Friday, July 24, 2009

End Sheets

The colorful patterns on the inside covers of my books are called end sheets or end papers. An end sheet is like a theatre curtain in that it appears at the beginning, before the play starts, and at the end, after the play has finished. I pay great attention to the design of my end sheets; they often reflect something about the book and set the tone for the story.

I am especially fond of the end papers in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, pieces of colorful paper with holes in them, because they remind me of how the book started: from punching holes with a hole puncher.

For me, designing the end sheets for each book is part of the challenge and the pleasure of creating a book.

Here are some examples:

From Head to Toe



Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me




1,2,3 to the Zoo



Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See?

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9 comments:

  1. ClumberKimJuly 24, 2009 at 3:43 PM

    I love all of these, but my favorite will always be the endpapers on The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

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  2. eileen cJuly 24, 2009 at 9:09 PM

    G O R G E O U S

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  3. AmyJuly 25, 2009 at 2:39 PM

    Really beautiful. I truly admire your work. I loved reading this post!

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  4. AmandaJuly 26, 2009 at 11:24 PM

    I just finished reading From Head to Toe with my daughter before bedtime this evening. I pointed out all the colors on the endpapers even though she is only 15 months old, but she really seemed to listen. So crazy of you to post this!

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  5. A.July 27, 2009 at 1:50 AM

    I often find myself stopping to point out the endpapers when I read your books to my class, Mr. Carle. Their beauty and pop is stunning. It's one of the few times when my class will indulge me in my art lectures before begging, "just read the storrry!" They know beauty when they see it.

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  6. KimberlyJuly 27, 2009 at 4:04 PM

    I love how every detail matters to you. You make me want to go look at the endpapers in each book in my picture book library. Be assured, I'll never look at a book and skip the endpapers,again.

    Enjoyed your post about the farm visit, too.

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  7. UnknownJuly 28, 2009 at 8:00 PM

    I really enjoyed this post. My daughters and I go back and count the circles in the Very Hungry Caterpillar after we've read the book. Well, they are only 1 but I count the circles for them which they seem to love:)

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  8. bkeenOctober 29, 2009 at 2:18 PM

    does anyone know of the name of the art technique that is common in most old book endsheets that looks like paisley?

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  9. HeidiAugust 25, 2010 at 12:23 PM

    LOVE the 1,2,3 To the Zoo end sheet! I hope you don't mind, but I turned it into a digital background (for personal use only).

    See it here: http://haphazardlycrafty.blogspot.com/2010/08/eric-carle-free-download.html

    Thank you for brightening my child's library!!!!

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