the fact Scarry put dresses on the animal cooking dinner was culturally accurate. He stated on several occasions that all his characters are animals with no particular gender, so a truck driver wearing trousers and a shirt could very well be female (Lynch, 1998). “Most of the women characters dressed just like men anyway”, he maintained. (Richard Scarry, n.d.) The irony wasn’t lost on him, as he also “pointed out that the feminist movement itself thought men and women should dress in the same manner” (Avignon, 2012). 

Photo credit: Alan Taylor

            Scarry’s frustration heightened when Busy, Busy World was called out by critics called insisting that Scarry’s “caricatures of different ethnicities across the world were racist” (Avignon, 2012). A feather-sporting “Indian” in a canoe and a head-dress wearing “Indian” representing the letter “I” were deemed stereotypical because not all Indians wear feathers or sail canoes. Likewise, “Ah-Choo the near-sighted panda bear from Hong Kong… and Angus the Scottish bagpiper” were targeted for perpetuating stereotypes (Richard Scarry, n.d.).

Photo retrieved from: Mrs. Little.com

            Scarry was incensed by these accusations. He created these characters with no intention of being chauvinist or racially insensitive, but was merely illustrating prevailing American culture. He didn’t mean to imply to children that women could not work outside the home or to demoralize the female gender. He worked with countless women in the publishing profession, including collaborating with his wife, Patsy, on several occasions. Patsy even supported the two of them for a while, so Scarry was well aware of the significance of women in the workplace (Little, 2013). According to Dallas DiLeo, head librarian of the Children’s Department at Carnegie Library in 2002 when he spoke about Richard Scarry at the Carnegie Science Center, “[Scarry] was showing a very 50’s type of life. The moms were in dresses, and the construction workers were always men. In the early 70’s people were stomping their feet and making a big to-do over this. Parents were saying, ‘How will we change the world if the lady cats are always in dresses?’” (Matthews, 2015). 

         Scarry’s goal had been to educate children with images of a society they could relate to and this backlash helped him recognized that in order to sell books, in order to reach his audience, in order to give children new and innovative ways in which to learn, he would have update his characters, their dress, their professions and their Busy World society. Women, ironically, were the primary caretakers of his intended audience and in order to keep them buying his books for their children, he would have to bend to their pressure. It wasn’t about the profit for Scarry; it was about the children. He once said that it is “‘a precious thing to be communicating to children, helping them discover the gift of language and thought. I’m happy to be doing it’” (Richard Scarry, 2010).

The Enduring Techniques of Richard Scarry

Richard Scarry developed a brand around his artwork and spent forty years expanding, detailing, exploring and developing adventures for the citizens of Busytown. Because the anthropomorphic characters resonated so deeply with young readers, Scarry did not vary much in his style, remaining instead constant, identifiable and relatable. 

Picture retrieved from: Thephoenixremix.wordpress.com

Picture retrieved from: Brwnpaperbag.com

Scarry was very methodical in his illustrative processes. The illustrations were not born out of text, but his minimal text evolved out of the pictures. To construct his illustrations, he used the “blue board” method. “Blue boards were layered artwork, not unlike animation cells, where the painting of colors was done on a background of illustration board with the line art on its own acetate layer on top of the background. The type was actually glued in place on another layer of acetate” (Mathieu, n.d.). Scarry would draw his pictures in pencil onto blue boards, then paint each color for each type of animal individually on separate sheets of acetate. All the reds for all the hippos, for example, were done before he would move onto to filling all the foxes with red. Since each color was on its own sheet of acetate, it makes sense that he would complete one color in its entirety, let it dry, then lay down another sheet of acetate to start the process for the next color. Given the amount of material on each spread and in each book, this orderly method of categorization likely helped Scarry ensure that not a single detail was overlooked.

Scarry was particular about the colors he used, preferring the “bright, simple palette of Winsor & Newton Designer Colors” (Richard Scarry, n.d). Because his intended audience was comprised of very young children developing foundational awareness, he had to carefully balance color and line. The colors, keep pure to help teach children color identification added detail and another method of association with each item depicted. The lines had to be definitive, providing high contrast, so that each item could be easily contextualized by readers. They can pick out items that are in their own homes, like a piggy bank or a tractor or a colander, and build a framework of the world around them.

Picture retrieved from: Brwnpaperbag.com

It is completely appropriate that Scarry used the word “busy” in many of his titles and even in the name of the town where his characters lived—“Busytown”. Each page is bursting with activity, animals, movement and text, “as crowded and inviting as someone else’s playroom” (Kastor, 1994). Scarry himself declared his dislike of white space in his illustrations (quite possibly a sign of the fast-paced nature of his mind), implying that every inch was a new opportunity for imagination. But almost of all his spreads do have white space and in fact, use it to help convey perspective, contrast, and change of scenery.

Scary’s illustrations of the characters and their adventures tell the stories that he wished to share—the stories that are hidden in his readers’ imaginations. A young bookstore clerk described the allure of Scarry’s books and illustrations in perfect succinctness. “What I liked about them was that there was so much going on, and there wasn’t a story I had to follow. I could look at the pictures and enjoy them” (Kastor, 1994).

Richard Scarry (Photo retrieved from Earlymoments.com)

Annotated Bibliography of Richard Scarry

For a full list of the 300+ books that Richard Scarry illustrated,

please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Scarry

I Am a Bunny

Risom, O. (2015). Richard Scarry's I am a bunny. New York, NY: A Golden Book.

Annotation and image retrieved from Goodreads.com on 5/7/17.

Nicholas, a bunny clad in red overalls. In the spring, he picks flowers, and in the summer, watches the frogs in the pond. In the fall, he sees the animals getting ready for winter. And when winter comes, he watches the snow falling from the sky...then curls up in his hollow tree to dream about Spring. 

Richard Scarry’s Best Counting Book Ever

Scarry, R. (2012). Best counting book ever. New York, NY: Sterling Children's Books. 

Annotation and image retrieved from Goodreads.com on 5/7/17.

When Willy's father suggests that he practice counting all the things he sees, he begins with ONE BUNNY (himself) and soon finds more numbers everywhere: TWO eggs on his daddy's plate, THREE wheels on a tricycle, a FOUR-wheeled wagon with apples for Willy and his friends to share. By the end of the day, Willy's gone all the way up to 100! Action-packed and featuring Scarry's always-appealing art, this really is the best counting book ever!

Richard Scarry’s Best Lowly Worm Book Ever!

Scarry, R. (2013). Richard Scarry’s Best Lowly Worm book ever! New York: Golden Book.

Annotation and image retrieved from Goodreads.com on 5/7/17.

It's quite the busy day for Lowly Worm. Whether he is at school, on the farm, helping his friends, or zooming about in his apple car, Lowly always gives young readers plenty to see and discover. Learning new words, counting along, and finding their favorite characters in the illustrations, children will repeatedly pore over this newly discovered Richard Scarry gem, lovingly completed by his son, Huck Scarry.

Richard Scarry's Best Word Book    

Scarry, R. (1963). Richard Scarry's best word book ever. New York: Little Golden Books.

Annotation and image retrieved from Amazon.com on 5/7/17.

Welcome to Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever! Featuring everything from an airport to a grocery store, this fun-filled book has hundreds of objects clearly labeled so that little readers can expand their vocabularies. In print for fifty years, this classic book has sold over 5 million copies around the world and brought billions of new words to little ones across the globe. Learning has never been more fun!

Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever

Scarry, R. (2014). Richard Scarry's best Mother Goose ever. New York: Golden Books, an imprint of Random House. 

Annotation and image retrieved from Amazon.com on 5/7/17.

Richard Scarry introduces toddlers to the nursery rhymes of Mother Goose! Featuring his unmistakable art (now restored to its original glory) and fifty of Mother Goose's most beloved rhymes, Scarry's timeless collection, now celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, is a must-have for readers of all ages.

Richard Scarry's Best Storybook Ever

Scarry, R. (1968). Richard Scarry's best storybook ever. New York, NY: Golden Press. 

Annotation and image retrieved from Goodreads.com on 5/7/17.

From the cheery sun on the first page, to the sleepy moon on the last, and throughout all 290 pages in between, there are stories, rhymes and fun with the one-and-only Richard Scarry. Classic tales, alphabet and counting stories, lots of new words and concepts, and visits around town, to the airport, and across the world make this essential book that will captivate even the most restless child.

Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

Scarry, R. (1974). Richard Scarry’s cars and trucks and things that go. New York, NY: A Golden Book. 

Annotation and image retrieved from Goodreads.com on 5/7/17. 

The station wagon, the tow truck, the garbage truck and the bulldozer. Every manner of machinery that moves is riotously depicted in this classic favorite. As the pig family head to the beach for a picnic, they encounter every vehicle known, from the forklift to the locomotive, and many vehicles that are not as common, from the pumpkin car to the broom-o-cycle. Each detailed spread provides tremendous opportunity to make up stories and describe situations. Will Officer Flossy catch Dingo? Will Rollo Rabbit catch his runaway steamroller? And with literally hundreds of things to look at, youngsters will spend hours trying to find Goldbug on every page. 

 

Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day?

Scarry, R. (1968). Richard Scarry’s what do people do all day? New York, NY: Random House. 

Annotation and image retrieved from Goodreads.com on 5/7/17.  

An illustrated panorama of the animals of Busytown at work, describing the occupations and activities of many of her citizens through detailed drawings with labels indicating processes and equipment used as they perform their jobs.