The Peaceful Sloth

Around the time the building of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art was coming to completion, nearly a decade ago, I was feeling overwhelmed, and so I locked myself in my studio and hung out the DO NOT DISTURB sign. My life had become so busy with meetings and appointments. That was when the gentle and slow moving Sloth came to my mind. I became fascinated by this strange creature that sleeps up to 20 out of 24 hours; this boring animal who eats 10% of what animals of equal size and weight consume; this expressionless critter who lives by itself and rarely makes a noise seemed the perfect antidote to the hectic situation I found myself in.

Our lives have become increasingly frenetic. We are constantly bombarded by all kinds of messages about scandals, wars and what soap to buy. We eat fast food, rush to the next appointment, click away at our computers, fly and drive in all directions. Maybe the peaceful Sloth can teach us something...? This image is an alternative collage illustration that was not used in my book Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth. You might be interested to know that pictures from my book Slowly are currently on exhibit at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and that this year -- 2012 -- the Museum will be celebrating its 10th anniversary!

Mermaid Theatre visits Massachusetts

The puppeteers and stage managers of The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia bring my stories to life on stage in the black-light puppetry productions of my books. One such troupe (including Christine Oakey, Sarah-Jean Begin
and Dan Bates in photo above) recently performed in Massachusetts and stopped by The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and our offices in Western MA. If only I had been there to say hello and thank them in person. I know they work very hard using their talents to make magic happen. They are currently touring in North America. Since October, they have performed for more than 100,000 spectators and have traveled more than 49,000 miles! I hope you will be able to see one of their upcoming shows.

Here is a link to the schedule.

Happy Very Hungry Caterpillar Day!

A View of the Trees

In January, I shared my collage picture of palm trees. These are the actual palm trees I see from our window. We are enjoying the view of them in the calm and warm breeze.

Eric Carle English Art Studio in Seoul, Korea

I am delighted to share these photos from a recent installation currently open to the public in Korea that has been set up in conjunction with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.


The installation is an art-making and reading program that will be followed by an exhibit of my work opening in Korea in April, 2012. It is very meaningful for me to know that my work is enjoyed in different countries around the world.

A Love Story and a love song

My book The Very Quiet Cricket is really a love story. For when they find each other, "...he chirped the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard."

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia

I am very happy to share that our friend Jim Morrow who is the artist director at The Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, the company that produces beautiful black light puppetry productions based on my books, recently received the Mickey Miner Award for outstanding achievement in the field of theatre for young audiences. The award was presented by the US-based International Performing Arts for Youth organization.


I am a great fan of The Mermaid Theatre and have been impressed by their work each time I've been able to see their productions. Here I am talking to Jim on one of his visits to my studio in Massachusetts. I have been captivated by the beauty and magic of Mermaid's black light productions and how they create a delightful performance of the stories while honoring the simplicity and integrity of my books.

I was not familiar with Mermaid's work before they contacted me in the late 1990's to request permission to create black light theatre productions based on my books. But I liked the sensitive way in which they approached and handled the material and in 1998 agreed to their request to create productions based on The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Quiet Cricket.



Since then, they have produced shows based on numerous other titles and have performed all around the world. These are some recent photos taken of puppets in Mermaid's studio in Nova Scotia.



Here's the link to the schedule for Mermaid's show dates for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" in Quebec and the West Coast this Spring and the link to the schedule for "Treasured Stories by Eric Carle" show dates coming up in Madison, WI; Springfield, MO; and Memphis, TN. The Mermaid Theatre will also be performing a benefit show for the students of Joplin, MO on March 13, 2012. I hope you will be able to attend one of their productions!