Gratitude

Dear Friends,

My wife Bobbie and I are sending our best wishes to all who are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar today and our heartfelt gratitude for all of the messages from readers from around the world.

We have heard of celebrations taking place in Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, England, Puerto Rico, New York, California, Hawaii, Wisconsin, Singapore and in other cities and countries around the world.

It is a wonderful day!

Eric and Bobbie Carle

On Making a Mess

Dear Friends,

A group of kindergarten students from Michigan visited my web site recently and watched how I painted a mural on a large piece of Tyvek that I rolled out on the floor of my studio. They were wondering how I could step on the painting while the paint was still wet. While I tried not to step on the wet paint when I was creating the mural, you can see from the photo here that I do sometimes get paint on my shoes when I am working. Making pictures and creating art can sometimes be a messy job. But that’s ok. I’ve grown to enjoy the spots and dots that my work sometimes leaves behind and occasionally, without even realizing it, the inadvertent mess or the “mistakes” I make, end up seeming more interesting than I ever would have expected. I have even made art out of the materials I use to create my pictures such as these yogurt container lids saved from my lunch that served as my paint tray.




But a good smock or apron can help keep your clothes clean while you use paints or glue or colored chalk.

Keep up the good work!

Eric Carle

P.S. I am a yogurt fan and am happy to have my work featured on Stonyfield YoBaby Yogurts!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book

Dear Friends,

I hope you will enjoy these wonderful pictures of the new Pop-Up edition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar being read by a group of children.

These photos make me happy as a starred review.

I hope you too will enjoy this new edition of my story.
Eric Carle

Photo credit: Vu Phan

80/40

Dear Friends,

This year I am celebrating two birthdays, my own 80th and the 40th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. There are many events and programs happening around the world for The Very Hungry Caterpillar's 40th and there is an exhibit currently on view at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art called 80/40: Celebrating the Birthdays of Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. For more information and for a little preview of the exhibition, you might like to visit the Museum's web site at http://www.carlemuseum.org/Exhibitions/Current_Exhibitions

Eric Carle

My Favorite Food

Dear Friends,

I am often asked what my favorite this or that is - color, character, animal – and occasionally someone will ask – What is your favorite food? And while there are many foods I enjoy eating, I have always loved Blackforest honey since I was a child and I think I always will. Here I am enjoying it for breakfast.

Eric Carle

My Favorite Things

Dear Friends,

I was delighted to be asked to create a piece for the House of Illustration, a picture book art museum being developed in London by Quentin Blake and other friends in the UK. For the project, entitled - What Are You Like? - I was asked to list eight of my favorite things and in this way create a kind of self-portrait. The piece has been printed as a limited edition signed giclee lithograph which can be purchased by visiting the House of Illustration web site shop at http://www.houseofillustration.org.uk/shop.php#prints.

While it hasn’t been my custom to plug books or products, I want to do my best to support this worthy cause. All proceeds from the sale of this print support the development of the House of Illustration.

Eric Carle

Mr. Hiroshi Imamura

Dear Friends,

It has been a great pleasure and privilege to work with my Japanese publisher Kaisei-sha over the years. Our relationship began in the late 1960's, when my editor Ann Beneduce brought with her on a trip to Japan, a copy of my yet to be published book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Because of its special features, the die-cut holes in the fruits and foods and the graduated, shortened pages - Ann had been unable to find a printer in the U.S. It was Mr. Hiroshi Imamura, then president of Kaisei-sha, who found a way to print The Very Hungry Caterpillar in Japan and who embraced the challenge it took to make this book a reality.

Now The Very Hungry Caterpillar is turning forty and while there is a great deal to celebrate this anniversary year, I especially want to honor and remember Mr. Hiroshi Imamura, who passed away in November, 2008. For his kind and generous effort, I am deeply grateful. We will always remember him with great fondness and admiration.

Eric Carle