Richard Scarry's illustrator credit and art in Sesame Street Episode 3153
A Golden Books back cover showing images from Scarry's Good Night, Little Bear with Sesame Street characters, Disney stars, Bugs Bunny, and other Golden Book personalities
Richard Scarry (1919-1994) was a children's illustrator and author, best known for a long running series of books featuring clothed animal characters, most often set in Busytown. In 1963, he illustrated I am a Bunny by Ole Risom, which was featured in Sesame Street Episode 3153. In 1997, during an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Big Bird, Rosita, Elmo, and Zoe discussed great children's books, including the work of Richard Scarry.
Beginning his book career in 1949, Scarry initially illustrated Golden Books by other authors (including his wife Patricia Scarry, who wrote Good Night, Little Bear) before writing his own stories. His books, often serving as dictionaries or readers, frequently had labels attached to characters and places and featured sprawling roads, cityscapes, or heavily populated interiors of houses or barns. Some of his best known Busytown denizens include Lowly Worm and Huckle Cat. Animated series based on his work include The Busy World of Richard Scarry and Busytown Mysteries.