Biography
An American author, illustrator, and designer, Eric Carle produced over 70 children’s picture books. He is perhaps best known for writing and illustrating The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969), which won numerous awards in both the U.S. and abroad. His passion for illustrating stemmed from his father reading to him as a child and taking him on walks in nature. Carle often hoped to offer children the opportunity to learn something new about the world around them, as well as establish a bridge between home and school learning, as this transition was hard for him when he was a kid.
Early Life
Born in Syracuse, New York, but raised in Germany, Eric Carle was the son of German immigrants Erich and Johanna. His father worked for the Easy Washer Company in Syracuse during the Great Depression, and his mother worked as a maid for a wealthy family. Prior to moving abroad, Carle had developed a passion for drawing, which was encouraged by his first-grade teacher, Ms. Lena Frickey. In 1935, when Carle was only six years old, the family decided to return to Germany, and Carle began schooling in Stuttgart. However, with the onset of World War II, Carle’s schooling focused primarily on realistic and naturalistic art. Other work was considered “degenerate” by the Nazis and was not taught to students.
Within weeks of the Germans invading Poland, Carle’s father was drafted into the Wehrmacht (German Army). He was later held in a Russian prisoner-of-war camp and did not return home for several years. During the war, Stuttgart was a major industrial center that held multiple railroads and military bases, thus becoming a target for the Allies. Carle’s school was disrupted due to Allied bombing, and he recalls having to evacuate twice to the countryside. As a teenager, he, along with other boys his age, was forced to dig trenches by the Nazis. This experience led him to love color as much as he did, due to the environment in the trenches being colorless and drab.
His schooling during this time was strict, very different from his time in Syracuse. However, one of Carle’s teachers, Herr Krauss, opposed the regulations and invited Carle to his house, secretly showing him works by artists like Picasso, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky. This experience both shocked and thrilled the young Carle. The works he was introduced to were unlike anything he had been shown in school — works he never knew existed. Carle later said about the experience, “At great personal risk, my art teacher quietly defied the regime, so that a 12-year-old boy who loved colors, shapes, and lines would be able to experience the wonder of an art he had until then not even known existed.”[1]
Advertising Career
After the war, Carle enrolled in the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart, where he studied commercial art under Professor F.H. Ernst Schneidler — a German designer, calligrapher, printer, and teacher. Later in life, Carle spoke fondly of his time at art school in Germany. He received encouragement from both instructors and professors, helping to pave the way for his career. After graduating from the Akademie, at 23 years old, Carle returned to the U.S. with forty dollars in his pocket and his portfolio. Upon returning, Carle was able to secure a job as a graphic designer for The New York Times in their promotion department, thanks in part to the help of Leo Lionni, whose work Carle admired. After working for The New York Times, Carle spent a brief period as an art director for an advertising agency specializing in pharmaceutical advertising. It was through his advertising work that he caught the attention of American educator, author, and publishing executive William Martin Jr.
Picture Book Career
After seeing Carle’s work — a pharmaceutical advertisement featuring a red lobster — Bill Martin asked him to illustrate his 1967 book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Carle recalled, “What an inspiring book! I was set on fire! It was possible, after all, to do something special that would show a child the joy to be found in books.”[2] A year later, Carle published his first solo picture book, 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo. This textless picture book worked as a beginning lesson in counting, with an added “I spy” element. Although it contains no text, Carle’s work focuses on visual literacy and encourages young readers to look and observe. Colorful animals ride on train cars, with each car holding an increasing number of animals until it reaches ten. The following year, in June 1969, Carle published The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is perhaps Carle’s most well-known picture book, having been translated into more than sixty-six languages and selling more than fifty million copies. It was named one of The New York Times’ Top Ten Best Illustrated Books of the Year (1969) and awarded the Deutsche Jugendbuchpreis (1970), the American Institute of Graphic Arts Award (1970), and the Nakamori Reader’s Prize in Japan (1975), among others. Initially, when the book gained traction, Carle didn’t understand why it had gained such immense popularity and recognition. On his thoughts about its status, he said, “For a long time, I did not understand why my book The Very Hungry Caterpillar was so popular… But over time I have come to believe many children can identify with the helpless, small, insignificant caterpillar, and they rejoice when it turns into a beautiful butterfly… I think it’s a message of hope. It says ‘I too can grow up. I too can unfold my wings, my talents and dreams, and fly into the world.’”[3]
Along with Carle’s own interpretation of the book’s popularity, critics have praised it for its beautiful imagery, story, and integration of various concepts. The creation and success of the book prompted Carle to devote himself full-time to making children’s picture books and to launch his “Very” series, including The Very Busy Spider (1984), The Very Quiet Cricket (1990), The Very Lonely Firefly (1995), and The Very Clumsy Click Beetle (1999). The story of the hungry caterpillar was originally titled A Week with Willi Worm, and the idea had sprung from a day when Carle was playing with a hole puncher, which reminded him of a bookworm. However, when he brought the idea to his editor, Ann Beneduce, she instead suggested a caterpillar. In turn, Carle responded with enthusiasm, “A butterfly!” Although The Very Hungry Caterpillar became Carle’s most well-known work, his favorite book was Do You Want to Be My Friend? As an only child prior to moving back to America, and moving to Germany at six years old, friendship was always important to Carle. He often explored themes of friendship and journeys in his stories, making his 1971 picture book his favorite.
Process
When creating his illustrations, collage was Carle’s preferred medium. Oftentimes, he used tissue paper, pencil, paint, glue, crayon, and colored pencil. Rather than purchasing colored paper or tissue paper — as he had done earlier in his career — Carle painted his own tissue paper, which he would stockpile and later use for his various projects. Painting his own tissue paper allowed him to experiment with different colors, brushstrokes, and textures. Carle’s tissue paper technique began with mixing either acrylic or poster paint with water. He would then apply the paint to a white sheet of tissue paper and, once done, let it dry on newspaper before adding extra layers of color and texture. He continued this process, eventually creating a stockpile of material that he stored in color-coded drawers.
When he was ready to start collaging, he would take a drawing he made — pencil on tracing paper — and lay it over a piece of tissue paper of his choosing. Using a utility knife, he would cut through both the tracing and tissue paper into the shape he needed from the drawing. He would then glue the cut-out tissue onto illustration board and repeat the process. If he was unsure about the placement of a certain piece, he used the cut drawing to help with the layout. Once finished with the tissue paper, any other details or final touches were made using crayon or colored pencil.
Personal Life
In 1973, the same year he won the Sélection du Grand Prix des Treize for Have You Seen My Cat?, Eric Carle married his second wife, Barbara “Bobbie” Morrison. Carle had previously been married to Dorothea, a woman he met in Germany, and the couple had two children, Cirsten and Rolf — whose initials he sometimes hid in his illustrations. Unfortunately, the marriage did not last, and the pair split up. The year after Carle and Bobbie married, the couple moved to Northampton, Massachusetts. In 2002, the pair founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts. The museum holds a vast collection of Carle’s own work, as well as work from other modern and contemporary children’s book illustrators.
In 2015, Bobbie passed away. She was an integral part of Carle’s life and in helping found the museum. Carle said about her, “She was a force behind the museum. She was a force behind me.”[4] After Bobbie’s passing, Carle spent much of his time in the Florida Keys, where he had a studio. By this time, he had retired from making picture books, but he still regularly created art. One of the many things he worked on in his studio included assemblages of angels inspired by the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee. Klee, along with Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, was among Carle’s favorite artists and inspirations. Carle also admired picture book artists Maurice Sendak, José Aruego, Lisbeth Zwerger, Mitsumasa Anno, Ezra Jack Keats, Jerry Pinkney, and Chris Van Allsburg, among others.
In May 2021, Eric Carle passed away at the age of 91 at his home in Northampton. Friend and colleague Tony DiTerlizzi — one of the premier fantasy artists of his generation and co-creator of The Spiderwick Chronicles — said about Carle after his passing, “He looked to the color in the world… He looked to the vibrancy, the beauty not just in the colors, but in all of the natural beauty that surrounded him.”[5]
Footnotes:
[1] “About Eric Carle.” Eric Carle Museum website. https://www.carlemuseum.org/about/about-eric-carle.
[2] Kernan, Lynn. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric Carle reveals his dad reading to him as a young boy helped forge his writing career.” The Scottish Sun, October 28, 2018. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/3411878/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-eric-carle-reading-dad-free-books-for-schools/.
[3] Ibid.
[4] “About Eric Carle.” Eric Carle Museum website. https://www.carlemuseum.org/about/about-eric-carle.
[5] Mazhar, Mehek. “Children’s book author Eric Carle brought ‘coulour’ into readers’ lives, says friend.” CBC Radio, May 28, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-thursday-edition-1.6042622/children-s-book-author-eric-carle-brought-colour-into-readers-lives-says-friend-1.6044717.
Illustrations by Eric Carle
Additional Resources
Bibliography
Abrahamson, Richard F. and Robert Stewart. “Moveable Books—A New Golden Age.” Language Arts, vol.59, no.4 (1982), p342-47.
Carle, Eric. 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo. New York: Philomel Books, 1968.
Carle, Eric. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1967.
Carle, Eric, Grace Glueck and the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Beyond Books: The Independent Art of Eric Carle. Amherst: Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 2012.
Carle, Eric and Leonard S. Marcus. The Art of Eric Carle. New York: World of Eric Carle, 2021.
Carle, Eric. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse. New York: Philomel Books, 2011.
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York: Philomel Books, 1969.
Mourão, Sandie. “The Picturebook in Instructed Foreign Language Learning Contexts.” The Edinburgh Companion to Children’s Literature, edited by Clémentine Beauvais and Maria Nikolajeva, vol.1, p245-62. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017.
Nel, Philip. “The Fall and Rise of Children’s Literature.” American Art 22, no.1 (2008), p23-27.
Paesani, Kate and Mandy Menke. “Conceptualizing: Connecting Form and Meaning.” Literacies in Language Education: A Guide for Teachers and Teacher Educators, p103-16. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003.
Sources:
“About Eric Carle.” Eric Carle Museum website. https://www.carlemuseum.org/about/about-eric-carle.
“Eric Carle’s Biography.” Eric Carle website. https://eric-carle.com/about-eric-carle/eric-carles-biography/.
Kernan, Lynn. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric Carle reveals his dad reading to him as a young boy helped forge his writing career.” The Scottish Sun, October 28, 2018. https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/3411878/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-eric-carle-reading-dad-free-books-for-schools/.
Schoenberg, Nara. “At 86, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ author Eric Carle still earning praise.” The Chicago Tribune, December 3, 2015. https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-prj-eric-carle-very-hungry-caterpillar-20151203-story.html.
