Richard Scarry was the American author of over 300 books for children. He was known for writing picture books about anthropomorphic animals that lived in a town called Busytown. Characters who lived in Busytown included 7-year old Huckle Cat, Huckle's best friend and pet Lowly Worm, a pig named Mr. Frumble, a canine police officer named Sergeant Murphy and a thief named Bananas Gorilla.
Scarry was born on June 5, 1919 in Boston, Massachusetts to parents who owned a shop. After he left business school, he enrolled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which he attended until the U.S. Army drafted him during WWII. After the war, Scarry eventually started working at Little Golden Books, where he created his Busytown characters. Scarry died on April 30, 1994 from a heart attack in Gstaad, Switzerland, where he had moved in the early 1970s.