Looking forward to July 16, 2011

I can't wait for my annual book signing at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art on July 16, 2011. Hope to see you there!

All Around the World

I am delighted that my books are enjoyed in different countries and are being read in so many different languages. The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into more than 50 languages! I think that part of the reason it appeals to so many people is because of its hopeful message. Here are a few book covers in a variety of languages from around the world including Greek, Urdu, Arabic, Thai, Chinese, Italian and Russian. Many thanks to all of my foreign publishers for printing my book in your beautiful languages and to readers everywhere!

Happy Spring and Summer to All!

On the boardwalk

Dear Friends,
It has been a lovely winter in Florida. A good quiet stretch of time by the ocean and just the kind of time the hermit part of me enjoys. But like many creatures, we are thinking about the next season and our migration back to North Carolina. I love this place on the boardwalk that leads from our home to the water. It is one of my favorite places to walk and sit, take in the ocean and the light and the sky.

A Rug Design

This is a photo of a rug based on the design I created for the end sheets for my book Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? (written by my friend, Bill Martin Jr). It is in my home and I enjoy its colorful design on a daily basis. I am very pleased with how this small image was blown up to a large scale faithfully. The rug is a wool and silk hand-hooked rug and was made by Tibetan artisans. Perhaps one day I will become a rug designer!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Day!

I am delighted and honored to tell you that March 20th this year is the 3rd annual Very Hungry Caterpillar Day! To celebrate, events and programs are being planned around the country in schools, libraries and bookstores.

In March and April, The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia will be performing their wonderful black light puppetry productions based on my stories in various theaters around the U.S.

Also, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is holding a day of activities including a visit from the caterpillar himself!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar will also be making appearances at additional boosktores and other locations. You can find out more at the Penguin USA web site

Thank you everyone for celebrating this day!

REJECTS

Sometimes children will write to me and ask if I ever make mistakes when I’m creating illustrations. There are no mistakes, I explain. It is all useful in some way; all a part of the creative process. However, it is true that some pictures don’t belong in a book, for one reason or another. Somebody else might not think so. But for me, it’s a very personal decision and I have high standards for my own work.

Here is an example of alternative art for my book Animals, Animals. The first pelican I created for this book had a dark, brown background.



Many of the pictures that I create for a book, I would say almost a third, don’t make it into the actual book. But this doesn’t mean that the individual pieces are uninteresting or unsuccessful. What matters the most to me is the unity of effect in the entire book; how all of the pictures work together to create a whole feel or flow that is consistent throughout. But even the work I choose not to include is interesting to me and I keep it for archival purposes.

The final art work as you can see, has a much lighter, green background and white space, which you might notice is consistent with many of the pictures in this book.