Eric Carle, an American designer, illustrator, as well as writer of children's books was famous for being noted for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", a picture book that has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. His career as an illustrator and children's book author started after he collaborated on "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and he was the 2003 recipient of the prestigious Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for Children's Literature. His children's picture books contain collage-like art, layers of material, and added special effects. His work The Very Quiet Cricket, for example, contains a built-in cricket's chirp, and the pages of "The Very Lonely Firefly" light up in twinkling, firefly fashion.
Source: @instagram.com/officialericcarle
Previously, when Eric was fifteen years old and living in Germany with his family during World War II, he was forced to dig trenches for the German Army. He was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War and stationed in Germany with the 2nd Armoured Division as a mail clerk. After discharge, he returned to his old job with "The New York Times". Later he became the art director of an advertising agency. Moreover, the Frist Art Museum exhibition "Eric Carle's Picture Books: Celebrating 50 Years of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" was on display from 18th October 2019, through 23rd February 2020. Sadly, we lost such a versatile man on 23rd May 2021.
Early Life
Born on 25th June 1929, Eric Carle held American nationality and belonged to American-white ethnic background. He was conceived under the star sign of Cancer in Syracuse, New York, the U.S. Similarly, his religious belief was in the Christian religion. He lastly celebrated his 91st birthday in the June of 2020. Thus, his race was white.
Carle was the son of his mother, Johanna Carle, and his father, Erich W. Carle, a civil servant. When he was six years old, his mother, homesick for Germany, led the family back to Stuttgart. He had one sister named, Christa Carle. His father was drafted into the German army at the beginning of World War II (1939) and taken prisoner by the Soviet forces when Germany capitulated early in 1945 (the end of the war in Europe).
Moving towards Eric's education, he was educated there and graduated from the local art school, the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart. He also received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities including Williams College in 2016, Smith College in 2014, Appalachian State University in 2013, and from Bates College in 2007.
Career
- Eric's first books as both author and illustrator were "1, 2, 3 to the Zoo" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" in 1969.
- A jumping spider mimicking a caterpillar was named in Carle's honor in 2019, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and to celebrate his 90th birthday.
Personal Life
Eric Carle was a two times married man as he tied a knot with his second wife Barbara Morrison in 1973, and lived in Northampton, Massachusetts for over 30 years. Sadly, her wife died in 2015. He also owned a home in Key West, Florida. Concerning Eric's sexual orientation, he was straight. With his wife, he founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m2) devoted to the art of children's books in Amherst adjacent to Hampshire College as part of the Hampshire College Cultural Village.
Source: @statesville
Furthermore, Mr. Carle's first marriage to Dorothea Wohlenberg ended in divorce. They had two children, a son Rolf and a daughter Cirsten who was said to have inspired "Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me."
Net Worth
The net worth of Eric Carle was around $80 million at the time of his death. He also had a handsome amount of salary which was also in millions of dollars per year. His major source of income was his designer, illustrator, and writer of children's books career.
Books List
- 1965 - "Aesop's Fables for Modern Readers"
- 1965 - "Nature Thoughts: A Selection"
- 1966 - "On Friendship: A Selection"
- 1967 - "Flower Thoughts: A Selection"
- 1969 - "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
- 1970 - "The Tiny Seed"
- 1970 - "Tales of the Nincompoop" (illustrator)
- 1970 - "The Boastful Fisherman" (illustrator)
- 1971 - "Feathered Ones and Furry" (illustrator)
- 1971 - "The Scarecrow Clock" (illustrator)
- 1971 - "Do You Want to Be My Friend?"
- 1972 - "Rooster's Off to See the World"
- 1972 - "The Very Long Tail"
- 1972 - "The Secret Birthday Message"
- 1972 - "Walter the Baker"
- 1973 - "Do Bears Have Mothers Too?" (illustrator)
- 1973 - "Have You Seen My Cat?"
- 1973 - "I See a Song"
- 1974 - "Why Noah Chose the Dove" (illustrator)
- 1974 - "All About Arthur"
- 1975 - "The Hole in the Dike" (illustrator)
- 1975 - "The Mixed-Up Chameleon"
- 1977 - "The Grouchy Ladybug"
- 1978 - "Watch Out! A Giant!"
- 1978 - "Seven Stories by Hans Christian Andersen" (sequel to Seven Tales by the Brothers Grimm)
- 1980 - "Twelve Tales from Aesop"
- 1981 - "The Honeybee and the Robber"
- 1982 - "Otter Nonsense" (illustrator)
- 1982 - "Catch the Ball!"
- 1982 - "What's for Lunch"
- 1983 - "Chip Has Many Brothers" (illustrator)
- 1984 - "The Very Busy Spider"
- 1985 - "The Foolish Tortoise" (illustrator)
- 1985 - "The Greedy Python"
- 1985 - "The Mountain that Loved a Bird" (illustrator)
- 1986 - "All Around Us"
- 1986 - "All in a Day"
- 1987 - "A House for Hermit Crab"
- 1988 - "The Lamb and the Butterfly"
- 1988 - "Eric Carle's Treasury of Classic Stories for Children"
- 1989 - "Animals Animals" (illustrator)
- 1990 - "The Very Quiet Cricket"
- 1991 - "Dragons Dragons" (illustrator)
- 1992 - "Draw Me a Star"
- 1993 - "Today Is Monday" (illustrator)
- 1994 - "My Apron"
- 1995 - "The Very Lonely Firefly"
- 1996 - "Little Cloud"
- 1997 - "From Head to Toe"
- 1997 - "Flora and Tiger: 19 very short stories from my life"
- 1998 - "You Can Make a Collage: A Very Simple How-to Book"
- 1999 - "The Very Clumsy Click Beetle"
- 2000 - "Does A Kangaroo Have A Mother, Too?"
- 2000 - "Dream Snow"
- 2003 - "Where Are You Going? To See My Friend!" (with Kazuo Iwamura)
- 2004 - "Mister Seahorse"
- 2005 - "10 Little Rubber Ducks"
- 2006 - "My Very First Book of Numbers"
- 2007 - "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?" (illustrator)
- 2007 - "Eric Carle's ABC"
- 2008 - "The Rabbit and the Turtle"
- 2009 - "Google logo design" (illustrator)
- 2009 - "The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Buggy Book"
- 2009 - "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
Source: @bbc.com
- 2010 - "Up in the Sky"
- 2011 - "The Artist Who Painted A Blue Horse"
- 2011 - "Tom Thumb"
- 2011 - "A Very Colorful Day"
- 2012 - "Shapes to See, Shapes to Draw!"
- 2013 - "Friends"
- 2013 - "Animal Babies"
- 2013 - "All Around Us"
- 2014 - "What's Your Favorite Animal?"
- 2015 - "The Nonsense Show"
- 2015 - "How Things Grow"
- 2015 - "Love from The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
- 2015 - "The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Christmas 1 2 3"
- 2016 - "The Very Hungry Caterpillar's ABC"
- 2016 - "I Love Mum with The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
- 2017 - "My First PEEK-A-BOO Animals"
- 2017 - "Merry Christmas from the Very Hungry Caterpillar"
- 2017 - "What's Your Favorite Color?"
- 2018 - "What's Your Favorite Bug?"
- 2019 - "What's Your Favorite Food?"
- 2020 - "Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?"
- 2020 - "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?"
Awards and Achievements
- Japan Picture Book Award
- Lifetime Achievement Award
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award)
Death Cause
The acclaimed author and illustrator, Eric Carle passed away at the age of 91 on 23rd May 2021. He died at his studio home in Northampton, Massachusetts, from kidney failure, just over a month before his 92nd birthday.
