Richard Scarry; Children’s Author

Richard McClure Scarry, whimsical American author and illustrator of popular children’s books featuring Lowly Worm, Huckle Cat, and Mr. Frumble the Pig among others, has died. He was 74.

Patricia Murphy Scarry said Tuesday that her husband died Saturday of a heart attack at a hospital near their home in Gstaad.

Scarry’s 200 or so books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 30 languages.

His books are filled with gentle-looking puppies, kittens, rabbits, pigs and other creatures, sometimes driving bizarre vehicles in unlikely shapes, such as toothpaste tubes, carrots, eggs and loaves of bread.

Scarry, which rhymes with “carry,” was born in Boston in 1919 and studied drawing at the Boston Museum School. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. After drawing for other authors, he decided he wanted to write as well.

“He considered himself an educator more than anything,” his wife said. “He thought any child could learn to read and absorb other things if they were having fun.”