# Richard Scarry **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805 "2011-03-24T04:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/1 "2011-03-24T04:05:05Z")
What is your opinion of Richard Scarry, the picture book author and artist? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/2 "2011-03-24T04:10:08Z")
He totally fucking rocks. Gold bug ftw! ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/3 "2011-03-24T04:29:38Z")
I was all about him when I was a kid. I STILL have my Busy, Busy World book on my bookshelf, and occasionally read through it. I always loved the Denmark page - a detailed map of a haunted castle. He’s also responsible for my fear of furries - I distinctly remember being traumatized as a young kid by a drawing of a pig standing upright in boxer shorts in a doctor’s office in another one of his books. ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/4 "2011-03-24T04:33:01Z")
I had his Best Storybook Ever when I was a kid and wore it out; I was so happy to find another one in a flea market 25 years later. My kids love the stories like “Pierre, The Paris Policeman” and “Good Luck In Rome” because I’ll attempt a (really awful) French or Italian accent. ETA: I see **fusoya** has the same book. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/5 "2011-03-24T04:37:17Z")
Lowly worm driving an apple car FTW! I still have my books. I spent countless hours looking at all of the details of the illustrations. I knew how to read, my colors, my numbers…all that stuff before I even went to kindergarten and I am sure it’s because of the imagination of Richard Scarry. When I was a little older, the How Things Work book was fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/6 "2011-03-24T04:39:14Z")
I had a couple of those books when I was a kid. I loved them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/7 "2011-03-24T04:41:34Z")
I remember a kid writing a letter to his grandmother and the postman tucking it into his hat because his bag was full… I couldn’t tell you what book it was in, but it’s an image that has stayed with me some 35 years. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/8 "2011-03-24T04:44:39Z")
He was brilliant, I loved his books. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/9 "2011-03-24T05:00:10Z")
I had never heard of him until now. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/10 "2011-03-24T05:03:19Z")
This was interesting (from his wiki) > [@](#): > > Titles reprinted since the death of Mr. Scarry in 1994 have been significantly condensed from their original versions. For example, in “Best Word Book Ever” whole sections have been deleted: the section on painting was removed, as was the section on music making. “Buildings” section removed - originally depicted were a church, a cathedral, and a French Foreign Legion fortress. “Out West” section removed entirely. In addition, there has been a lot of heavy-handed politically-correct editing. Examples in “Best Word Book Ever” - Grocery section: old version, grocer is a male bear - new version, grocer is a female bear. Boats and Ships section: old version showed an Indian in a canoe - new version, mouse in pink sweater. “Work Machines” section -male bulldozer operator has now become female bulldozer operator with the addition of pink flowers on sleeves. In the “When You Grow Up” section, milkman becomes female taxi driver. Cowboy replaced by poorly drawn female gardener and female scientist. Commuter/Train Conductor replaced by reporter and female photographer. Soldier replaced by female judge and small female cat. ---
**Author:** ![BethCro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@BethCro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BethCro)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/11 "2011-03-24T05:03:40Z")
He’s brilliant. I’ve blocked out much of my childhood, but his books take me back, in an enjoyable, nonthreatening way. Scarry rocks. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/12 "2011-03-24T05:10:52Z")
I had the [Best Word Book Ever](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Word_Book_Ever), which was partially responsible for my nerdy trivial knowledge about America, as a kid. I used to like the recurring characters Wolfgang Wolf, Benny Baboon, Harry Hyena, and, of course, [Lowly Worm](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowly_Worm) in his cute little hat. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/13 "2011-03-24T05:14:16Z")
I remember seeing his books when I was child, but I never really found them very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/14 "2011-03-24T05:17:36Z")
Is this a trick question? Like, are you really asking us about unbridled lust or Busy Town as some kind of Communist dystopia? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/15 "2011-03-24T06:11:20Z")
He was huge to me. He and Sendak were the twin gods of high literature when I was in first and second grade :). ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/16 "2011-03-24T07:05:19Z")
Great guy, and my kids loved and loved and loved his books. We had one that was signed and personalized. While personalizing, he asked if the kid had any pets, and he said yes, a black cat. So Richard Scarry went through and drew a little black kitty into quite a few of the frames (no dialog for kitty, though). Of course after this, we didn’t want to let the kid actually read the book anymore, because that would wear it out. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/17 "2011-03-24T07:09:00Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > He was huge to me. He and Sendak were the twin gods of high literature when I was in first and second grade :). Add Dr Seuss and you’ve got my holy trinity for the same age. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/18 "2011-03-24T09:16:09Z")
He was excellent. astro’s relation of how someone’s work after death can be altered just like a soviet photo is unearthly creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/19 "2011-03-24T10:41:58Z")
Loved his books as a smallchild - I used to scrutinize the pictures for all the little details of characters doing funny things in the background. Incidentally, it wasn’t until I revisited them as an adult that I got the joke about the name “Lowly Worm”. I’m still waiting for the OP to return and reveal that Scarry was a secret pedophile or goat rapist or something terrible. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805/20 "2011-03-24T10:53:42Z")
I loved him. It was terribly exciting when I was four and realized just after my dad taught me to read that I now knew **exactly** what the words under the pictures in the Busytown and Crockett Johnson’s Harold’s Purple Crayon books meant. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-scarry/575805.md?page=2)