{{Short description|Children's literature publisher}} {{Infobox publisher | name = W. R. Scott | image = | parent = | status = Acquired by Addison-Wesley, c. 1972 | founded = 1938 | founder = William Rufus Scott | successor = | country = United States | headquarters = New York City | distribution = | keypeople = Ethel McCullough Scott, John C. McCullough, Margaret Wise Brown<ref name=scott-obit /> | imprints = Young Scott Books | publications = Children's books | topics = | genre = | revenue = | numemployees = | nasdaq = | url = }}

'''W. R. Scott''' was a children's literature publisher based in New York City that specialized in visually striking books with a contemporary educational philosophy. W. R. Scott's first editor was Margaret Wise Brown; the company also published a number of her books.

== History == The company was founded in 1938 by William Rufus Scott (1911–1997),<ref name=scott-obit>Saxon, Wolfgang. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/25/arts/william-rufus-scott-86-pioneer-in-children-s-book-publishing.html "William Rufus Scott, 86, Pioneer In Children's Book Publishing"], ''The New York Times'' (July 25, 1997).</ref> who was assisted by his wife Ethel McCullough Scott, and her brother, John C. McCullough.<ref name=scott-obit />

With small children of their own, the Scotts had connections to the Bureau of Educational Experiments (later known as the Bank 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".<ref name=Fernando>Fernando, Anne E. [http://www.publicbooks.org/blog/in-the-great-green-room-margaret-wise-brown-and-modernism "IN THE GREAT GREEN ROOM: MARGARET WISE BROWN AND MODERNISM"], ''Public Books'' (November 17, 2015). Accessed May 2, 2016.</ref> In keeping with the Bank Street philosophy,<ref name=Fernando /> W. R. Scott's initial list included art books for the very young, poetry, essays, and reissues.<ref name=scott-obit />

The Scotts' link to Bank Street led them to Margaret 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 and John Steinbeck neglected to respond, but Brown's hero Gertrude Stein<ref name=Fernando /> accepted the offer. Stein's book ''The World is Round'',<ref>Popova, Maria. [https://www.brainpickings.org/2011/07/25/childrens-books-by-adult-authors-2/ "7 (More) Obscure Children's Books by Famous "Adult" Lit Authors"], ''BrainPickings'' (July 25, 2011).</ref> was illustrated by Clement Hurd, who had previously teamed with Brown on W. R. Scott's ''Bumble Bugs and Elephants'', considered "perhaps the first modern board book for babies".<ref name=marcus>Leonard S. Marcus (1997). [http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/parents/gamesandcontests/features/goodnightmoon/ch.aspx "Meet Clement Hurd"]. ''Enter the World of Margaret Wise Brown''. HarperCollins Children's. Retrieved 2014-10-01.</ref> Brown and Hurd later teamed on the children's book classics ''The Runaway Bunny'' and ''Goodnight 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 published Edith Thacher Hurd's first book, ''Hurry Hurry'', and Esphyr Slobodkina's classic ''Caps for Sale''.

In the 1960s most of the publisher's titles were released under the '''Young Scott Books''' imprint. W. R. Scott was acquired by Addison-Wesley c. 1972.<ref name=scott-obit /> Most of W. R. Scott's titles went out of print, though some were re-issued by HarperCollins and Shoe String Press's imprint Linnet.<ref name=scott-obit />

== Selected titles == === Margaret Wise Brown === * ''Bumble Bugs and Elephants: a Big and Little Book'', illus. Clement Hurd (1938) * ''The Little Fireman'', illus. Esphyr Slobodkina (1938) * ''The Noisy Book'', illus. Leonard Weisgard (1939)<ref name=scott-obit /> * ''The Country Noisy Book'', illus. Leonard Weisgard (1940) * ''The Seashore Noisy Book'', illus. Leonard Weisgard (1941) * ''The Indoor Noisy Book'', illus. Leonard Weisgard (1942) * ''The Winter Noisy Book'', illus. Charles Green Shaw (1947) * ''A Child's Good Night Book'', illus. Jean Charlot (1944) * ''The Little Fisherman'', illus. Dahlov Ipcar (1945) * ''The Man in the Manhole and the Fix-It Men'', illus. Bill Ballantine (1946), written by Brown and Edith Thacher Hurd as "Juniper Sage", {{OCLC|1698467}} * ''The Little Cowboy'', illus. Esphyr Slobodkina (1948) * ''The Little Farmer'', illus. Esphyr Slobodkina (1948) * ''A Child's Good Morning Book'', illus. Jean Charlot (1952) * ''Willie's Adventures: Three Stories'', illus. Crockett Johnson (1954) * ''Nibble Nibble: Poems for Children'', illus. Leonard Weisgard (1959)

=== Other authors === * Daniel Brustlein. ''One, Two, Three, Going to Sea: an Adding and Subtracting Book'' (1975) * Brenner, Barbara. ''A Snake-Lover's Diary'' (1970) * Garelick, May (May McClintock). ''Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains?'' (1961)<ref name=scott-obit /> * Hurd, Edith Thacher. ''Hurry Hurry'', illus. Mary Pepperrell Dana (1938)<ref name=scott-obit /> * Iger, Eve Marie. ''John Brown: His Soul Goes Marching On'' (1969) * Joslin, Sesyle. ''What Do You Say, Dear?'', illus. Maurice Sendak (1958) * Lear, Edward. ''The Dong with a Luminous Nose'', illus. Edward Gorey (1969) * Merrill, Jean. ** ''Shan's Lucky Knife: A Burmese Folk Tale'' (1960) ** ''The Superlative Horse: A Tale of Ancient China'' (1961) ** ''The Pushcart War'' (1964) * Oppenheim, Joanne. ''Have You Seen Trees?'', illus. Irwin Rosenhouse (1967) * Rees, Ennis. ''Brer Rabbit and His Tricks'' (1967) * Slobodkina, Esphyr. ''Caps for Sale'' (1940) * Stein, Gertrude. ''The World Is Round'', illus. Clement Hurd (1939) OCLC 10175454

==References== {{Reflist}} {{Portal|Children's literature}}

== External links == * William R. Scott, Inc. Records: Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Category:Children's book publishers Category:Companies based in New York City Category:Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Category:1938 establishments in New York City