About Eric Carle
Eric Carle is a well known author and illustrator of many books, all of them for children and he is best known for his book titled The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This particular book has old more than 29 million copies and has been translated into more 47 languages.
Eric was born in Syracuse, New York, in the year 1929 and moved to Germany with his parents at the age of six. He received his education there and went on to graduate from the Akademie der bildenden Künste, a very prestigious and well known art school, which is located in Stuttgart. However, his heart lay in the country he left behind and he always had a dream to go back to America. In the year 1952, with his portfolio in his hand and only forty dollars to his name, he returned to New York and soon located a job in the New York Times as a graphic designer. Later, he would work as an art director for an advertisement agency for a long time.
In time, Bill Marin Jr asked Eric Carle to provide the illustrations for his story, having seen the picture of a lobster he’d created for one of the advertisements he’d done. The book that he first illustrated was “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?” and this is still one of the favorite books that children read. This is what started Eric Carle’s true calling. It wasn’t long before he was writing books of his own. His first book was called “1, 2 , 3 to the Zoo” and it wasn’t long before the best loved of Eric Carle’s books followed: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.
It’s easy to recognize the art of Eric Carle, since it uses a collage technique, which Eric creates with papers which are hand painted and then will cut and layer them to form the very cheerful and bright images that we see. A lot of the books he has created also has dimension, such as twinkling lights, die-cut pages, and even a cricket’s sound. Due to the colorful artwork that Eric Carle has illustrated in the books, a lot of children have found the joy of art and often send him pictures that they have done.
Eric Carle’s books have a theme which is usually taken from his love and knowledge of nature, which he knows is an interest that a lot of young children have. Including the fact that they are entertaining as well as beautiful, Eric Carle’s books will offer children the chance to find out something about their world. It is this concern for the feelings, inquisitiveness, creativity and intellectual growth of children that makes reading his books a very lasting and stimulating experience.
Eric is married and has two children who are grown up, a daughter and a son. Along with Barbara, his wife, he spends equal time between North Carolina and Florida Keys.
Eric Carle’s books have made a lasting impression on children for many years, and they promise to continue to do so for many years to come.
Learn more at the Eric Carle Website. | 
