By Chelsea Garth

Born in Boston in 1919, renowned children’s book illustrator and author Richard Scarry was always an artist. Even as a child, he would draw pictures rather than write things out for his mother’s grocery list. Scarry grew up to create and illustrate some of the most beloved characters and communities in children’s literature—from Lowly Worm to Busytown. Some of his literary inspiration came from the Connecticut communities that Scarry and his family lived in for 17 years.

From Army Artist to Children’s Illustrator

Richard and Patsy Scarry in their Black MGTC at home on the Conklin Farm in Ridgefield, c. 1950s – Courtesy of Huck Scarry

While his family operated a store, he did not show interest in the family business, instead striving to become an artist. Starting in 1939, he enrolled at the Art School at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where he studied until the US Army drafted him in World War II. The army quickly recognized Scarry’s artistic talent and assigned him to Special Services—a unit dedicated to the morale and entertainment of the troops. Scarry painted signs before becoming an art director in the army. This experience put him on the path to becoming an illustrator.

After the army discharged him in 1946, Scarry moved to New York City and pursued a career where he could put his artistic talent to use. While he lived in New York City, Scarry met his wife, Patricia (Patsy) Murphy, who worked in advertising. After a couple of attempts to jumpstart his artistic career by working at magazines, Scarry took his agent’s suggestion to illustrate children’s books and started his career as an illustrator for Little Golden Books.

In the summer of 1950, right before Richard and Patsy moved to Connecticut, they spent several months traveling through Europe. Their extended stay at St. Anton am Arlberg in Tirol, Austria influenced Scarry’s illustration of a Tyrolean hat on one of his beloved characters—Lowly Worm. After the visit, Scarry made the Tyrolean hat a key part of his own wardrobe—even wearing it to his publisher’s office in New York.

Scarry’s Inspirations in Connecticut

Scarry cooking out on Compo Beach in Westport, c. 1960s – Courtesy of Huck Scarry

Following this European excursion, the Scarrys moved from New York to Ridgefield, Connecticut. For nearly two decades, from 1951 to 1968, Scarry made Connecticut his home. The family lived and worked in Ridgefield and then moved to Westport in 1958. Scarry befriended fellow children’s book illustrators Martin and Alice Provenson and Disney animator John Parr Miller; they all spent summer days together on the beach in Westport and on the Scarry farm in Ridgefield.

While living in Ridgefield, Scarry wrote and illustrated his first book (rather than illustrating for other writers)—The Great Big Car and Truck Book. In addition to his travels in Europe, Scarry took inspiration from his time in Connecticut. The car he bought in Ridgefield, a black MGTC, appears on the title page of The Great Big Car and Truck Book, with a couple that represents Scarry and Patsy in the front seat.

In 1959, Scarry and the family moved to a larger house in Westport right by Compo Beach that proved to be an ideal place for Scarry to write and illustrate his own books and develop his signature style. His son Huck identifies four books that mark the classic style the illustrator became known for: The Best Word Book Ever, The Storybook Dictionary, Busy, Busy World, and What Do People Do All Day?. In these books, Scarry introduced a unique, large-format style book unlike others found on store shelves and placed animal characters in human situations as part of his storytelling format.

The Road to Busytown

Downtown Westport, CT, c. 1960s – © Westport Museum for History and Culture

The quaint downtowns of both Ridgefield and Westport provided inspiration for the friendly literary streets of Busytown. Sometimes, Scarry even included direct references to Westport in his books, including the popular Remarkable Bookshop and the boat he sailed in Westport waters, the Irish Pennant. While living in Westport, Scarry created and introduced his hallmark city, Busytown, which appears in What Do People Do All Day? His books are jam-packed with illustrations of characters, places, and things to do. More importantly, however, they achieve what Scarry set out to do in writing and illustrating—making learning fun. The stories that take place in Busytown encourage children and adults alike to laugh and smile while learning about community, how it works, and how everyone has an important part to play—be it in Busytown or your own hometown.

The Road to Busytown: Richard Scarry’s Life in Fairfield County is a family-friendly exhibit that blends interactives and a reading nook with rare family photographs, original illustrations, and sketches. The exhibition has been made possible through the generous support of Fairfield Rotary, Random House Children’s Books, Bigelow Tea, The Denise Walsh Team – William Raveis, and Connecticut Humanities. On view at the Fairfield Museum until May 14th, 2023, more information at fairfieldhistory.org.  

Chelsea Garth is Curator at the Fairfield Museum, and worked closely with Huck Scarry, the University of Connecticut Special Collections and Archives, and Random House Children’s Books to develop the exhibition.