The Very Hungry Caterpillar is arguably the most well known picture book ever written. Cited by George W. Bush as his childhood favourite (although written long after his childhood), it was also the highest placed picture book in the BBC’s Big Read.
Its author, Eric Carle, has illustrated over 70 books, most of which he has also written, and although his favourite of his own books is actually Do You Want to be My Friend?, he says that The Very Hungry Caterpillar has a special place in his heart.
‘I think it is a hopeful story, because it says you, too, little caterpillar can grow up, spread your wings and fly. I think it is this message of hope that resonates for many readers.’
‘I think it is a hopeful story, because it says you, too, little caterpillar can grow up'
Amazingly, this year The Very Hungry Caterpillar turns 40 years old, and to mark the occasion, Penguin are publishing a beautiful pop-up edition of the book, appropriately, on the first day of spring.
‘It seems like a natural way to celebrate its 40th anniversary,’ says Carle. ‘I have wanted to create books that were tactile and toy-like in certain ways: toys you can read, and books you can touch. And the pop-up book is an extension of that.’
Carle’s books demonstrate a deep connection to both nature and children, a connection which is undoubtedly borne out of events from his own childhood.
Born in upstate New York in 1929, the five-year-old Eric began his school years in a light, airy room, where he was able to explore his already apparent love of art. But a year later, his parents returned to their native Germany and at age six he was thrust into an educational environment where corporal punishment was the norm and the curriculum was dictated by the Nazi regime.
‘I am especially interested in the child’s transition from home to school, because this was a particularly difficult period in my own life,’ he explains. ‘I hope my books will help to make this transition easier for children. My books and stories are connected to the child in me, and this is where I always begin when I am creating a book. I try to entertain the child inside.’
'My books and stories are connected to the child in me, and this is where I always begin'
‘I have painful memories of growing up in Germany during the Second World War and in a way I feel the colourful illustrations of my books are a kind of antidote to the greys and browns of my childhood.’
Carle’s father, a kind, gentle man to whom he was very close, had introduced Eric to the wonders of nature early on. But in Germany he was drafted into the army and after eight years away from the family, including some as a prisoner of war in Russia, he returned a broken man.
‘When I was a boy, my father would take me on walks across meadows and through woods. He would lift a stone or peel back the bark of a tree and show me the living things that lived underneath.
'These were very magical times and I think in my books I honour my father by writing about small living things and the natural world. And in a way I recapture those happy times we had together.’
In high school an art teacher recognised his talent to the extent that he risked his life to introduce Carle to artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Kandinsky, who were classed as ‘degenerate’ and forbidden in Nazi Germany. Though at first the student was shocked by what he saw, the trust his teacher had shown in him, together with the art itself, affected him deeply.
He first learned about collage in art school in Germany, and, once he had returned to the United States, began to use what became his trademark technique while working as a graphic designer and art director. An ad of a red lobster caught the eye of Bill Martin Jr, who asked Carle to illustrate his Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
It was this experience that made him realise that he had found his calling. ‘I was so inspired by this book. I knew I had found my true course in life. The experience of working on Brown Bear made me realize that it was possible to do something special that would show a child the joy to be found in books. This opportunity changed my life.’
‘This was really the beginning of my career as an illustrator. Some people work with oil paints, others do wood cuts. There are a myriad of mediums to choose from. I happened to like collage.
'Ever since I was a child I have enjoyed drawing, making pictures. And I still do create sketches and doodles. It can be very freeing to do these kinds of pictures. But I have always done collage for my illustrations.’
He works in an unusual way, keeping the drawers of his studio stocked with tissue paper, which he paints in a range of bright colours. He then chooses from among those available when creating his illustrations.
'Generally speaking, I paint my papers without knowing how they will be used'
‘Generally speaking, I paint my papers without knowing how they will be used and store them in my file drawers. This becomes my palette when I am creating an illustration. But if I am working on a particular book that requires a certain colour, I will create papers in that colour.’
The bright images in Carle’s books are always contrasted with plenty of surrounding white space, a legacy from his career designing posters, which taught him to get his message across simply and boldly. ‘I personally prefer work that is less busy, with fewer fonts and design features. I think people are afraid of white space, but I think it creates a kind of breathing room that can be very effective.’
Long passionate about raising the profile of picture book illustration, and, in particular about raising its status as art in its own right, he was prompted to do something about it after a visit to Japan, which has twenty museums dedicated to the art of the picture book.
The result was The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, which opened in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 2002. Carle gave the museum not just his name, but the funding for the building. The aim of the Carle museum is not so much to showcase his own art, but to bring the work of others to a wider public.
‘My wife Bobbie and I co-founded the museum to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book. Since its opening, the museum has welcomed more than 300,000 visitors and has exhibited the work of more than 200 artists. I hope you will all visit soon!’
