# Richard Scarry versus Mercer Mayer versus Stan and Jan Berenstein versus Dr. Seuss **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 1, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828 "2006-07-01T01:39:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/41 "2006-07-03T08:01:15Z")
[QUOTE=The Sausage Creature] Scarry, but most especially the story **Uncle Willy and the Pie-Rats**. [/QUOTE] Pie Rats, Ahoy! That was very, very popular in my house. My son used to follow me and beg me to read about Uncle Willy- I once read that book 9 times in a row! DS was very speech delayed and when he began to talk at 2 1/2, he began by repeating the whole story. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/42 "2006-07-03T11:06:46Z")
[QUOTE=Askia] Technically true. However I’m a big fan of longtime collaborators and since they both wrote and were trained illustrators, I figured there’s so much creative cross-pollination to be considered as one. [/QUOTE] Slightly OT, I know, but For modern collaborations, two mentions: I’m really ejoying reading the books of [Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Donaldson) to my toddler. Light, fluffy, but \*great \*to read **aloud**. The Gruffalo is going to be an all-time classic along with _Wild Things_ or _Goodnight, Moon_. For myself, the YA works of Paul Stewart & Chris Riddel are great - brilliant, dark writing and perfectly complementary, detailed line drawings. The _Deepwoods_ stuff is great, although no-one else on the 'Dope seems to have heard of it. Fantasy fans definitely should. On another sidenote: I’ve just gotten Maurice Sendak’s essay/speech collection - he writes about illustrators that inspired him, makes good reading. ---
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/43 "2006-07-03T13:18:56Z")
[QUOTE=delphica] I also had toys based on the Scarry characters – sort of like the Fisher Price Little People, but much better. It was called Puzzletown, and you had to build the houses and do the landscaping yourself. Apparently they only made a small number of these sets, once, for 20 minutes, because no one else seems to remember them. [/QUOTE] I have a couple of them up in a closet right now. Most of my other childhood toys were donated or tossed, but I couldn’t part with these. I had no idea they were so rare. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/44 "2006-07-03T13:47:51Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] #1 - **Edward Gorey** (well, they’re \*sort-of \*kid’s books, in the Struwelpieter tradition) [/quote] If we’re going **that** way, I nominate [Gahan Wilson!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gahan_wilson)🙂 (I thought of him in this connection based on his “Nuts” strip (long-running in the late, lamented _National Lampoon)_, which is about kids rather than for them. But it turns out he’s also done children’s books.) [QUOTE=MrDibble] And no love for\*\* Beatrix Potter\*\*? [/QUOTE] Did she do her own illos? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/45 "2006-07-03T13:51:22Z")
Since we’re bringing in other authors, I’ll give a mention to Laura Ingalls Wilder and Lewis Carroll. Both of them wrote books that are now classics. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/46 "2006-07-03T14:03:03Z")
I’d give the nod to Dr. Seuss, for innovative style, both as to the writing and illustration. I agree about Richard Scarry – the miniaturism appeals (though not my own kids so much), but if I had to venture a guess, I’d say his appeal is more to boys and less to girls. Anybody have any confirmatory thoughts? The Bernsteins, definitely their early work was better and zippier. When they began cranking out one moralizing thing after another, they just became tiresome. The lack-of-names issue mentioned above bugs me a tiny bit, too. I think the Bernsteins fell into this accidentally (it’s a bit of an artifact of _He Bear, She Bear_, it seems to me), and got trapped. These days, alas, I find myself reading more Bernstein Bears than all of the other nominees put together. Mercer Meyer, all I know is the Little Critter series, which I loathe. Fortunately there are none of those books in my house at present. I’ll echo **Ichbin Dubist** in saying that Arnold Lobel is incomparable, among the best ever. I’ll add in Russell Hoban and Garth Williams for the Frances series, which should be at the top of any pile. One of the pities of Seuss and Scarry is the vast amount of ersatz crap produced out of their names and characters since they died. I’m afraid it’ll have an effect on their legacies, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/47 "2006-07-03T14:22:02Z")
I don’t have a vote, so, sorry to be breaking the rules, but this is important! No one has yet mentioned (that I noticed) [Sandra Boynton](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/ref=pd_kk_sr_1/102-7895366-1938561?index=stripbooks&field-keywords=sandra%20boynton). An Amazon author search turns up 1770 hits. She was our fav here while the kids were 3 or so. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/48 "2006-07-03T17:06:39Z")
Seuss, no contest. You want intricate illustrations? Read _The Sleep Book_. Not to mention that the words of The Sleep Book are pure poetry. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/49 "2006-07-03T17:26:26Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Did she do her own illos? [/QUOTE] Oh yes - some might say the writing is only to frame her watercolours, rather than the other way around. She also did some scientific illustration, and might have made a better scientist than author - she was one of the first people to make the lichen=\>symbiote relationship, but sexism and upbringing stood in her way. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/50 "2006-07-03T17:37:05Z")
Yes, Beatrix Potter was enormously interested in biology, and specialized in fungi. She did experiments and classification on her own–made hundreds of exact drawings over months of research–and was really in a position to make a serious contribution to scientific knowledge, but the gentlemen scientists of the day were pretty much offended by her very existence, so she didn’t get much of anywhere. It’s very interesting to read about, especially her childhood adventures with her brother–IIRC they collected dead animals (such as foxes), boiled the bones bare, and assembled the skeletons, all in secret. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/51 "2006-07-03T22:39:07Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t have a vote, so, sorry to be breaking the rules, but this is important! No one has yet mentioned (that I noticed) Sandra Boynton. Huh, I didn’t know she did books, too. I thought she was just greeting cards and the like (I still get a kick out of “Wee fish, ewe, a mare, egrets, moose, panda, hippo, gnu, deer”). Oh, and back to the OP, I’d never even heard of Mercer Mayer before, and none of his many book titles rung a bell (though I skimmed the list and might have missed one). Very surprising, given how many kids’ books there have always been in my mom’s house. ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/52 "2006-07-04T00:34:43Z")
My favorite was definitely [Robert Munsch](http://www.robertmunsch.com/). Favorite books include _The Paperbag Princess_, _I Have To Go_, _Jonathan Clean Up (And Then He Heard A Sound)_, _Thomas’ Snowsuit_, _Murmel Murmel Murmel_, _Angela’s Airplane_ and _Mortimer_. My mother was particularly fond of _Love You Forever_, but it’s a little too cloyingly sweet for me (and a little creepy as well). ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/53 "2006-07-04T02:21:14Z")
Of the people mentioned in the OP, I’d rank Seuss first, Scarry second, and the Berenstains third (their book of panel cartoons, [_Never Trust Anyone Over 13_](http://www.popula.com/st/no_497/2652855.htm), was a favorite in the Sternvogel household). Mercer Mayer was “after my time” – I recognize a few of the titles, but I don’t recall reading any of his books, either to myself or to my younger siblings. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/54 "2006-07-05T21:31:43Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] Huh, I didn’t know she did books, too. I thought she was just greeting cards and the like (I still get a kick out of “Wee fish, ewe, a mare, egrets, moose, panda, hippo, gnu, deer”). Oh, and back to the OP, I’d never even heard of Mercer Mayer before, and none of his many book titles rung a bell (though I skimmed the list and might have missed one). Very surprising, given how many kids’ books there have always been in my mom’s house. [/QUOTE] Boynton writes great board books for toddlers. _But not the Hippopotamus_ is my personal favorite, but right up there is _Moo Baa, La La La_. Scarry appeals more to my daughter as she gets older; she is now three. Seus and Boynton appealed from the start. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2006, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/55 "2006-07-05T23:09:51Z")
Speaking of Dr. Suess, here’s [a wonderful filksong by Tom Smith!](http://www.tomsmithonline.com/lyrics/500_hats.htm) (To the tune of “500 Miles” by the Proclaimers.) ---
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/56 "2006-07-07T15:50:16Z")
[Graeme Base](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810918684/104-2394492-6722350?v=glance&n=283155) ---
**Author:** ![furlibusea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@furlibusea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furlibusea)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/57 "2006-07-07T15:53:06Z")
blast posted too early [Lynn Munsinger](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=7544798#) and of course Maurice Sendak but i also love Dr. Seuss ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/58 "2006-07-07T19:59:52Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Speaking of Dr. Suess, here’s [a wonderful filksong by Tom Smith!](http://www.tomsmithonline.com/lyrics/500_hats.htm) (To the tune of “500 Miles” by the Proclaimers.) [/QUOTE] That was really, really cool. Thanks, man! ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/59 "2006-07-07T20:28:42Z")
Scarry, by a nose. Seuss might have the wackier rhymes and images, but Scarry’s illustrations win it for me. My son is, unfortunately, really big on the Bernstein Bears at the moment; I don’t mind the occassional “how to live life like a good Bear should” book, but I’m drawing the line at _The Berenstain Bears And Poppa’s Nasty Old Bout Of Diarrhea._ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828/60 "2006-07-07T20:29:49Z")
[QUOTE=rjung] My son is, unfortunately, really big on the Bernstein Bears at the moment; I don’t mind the occassional “how to live life like a good Bear should” book, but I’m drawing the line at _The Berenstain Bears And Poppa’s Nasty Old Bout Of Diarrhea._ [/QUOTE] Does a bear . . . never mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry-versus-mercer-mayer-versus-stan-and-jan-berenstein-versus-dr-seuss/362828.md?page=4)