Eric Carle: Part Two--His life and legacy

Is it possible to have a legacy when you are still alive?  In Eric Carle's case, I think the answer is yes, especially because he and his wife founded a museum dedicated to the art of children's books.

Eric Carle has a fascinating life!   Here are some tid-bits that I picked up from my reading.  I am doing this mostly from memory, so don't count on this for 100% accuracy. I don't think I even close to capture the intensity of the things that happened to him in his life--watch this  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmiBW305rsE with all the exciting details.

He lived in Syracuse with his German family and was early on deemed to be artistic. His father nurtured his artistic talent and they spent time walking and looking at things.   Eric's  family moved back to Germany because his mother was homesick.    His dad ended up fighting in WW2 and spent time in a Russian prison--he came back a very broken man. 

Eric was evacuated and lived with  a foster family in the countryside (whom he loved dearly).    He also had to dig trenches and saw people die in front of him.  One of his teachers, while he was in Germany,  showed him real art (not propaganda) and this was a great influence.

Eric missed his friends and wanted to go back to America.   He got into advertising, worked for
 Leo Lionni, got married, had two children, got divorced and lived alone for ten years.    He then married Bobbie his current wife.     

His first book was illustrating Bill Martin's Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do you See?   His original idea for  The Very Hungry Caterpillar  was about a hungry worm, but his editor suggested he change it to a caterpillar.  

Great article on him from The Guardian:   http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/mar/14/eric-carle-author

His website:   http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

His museum in Massachusetts:   http://www.carlemuseum.org/Home

Video:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5aJRzDYijw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmiBW305rsE

Eric Carle--Part One, What Makes him Stand Out From the Crowd

My goal in writing this blog is to find little heard of books that we have fallen in love with, in hopes that a few will become your favorites too.  And also to profile the great children's book writers.   Who are the men and women behind these beloved books?

It seems strange that I have yet to profile Eric Carle because he is such a master in the world of children's books.    In fact, sometimes his books are so prevalent (dentist office waiting rooms for example) that I forget to really notice what a master he is at his work.

For one thing, he creates all his books using painted tissue paper which he then uses an exacto knife to carve out into shapes.    Check this out to see him in action--  it's extraordinary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1sQb7YOFu0

Mirette and I checked this book out from the library and actually painted some tissue paper together.  It came out beautifully and I want to do more of this.   



Another thing he is great at is creating books that aren't confined to the box.   The Hungry Caterpiller, for instance, is a very interactive book with pages that get bigger and holes in the illustrations.  Papa, Please Get me Moon for Me includes a big fold out page with  a long ladder up to the moon.



Finally, the third amazing Eric Carle technique is his simplicity.   A lot of his books are about nature and curiosity.  

For a great video that sums all this up, try this:  Eric Carle: Picture Writer.  We found a copy at our library.

Books of the Day: To the Moon and Back Again

The Prince and the Seven Moons
Author:  Mike Thaler
Illustrator:  Ursula Arndt
Macmillan Company (1966)

Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me
Eric Carle
Little Simon (1986)

In our family we say,  "I love you to the moon and back again."  

I always notice the depiction of the moon in children's books.  It's amazing the multitude of ways that one can draw a moon.  In common, the moon is this twinkling, friendly object that keeps our children safe at night.  The moon is comforting, sweet and protecting.

The Prince and The Seven Moons is extra special because it was given to me by my Nana when I was a child.   Since both my grandmas died before I was twelve, any surviving thing from either of them  has an extra special place in my heart.

The story is about a prince who is looking out the window of his castle asking people passing by what they know about the moon.   The merchant thinks the moon is a golden dollar, the baker thinks it's a pie, the young kid thinks it's a balloon.  The illustrations are pen and ink drawings with the object--balloon, pie, golden dollar-- in bright yellow.  In the end, the princess teaches the prince about the moon as they picnic under it.  

The author Mike Thaler is known as The Riddle King.  See for yourself:  http://www.mikethaler.com/biography.htm.  I can't find too much information though on this book which was obviously one of his earliest.

There's not too much out there on Ursala Arndt either, only that she has illustrated many a children book.  

My other favorite and fun moon books is Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.   This is a multi-dimensional book with pages that unfold to reveal ladders, mountains, and moons.  

I surely will profile Eric Carle in future posts, but suffice it to say for now that his books go outside the box in terms of form-- folding pages, moving pages, holes in pages, sliding boxes.   Here's some grade school ideas on the activities associated with the book that you may be able to tweak to be appropriate for preschoolers.   http://www.eric-carle.com/bb-papa.html