Happy (Belated) Birthday, Eric Carle!

June 26, 2009

Is there anyone who doesn’t love Eric Carle’s colorful children’s books?

I can’t imagine that there is.

I distinctly remember reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar as a child. I was a very hungry kid, and I related to the chubby bug.

Except for the turning into a beautiful butterfly part. I’m not sure I got around to that.

I noticed yesterday that its author, Eric Carle, was turning 80, so I dug around through our living room to see how many of his books were sitting around. They are in the photo at the right. A few are library books, but most are from our personal collection.

Grace’s favorite among Eric Carle’s books is Have You Seen My Cat? and mine is 10 Little Rubber Ducks.

I’ve been keeping up with his blog ever since Allie featured it on No Time for Flashcards. He doesn’t post a whole lot, but I have really enjoy reading his thoughts on his books, his art, and his life.

Eric Carle also has a website full of information, including resources for parents and teachers and a complete list of his books. There are dozens of books I’d not heard of before, including Why Noah Chose the Dove, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, and Draw Me a Star.

Mr. Carle founded the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts, and I’m going to make a push for a visit.

You can should also watch Eric Carle on YouTube. I am happy to say that he is just as I’d imagined (except that he likes sushi, that was a surprise).

A lovely interview about Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Baby Bear, Baby Bear
Reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear
A Q&A session
Discussing The Very Hungry Caterpillar and how he creates his art
His commencement address at Bates College. Among his advice to the graduates is “Be kind.” What’s not to love? (Watch this one to the end. The last 30 seconds are quite funny.)

If you love Eric Carle’s books, and you want to share them with some little people in your life, you might consider some of the following activities:

Spider activities and a spider party related to The Very Busy Spider
A caterpillar catching and a bunch of caterpillar and butterfly activities related to The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Star activities related to Draw Me A Star
Cricket activities related to A Very Quiet Cricket
Ladybug activities related to The Grouchy Ladybug
A cat activity related to Have You Seen My Cat
From Head to Toe activities
Activities related to Little Cloud
Zoo activities related to a number of Eric Carle’s books
Cards inspired by Eric Carle’s signature tissue paper collages

I’m sure I’ve missed some great activities. Will you list yours in the comments?

Happily submitted to Finer Things Friday, Hooked on Fridays, and Monday’s Muse

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Heather @ Not a DIY Life said:

I can’t believe that no one has bought The Grouchy Ladybug for us! We have ladybug everything. Guess I’ll be making a trip to the bookstore soon. Great round up, thanks, Tara!

# 27 June 2009 at 10:52 am

Robyns Online World said:

I love Eric Carle’s books. He did a think on Mr. Rogers a few years ago (I think that was the show) and it showed how he did his artwork with the torn paper and such. Really interesting!

Robyns Online World’s last blog post..1 Year Blog Anniversary!

# 28 June 2009 at 6:50 pm

Amy @ Finer Things said:

We love Eric Carle’s books. I should get more at the library on Tuesday!

Amy @ Finer Things’s last blog post..Caramel Pretzel Sparklers

# 28 June 2009 at 7:03 pm

Sarah Caron said:

Brown Bear, Brown Bear is one of my son’s very favorite books. I had no idea that Eric Carle was that old! I didn’t read his books as a child, but my kids have certainly fallen in love with then so I read a lot of them now.

# 28 June 2009 at 7:28 pm

Hooked on Dali Decals (& Giveaways!) « Hooked on Houses said:

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# 28 June 2009 at 9:01 pm

Petula said:

My oldest daughter always loved his books. I don’t think that we have any of them around now. I’ll have to introduce my younger kids to them.

# 29 June 2009 at 11:09 am

angie said:

wonderful ideas

# 29 June 2009 at 3:17 pm

mannequin said:

Eric Carle was indeed, one of our favorites as well. We were in DC a few weeks ago and he was scheduled to attend a book signing. The person I was with has no taste so I missed it!

# 29 June 2009 at 4:48 pm

erin said:

We are just getting Elijah in to his books. But his favorite activity is to chew on and shake his Hungry Caterpillar Rattle Teether!

If you haven’t see it they sell it at Target. It’s adorable! http://www.target.com/dp/B001RCJDIU/sr=1-20/qid=1246344218/ref=sr_1_20/191-0183570-5755976?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=0&rh=k%3Ateether&page=1

erin’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday 6/17/09 – In honor of Father’s Day

# 30 June 2009 at 1:46 am

H.E.Eigler said:

you know, I don’t think I’ve ever read any of his books! We have such a large collection of other books at home that I’ve never felt the need to get more. There are some we haven’t read yet…plus the gifts keep coming. I might have to go get one though, so many people adore them. Thanks for sharing at Monday’s Muse!

H.E.Eigler’s last blog post..Monday’s Muse – the Blog Meme for Creative Moms

# 30 June 2009 at 9:46 am

Pamela Kramer said:

I love his books too!

Pamela Kramer’s last blog post..Supreme Pizza Casserole – Grandma Gave It Two Thumbs Up!

# 30 June 2009 at 2:50 pm

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# 3 July 2009 at 7:56 am