Eric Carle

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Eric Carle

Eric Carle (born June 25, 1929) is a children's book author and illustrator who is most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has been translated into over 30 languages. Since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 71 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

1 Early life
2 Writing and illustrating career
3 Style
4 Quotes
5 Later life
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in Syracuse, New York in 1929 to German emigrants Johanna and Erich Carle, Eric moved to Germany with his parents when he was six years old; he was educated there, and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Künste, in Stuttgart. Eric's father was drafted into the German army during World War II, and Eric avoiding the draft in 1944 by being an American citizen.^[1] Carle dreamed of returning to the United States, so he moved to New York City in 1952 with only $40 to his name. Once there, he landed a job as a graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War and stationed in Germany.^[1] After returning from the service, he was the art director of an advertising agency for many years.

[edit] Writing and illustrating career

Educator and author Bill Martin Jr., after noticing an illustration of a red lobster Carle had created for an advertisement, asked him to illustrate a story. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration, and became a best-seller. This began Carle’s true career; soon he was writing and illustrating his own stories. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, followed quickly by The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

[edit] Style

Eric Carle’s art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His art work is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and colorful images. Many of his books have an added dimension—die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, even the lifelike sound of a cricket’s song as in The Very Quiet Cricket. Carle's readers often use his work as an example and create collages themselves that they often send to Carle; he receives hundreds of letters each week from his young admirers.

The themes of his stories are usually drawn from his extensive knowledge and love of nature— an interest shared by most small children. Carle attempts to make his books not only entertaining, but also to offer his readers the opportunity to learn something about the world around them. When writing, Carle attempts to recognize children's feelings, inquisitiveness and creativity, as well as stimulate their intellectual growth; it is for these reasons (in addition to his unique artwork) that many feel his books have been such a success.

[edit] Quotes

“With many of my books I attempt to bridge the gap between the home and school. To me home represents, or should represent; warmth, security, toys, holding hands, being held. School is a strange and new place for a child. Will it be a happy place? There are new people, a teacher, classmates—will they be friendly?

I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born. Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun.” -Eric Carle

[edit] Later life

Eric Carle has two adult children, a son and a daughter. He currently divides his time between the Florida Keys and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. For over 30 years, Carle and his second wife, Bobbie Morrison, lived in Northampton, Massachusetts.^[1]

With his wife Bobbie, Eric Carle founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m²) museum devoted to children's books in Amherst on the campus of Hampshire College. The Museum has welcomed over 250,000 visitors since it opened its doors in 2002. Carle received an honorary doctorate from Bates College in 2007.[1]