I have been a big fan of Richard Scarry’s books for as long as I can remember. The colorful, silly, and adorable characters who live in Busy Town helped to shape my love of reading. Lowly Worm, Huckle Cat, the Pig Family, and my favorite, Goldbug! I spent lots of time finding him on the pages with my 2 kids. They love GB as much as I still do!

Over a year ago, I saw a fun Facebook challenge in a book group. For fun, it asked to find one of your favorite childhood books published the year you were born and share it with the group! I decided to investigate whether my beloved Richard Scarry book, The Supermarket Mystery, had a publication year of 1968. Unfortunately, I don’t have my original, but I recently bought a copy.

The task was more rigorous than I anticipated. Some websites said it was published in 1968, but many others stated 1969. Even though Richard Scarry’s website indicated 1968, I wrote an email through their website just to double-check, for my knowledge. 

The reply I received blew me away! Guess who sent me an email? Huck Scarry!..Richard’s son..as in Huckle Cat, whom his father named after him. At first, I thought it was a hoax, but when I read it for the 10th time, the personal information he shared indicated it certainly had to be him. 

I have been an RS fan for 57 years, so I was beyond thrilled! I still feel honored that Huckle Cat (haha!) wrote back to little ole me. I know it’s just an email, but I now feel a kindred spirit with all the residents of Busy Town. 

In my 6-year-old mind, I like to think Huckle Cat and I are good pals and have a special bond, now that I know him personally. (kind of?!) After all, my favorite RS book WAS written the year I was born. 1968. It was a good year…

Thanks to my friend, Kari, https://agracefull-life.com/, who encouraged me to write this story after I shared it with her. Check out her blog. She’s a fantastic and inspirational writer!