3321 M&W: Author Eric Carle

This week I am going to focus on the great children's author Eric Carle. I grew up absolutely in love with his books, and to this day can remember being in first grade and reading his stories like the classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Many of you are probably already very familiar with Eric Carle, and know about his books. His first book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was pulished in 1967, and was a collaboration of his work and author Bill Martin Jr. whom I talked about last week. He is an author of over 40 books, some of which aren't even available to purchase in bookstores anymore. He not only writes his books, but also illustrates all of his work. His art work and illustrations are very distinct and stand out from all others. He uses a collage technique to create his artwork, and his books are all full of an array of colors. A couple of his books, such as The Very Lonely Firefly and The Very Quite Cricket come alive at the end with an "added dimension" such as a yellow light that lights up in The Very Lonely Firefly, and real life sound of a cricket at the end of The Very Quiet Cricket.

Some of his most famous stories, and my personal favorites, are Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Do You Want To Be My Friend?, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Busy Spider, The Very Quiet Cricket, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, and The Very Lonely Firefly. I know that was a long list, but trust me.....these are CLASSICS that all children love! I truely believe that if you are teaching the lower grade levels that you should include these (or some of them) in your class library. His stories teach children about animals and nature as well as life lessons. There are so many of his books that I don't feel it is necessary to go into detail about them because that would take forever, and I am sure you are already familiar with many of his books!