Richard McClure Scarry (June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994), last name pronounced like "scary", was an enormously popular children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of 300 million worldwide.
He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 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 art 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.
Scarry's characters are almost
always anthropomorphic animals. Occasionally this leads to the irony of
portraying animals as farmers, tending livestock, including the
infamous example of a pig portrayed as a butcher, selling ham and
frankfurters behind a counter. Using animals in place of humans allowed
Scarry to avoid giving the characters specific racial or ethnic traits,
which may have helped broaden their appeal. His books have been popular
with children throughout the world.
