Carle, Eric (1929-2021), was an American illustrator and author known for his creative picture books for young children. Carle typically worked in collage, a technique of making pictures by pasting scraps of paper and other materials on a background. He applied brilliantly colored tissue paper in layers to create variations in color and texture. Carle expanded the style of picture books. For example, in The Grouchy Ladybug (1977), some of the pages grow larger as bigger and bigger animals appear. Some of Carle’s books resemble toys. The Very Quiet Cricket (1990) includes a battery-powered computer chip that produces blinking lights and a sound like a cricket chirping.
In most cases, Carle wrote his own stories. He first gained recognition with The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969). The book includes brightly colored shapes and holes in the pages that follow the growth of a caterpillar from egg to cocoon to butterfly. In 1974, Carle developed the “My Very First Library” series, in which children can match familiar objects with colors, numbers, and words. Carle began the series with four books, including My Very First Book of Numbers. The pages in each book are split in half with different illustrations on the top and bottom, allowing readers to create their own combinations of images.
Carle illustrated more than 70 books. His other picture books include From Head to Toe (1997), Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? (2000), 10 Little Rubber Ducks (2005), The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (2011), Friends (2013), The Nonsense Show (2015), and Hugs & Kisses for the Grouchy Ladybug (2018). In addition, Carle illustrated books by other authors, such as Why Noah Chose the Dove (1974) by the Polish-born author Isaac Bashevis Singer and Eric Carle’s Treasury of Classic Stories for Children (1988), featuring tales by the ancient Greek writer Aesop, the Grimm brothers of Germany, and Hans Christian Andersen of Denmark. Carle illustrated poems by a number of different authors in the collections Eric Carle’s Animals, Animals (1989) and Eric Carle’s Dragons, Dragons & Other Creatures That Never Were (1991).
Carle was born in Syracuse, New York, on June 25, 1929. At the age of 6, he moved with his family to his parents’ hometown of Stuttgart, Germany. Carle returned to the United States in 1952. He was a graphic designer for The New York Times in the mid-1950’s and an art director for an advertising agency from 1956 to 1963, when he became a full-time book illustrator. He became especially interested in children’s books when he illustrated Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (1967) by the author and educator Bill Martin, Jr. The first published works both written and illustrated by Carle were The Say-with-Me ABC Book (1967) and 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo (1968).
Carle wrote and illustrated several autobiographical works, including Draw Me a Star (1992) and My Apron: A Story from My Childhood (1994). He explored his life and work in The Art of Eric Carle (1996). Carle has received many children’s literature awards, including the Regina Medal in 1999 and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) in 2003. In 2002, Carle and his wife, Barbara, established the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts. Carle died on May 23, 2021.
