“We have eyes, and we’re looking at stuff all the time, all day long. And I just think that whatever our eyes touch should be beautiful, tasteful, appealing, and important.”
Eric Carle, born on June 25 1929 in Syracuse, New York was an American writer, designer and illustrator of children’s books. Having written and illustrated more than 70 books across his heartening writing career, Carle made a name for himself as a respected children’s author in American Literature.
A red lobster illustration created for an advertisement helped Carle land a significant collaboration for a picture book. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? published in 1967 immediately became a bestseller, which eventually helped Carle pursue writing with numerous opportunities in hand. He soon published his first books as both author and illustrator named 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Carle was a nature enthusiast, influences of which can be seen in his work. His books help children explore the world they inhabit in a more fun, lively manner. They also have the ability to better children’s intellectual growth, their creativity and understanding of storytelling as an artform. Carle’s writings were colorful and full of life. He used to meticulously select the colors, shapes and the overall nature of his illustrations.
Carle had once himself mentioned, “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?”
He always strived for children’s learning and making their process of absorbing information more fun and engaging. His books and their aesthetics highly complement this motive and the thought process riding behind.
Why Noah chose the Dove, The Grouchy Ladybug, Papa please get the moon for me, All in a day, Polar bear polar bear what do you hear, Today is Monday, Hello Red Fox, Little cloud, Dream Snow, Panda bear panda bear what do you hear, 10 little rubber ducks, Baby bear baby bear what do you see, Friends; these and many more classic titles add up to the list of Eric Carle’s illustrious body of work.
Across his long writing career, Carle’s books sold 138 million copies across the globe making him an all-time great figure in the field of literature and to be more specific as a children’s author earning him immense amount of respect in children’s literature.
Eric Carle has been awarded with numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities in the past few decades. He has also won the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his career contribution to American children’s literature.
Carle’s writings have taught children to become visually expressive and aesthetically pleasing. The values and emotions form the core and help children become more receptive and emotionally mature with time.
The master had once himself mentioned, “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.”
Immerse yourself in Carle’s imaginative, vividly vibrant and purely heartwarming world. It’s time to turn the art of learning into a fun-filled activity.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)