ERIC CARLE Biography - Writers

 
 

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ERIC CARLE

Eric Carle (born June 25, 1929) is a children's book author and illustrator,         
most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has been translated     
into over 30 languages. Since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969,     
Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of       
which he also wrote, and more than 71 million copies of his books have sold         
around the world.                                                                   
                                                                                     
Born in Syracuse, New York in 1929 to German emigrants Johanna and Erich Carle,     
Eric moved to Germany with his parents when he was six years old; he was             
educated there, and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der     
bildenden Künste, in Stuttgart. Eric's father was drafted into the German army     
during World War II, and Eric avoiding the draft in 1944 by being an American       
citizen. Carle dreamed of returning to the United States, so he moved to New         
York City in 1952 with only $40 to his name. Once there, he landed a job as a       
graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times. He was           
drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War and stationed in Germany.           
After returning from the service, he was the art director of an advertising         
agency for many years.                                                               
                                                                                     
Educator and author Bill Martin Jr., after noticing an an illustration of a red     
lobster Carle had created for an advertisement, asked him to illustrate a story.     
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration,     
and became a best-seller. This began Carle’s true career, soon he was writing     
and illustrating his own stories. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to       
the Zoo, followed quickly by The Very Hungry Caterpillar.                           
                                                                                     
Eric Carle has two adult children, a son and a daughter. He currently divides       
his time between the Florida Keys and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. For over 30     
years, Carle and his second wife, Bobbie Morrison, lived in Northampton,             
Massachusetts.                                                                       
                                                                                     
With his wife Bobbie, Eric Carle founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book       
Art, a 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m²) museum devoted to children's books in Amherst on     
the campus of Hampshire College. The Museum has welcomed over 250,000 visitors       
since it opened its doors in 2002. Carle received an honorary doctorate from         
Bates College in 2007.