Eric Carle was born on June 25, 1929, in Syracuse, New York. His family moved to Germany when Eric was six years old; I do not know what in the hell they were thinking, as the country was then under Nazi rule. Eric was educated there, and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Künste, in Stuttgart. The curriculum was of course very rigid. One early inspiration came from an art teacher who, seeing Eric's talent, brought him to his home to view non-representational art, a crime in Nazi Germany.
Eric always wanted to return to the US, and in 1952, he was finally able to. He arrived back in New York with a portfolio of artwork and forty dollars in his pocket. He soon became a graphic designer for The New York Times. Later, he would serve as the art director of an advertising agency for many years.
Sometime in the early 60s, author Bill Martin Jr.'s eye was caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Eric had created for an advertisement. He asked Eric to illustrate a story he had written. Martin's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration, and is still selling well today.
Eric continued to illustrate, and was soon writing his own stories as well. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, soon followed by the very excellent The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Eric's art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. He hand-paints tissue paper, then chops it up and collages it together with wallpaper glue. His colors are always bright and sloppy and complex. Many of his books have a crazy added dimension - die-cut pages, textures, tiny flashing lights, sound effects.
Since he began, Eric has created over 60 beautiful picture books. His gift to himself on his 60th birthday was allowing himself to stay home more, rather than accepting every invitation from every school beggin him to come visit. But he does not intend to stop making books. We're glad.
Eric has two grown children. He and his wife, Barbara, live in western Massachusetts.
Books:
1,2,3 To the Zoo
Animals Animals
The Art of Eric Carle
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Catch the Ball!
Do You Want to Be My Friend?
Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?
Dragons Dragons & Other Creatures That Never Were
Draw Me a Star
Dream Snow
Eric Carle's Treasury of Classic Stories for Children
Flora and Tiger
The Foolish Tortoise
From Head to Toe
The Greedy Python
The Grouchy Ladybug
Have You Seen My Cat?
Hello, Red Fox
The Honeybee and the Robber
A House for Hermit Crab
I See a Song
The Lamb and the Butterly
Let's Paint a Rainbow
Little Cloud
The Mixed-Up Chameleon
The Mountain That Loved a Bird
My Apron
Pancakes, Pancakes!
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
Rooster's Off to See the World
The Secret Birthday Message
Stories for All Seasons
The Tiny Seed
Today Is Monday
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Busy Spider
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle
The Very Lonely Firefly
The Very Quiet Cricket
Walter the Baker
Why Noah Chose the Dove
thanks to:
http://www.cbcbooks.org/columns/archives/ericcarle.htm
http://www.pausd.palo-alto.ca.us/hays/artstudio/carle_art.html
http://www.carolhurst.com/newsletters/24dnewsletters.html
http://www.eric-carle.com/bio.html
www.amazon.com
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