A Quintet of Books

Sometimes, readers ask me why a number of my books have the word "Very" in the title. After The Very Hungry Caterpillar had been published I wanted to create a “Very” quartet. Why a quartet? I liked the idea of a group. But also, I must admit that I had been taken by the sound of The Alexandria Quartet, written by Lawrence Durrell, which I read a long time ago. The story of which I cannot much recall, but the sound of these three words, The Alexandria Quartet have remained with me. Ideas, or a speck of an idea, come from the darndest places! I proceeded to write and illustrate Spider, Cricket and Firefly and completed my quartet. But what should happen? A tiny voice whispered to me “quintet” And so the Click Beetle was born.

However, each "Very" book came about in a different way. The Very Hungry Caterpillar had a sort of accidental beginning in that I was punching holes into a stack of papers. I knew right away that the spider in The Very Busy Spider would be the hero, but it took me a long time to come up with the idea of a raised web. (In the first book the hole was the given - the caterpillar followed. In the second book, the spider was the given - the raised web followed.) With The Very Quiet Cricket, my third Very book, I knew from the beginning about the insect and the sound. In my fourth Very book, The Very Lonely Firely, I knew I wanted a different kind of surprise at the end. And with The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, the fifth book in my quintet, the theme of perseverance, that one must try and try again, was where I began.

Now I have a complete quintet. Five movements exploring a theme. I sometimes feel like a composer of music - and why not!

I hope you have enjoyed these thoughts on my Very books and my musings on how these compositions came to life. Be it crickets or humans, we can only make music when the circumstances are right. I didn't invent that, I only observed it.

Eric Carle

All the Colors

Dear Friends,

A recent burst of color in my neighborhood!

Eric Carle

Some thoughts on LOOKING and SEEING

Dear Friends,

Art is often thought of as a painting or sculpture in a museum. And while this is true, it is only partially so. We tend to overlook things of beauty that surround us in our daily lives. A spider web, the bark of a tree, the surface of a rock. And beauty is not only found in nature, look closely at a screw imbedded in a piece of rusty steel, a broken windowpane, the bristles of a hardened paint brush, a segment of colorful graffiti on a concrete wall, which, by the way, tells us that art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder and may not be considered “beautiful”.

In order to heighten one’s sense of looking and seeing try cutting a square window, about 15 cm, into a piece of sturdy paper and look through it. Hold it close or at arm’s length and look at all kinds of things around you.



You’ll be surprised how different the same object will look when viewed through the frame held up close or from a distance.

Look close up at the surface of the sidewalk, a piece of sandpaper, a weathered piece of wood



Or look at the leaves of a tree or bush.



Have you ever noticed how many shapes and sizes and colors leaves have?

Look up at a cloud. Let it drift by or move along with it.



What you see is a strange and beautiful world which you may not have been aware of.

By framing an image that way and isolating it from its usual surrounding it often takes on a different quality or meaning.

By now you understand what I am trying to express. There are so many things to look at and see differently from what we are used to.

In a museum, I like to look closely at a large masterpiece and study a very small area of brush strokes.



I am fascinated by the small world of brush strokes isolated from the painting itself. Try it sometime and you too will be amazed.

Eric Carle

ABSTRACT ART

Dear Friends,

I sometimes like to create abstract pieces using my painted tissue paper sheets, as well as other materials such as silk fabric, plate glass, plastic sheathing and aluminum foil. I continue to create pieces in my studio, little works that for one reason or another capture my attention. I thought you might like to see an example of this kind of art including an Ingo Maurer ceiling lamp in my home that I decorated using pieces of my painted papers!

Eric Carle

LA Times Books Festival

Dear Friends,

While I've cut back a good deal on the number of book signings I do, I still make a few scheduled appearances each year. Recently, I signed copies of my books and gave a presentation at the LA Times Book Festival, an event for which I also created art for the program and other publicity materials. It was a very well-organized festival and I was delighted to meet readers and fans of all ages who were there. I hope you enjoy these photos of the few days in California.

Eric Carle

A Day in My Life

Dear Friends,

I thought you might enjoy a small view into my daily life in Florida. I have said it often and it remains true that I very much enjoy the quiet days at home in my garden,



playing solitaire,




spending time with Bobbie,



watching the crabs,



feeding stray cats,



and Iguanas who frequent our property.







I still spend time in my studio but am very happily doing little else.



Soon we will leave to spend the summer in North Carolina. I love it there too, but have enjoyed this time near the ocean immensely.

Eric Carle

Around the world

Dear Friends,

I wanted to share some of the stories and photographs of international celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.



The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into more than 47 languages and it has been wonderful to read about and see photos from events in Russia, Taiwan and London among other cities and countries.



We heard there were hundreds of events at schools and libraries in Germany; that The Very Hungry Caterpillar himself came to celebrate on the streets of London.




We received photos from two days of celebrating at a fun fair in Taiwan that more than 3000 people participated in! And in Moscow, art classes were held in libraries and bookstores as well as a program on making a cartoon at the Cancer Department of the Moscow Children's Hospital.





These stories and pictures have been a true delight to receive and I am thankful to be able to share them with all of you.
Best wishes,
Eric Carle