Richard Scarry was a prolific children's book author and illustrator who is best known for writing stories about animals who take on human characteristics. In addition to featuring animals in his stories, Scarry's writing often features minimal description, focusing exclusively on the characters' action of the moment. This helps catch children's attention and makes the books more popular with children than similar children's books.

Despite its simplicity, Scarry's work was not devoid of controversy. He illustrated his stories using animals who wore clothes suited to what they were doing. However, until the late 1970s, all of his female characters wore dresses and all his male characters wore pants. In addition, female characters dressed exactly like male ones if they were engaging in activities that were traditionally male-oriented. While Scarry maintained that there were no gender-based undertones to his work and that he believed anyone who was doing certain activities, such as driving a truck, would wear similar clothes, his attitudes did not sit well with some feminists.