WRITER

Richard Scarry

1919 - 1994

Photo of Richard Scarry

Icon of person Richard Scarry

Richard McClure Scarry (; June 5, 1919 – April 30, 1994) was an American children's author and illustrator who published over 300 books with total sales of over 100 million worldwide. He is best known for his Best Ever book series that take place primarily in the fictional town of Busytown, "which is populated by friendly and helpful resident [animals...such as] Mr. Frumble, Huckle Cat, Mr. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Richard Scarry has received more than 1,056,532 page views. His biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia. Richard Scarry is the 5,455th most popular writer (down from 4,711th in 2019), the 8,077th most popular biography from United States (down from 6,821st in 2019) and the 628th most popular American Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.1M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 46.12

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 19

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.17

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.45

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Richard Scarry's It's Fun to Learn
What Do People Do All Day?
Juvenile literature, Occupations, Juvenile fiction
INSIDE FRONT COVER is labeled with numeral 2 on the lower left corner. Top of page text reads, "Welcome to Busytown. We all live in Busytown and we are all workers. We work hard so that there will be enough food and house and clothing for our families.". Following the above text, are drawings of characters in work apparel with their names beneath each are organized by Job Type and/or Animal Family, and appear in the following order. Words shown below in parenthesis are my notations. Mortimer (mouse) Mayor Fox (holding a sign that reads, "Welcome to Busytown") Farmer Alfalfa (goat) Grocer Cat (calico male cat [identified by wearing pants]) Mother (calico female cat [identified by wearing a dress]) Huckle (calico cat) Captain Salty (calico cat) Lookout Louie (mouse) King Coal (beaver, identified by 2 large front teeth) Captain Reddy, the pilot (not sure what animal?) Sarah (cat) Able Baker Charlie (mouse) Chief Road Engineer (brown bear) Mother (brown bear) Betsy (girl brown bear) Grandma (brown bear) Bugdozer (small green/white bug sitting on a small bulldozer machine) FACE PAGE is labeled with numeral 3 on the lower right covern. Top of page text reads, "Children are workers, too. Many children are helper workers. Are you a helper?". The following characters are on this page. Words in parenthesis are my notations. Nurse Nell (cat) Doctor Lion Stitches (bunny holding a tape measure) Blacksmith Fox Daddy Pig (dressed as a house painter) Mommy (pig using a vacuum) Harry (pig holding a floor mop) Sally (pig drying a dish) Mommy Stitches (bunny w/baby bunny) Abby (bunny) Lowly Worm (wearing a red hat) Wild Bill Hiccup (raccoon dressed as a Native American) Following are drawings of Firemen pigs: Smokey, Sparky, Snozzle Sawdust, the carpenter (cat holding a hammer and ladder) Zip, the postman (raccoon with mail bag full of letters) Sergeant Murphy (brown bear wearing a white helmut and blue uniform with 3 yellow sergeant strips on arm; he's stitting on a red motorcycle. Text at bottom of this page reads: "Come! Let us see the many different workers working at their jobs." Page 4 contains the following text at the top of page: "This is Busytown. My, what a nice town!". Following are illustrations of a Red Building with a tower that reads, "Town Hall"., and "Hotel Sun" building, and a green building labeled, 'Post office". At the bottom of page is the copyright information: "Copyright, 1968, by Richard Scarry" "All rights reserved..." Page 5 is the Title Page with illustrations of a red building and beneath windows are descriptions of the people inside and what job they're doing. The rest of the book contains descriptions of the Town of Busytown and the various activities that operate to keep the people, businesses, and utilities running efficiently. Colorful illustrations throughout the book dominate every page with text interspersed between the illustrations.
Animal nursery tales
Juvenile fiction, Fairy tales, Children's stories
Funniest Storybook Ever
Humorous stories, Animals, Fiction
Best word book ever
Vocabulary, Juvenile literature, Alphabet
A pictorial vocabulary book with words grouped under common activities such as mealtime and basic concepts such as weather
Richard Scarry
Animals, Pirates, Juvenile fiction

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Richard Scarry ranks 5,455 out of 7,302Before him are Jacques-Pierre Amette, Roger Hargreaves, Stratis Myrivilis, Antonio Gamoneda, Jorge de Sena, and Fedde Schurer. After him are Jeffrey Eugenides, Per Wästberg, Petras Cvirka, Algis Budrys, Théodore Aubanel, and Uladzimir Nyaklyayew.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1919, Richard Scarry ranks 284Before him are Aldo Campatelli, Bahriye Üçok, Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, George Cadle Price, Tini Wagner, and Jorge de Sena. After him are Carlos Julio Arosemena Monroy, Marge Champion, Jean Tamini, Gevorg Emin, Marie Windsor, and Vladimír Vašíček. Among people deceased in 1994, Richard Scarry ranks 278Before him are Ermes Muccinelli, Bruno Habārovs, Edmond Keosayan, Yuri Nagibin, Numa Andoire, and Mikhail Krivonosov. After him are Sándor Schwartz, Lucebert, William Wilson Morgan, Jim Brown, Reinaldo Gorno, and Jacques Dimont.

Others Born in 1919

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Others Deceased in 1994

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Richard Scarry ranks 8,077 out of 20,380Before him are Patti Austin (1950), Elliott H. Lieb (1932), Francis Parker Yockey (1917), Bisher Al-Khasawneh (1969), Memphis Minnie (1897), and Faith Hill (1967). After him are Sara Gilbert (1975), Albert W. Hull (1880), Lori Petty (1963), Jeffrey Eugenides (1960), John Torrey (1796), and Peggy Wood (1892).

Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Richard Scarry ranks 628Before him are Madeline Miller (1978), Isabel Briggs Myers (1897), Christopher Paolini (1983), Scott O'Dell (1898), John Antoine Nau (1860), and John Varley (1947). After him are Jeffrey Eugenides (1960), Martin Cruz Smith (1942), Amy Tan (1952), Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836), John Keel (1930), and Ted Chiang (1967).