| Status | acquired byAddison-Wesley, c. 1972 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1938 |
| Founder | William Rufus Scott |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Key people | Ethel McCullough Scott, John C. McCullough,Margaret Wise Brown[1] |
| Publication types | Children's books |
| Imprints | Young Scott Books |
W. R. Scott was a children's literature publisher based inNew York City that specialized in visually striking books with a contemporary educational philosophy. W. R. Scott's first editor wasMargaret Wise Brown; the company also published a number of her books.
The company was founded in 1938 by William Rufus Scott (1911–1997),[1] who was assisted by his wife Ethel McCullough Scott, and her brother, John C. McCullough.[1]
With small children of their own, the Scotts had connections to theBureau of Educational Experiments (later known as theBank Street College of Education), which was promoting a new approach to children's education and literature, emphasizing the real world and the "here and now."[2] In keeping with the Bank Street philosophy,"[2] W. R. Scott's initial list included art books for the very young, poetry, essays, and reissues.[1]
The Scotts' link to Bank Street led them toMargaret Wise Brown, who worked at the Bank Street Experimental School and had just published her first children's book. Brown was hired as the company's first editor, and one of her first projects was to recruit contemporary authors to write children's books for the company.Ernest Hemingway andJohn Steinbeck neglected to respond, but Brown's heroGertrude Stein[2] accepted the offer. Stein's bookThe World is Round,[3] was illustrated byClement Hurd, who had previously teamed with Brown on W. R. Scott'sBumble Bugs and Elephants, considered "perhaps the first modern board book for babies."[4] (Brown and Hurd later teamed on the children's book classicsThe Runaway Bunny andGoodnight Moon, though they were released by a different publisher.)
In addition to publishing a number of her own books, under Brown's editorship W. R. Scott publishedEdith Thacher Hurd's first book,Hurry Hurry, andEsphyr Slobodkina's classicCaps for Sale.
In the 1960s most of the publisher's titles were released under theYoung Scott Books imprint.[citation needed] W. R. Scott was acquired byAddison-Wesley c. 1972.[1] Most of W. R. Scott's titles went out of print, though some were re-issued byHarperCollins and Shoe String Press's imprint Linnet.[1]
