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It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a column about children’s books, and now looks like as good a time as any to do a little bit of catching up in that department. Since it’s anybody’s guess when I’ll get around to the subject again, I’m going to go with a classic writer/illustrator today: Eric Carle.
If you aren’t familiar with his name, chances are you’ve seen his books or artwork. He’s most famous for “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” which is the story of, well, a very hungry caterpillar that eats it’s way through an enormous number of different, vibrantly colored items before transforming into a butterfly at the end.
Carle has written and illustrated more than 40 children’s books, all with a unique and interesting style that I’ve always loved. The text is usually basic enough for even very early readers to understand with a little help, but the pictures are what really makes Carle’s books worth reading. His illustration process is an interesting one that pairs extremely simple ideas and techniques with a much more complicated and sophisticated process; they’re sort of like grade school craft projects, but executed with the skill of an experienced professional artist.
Carle’s unique and lovely work is created by a collage technique of layering hand-painted tissue-paper shapes. The simplified, cutout shapes are a great use for the sometimes-intricately painted papers that Carle works with, and the resulting style is one-of a kind and, more importantly, has remained a kid-favorite for the 40-plus years it’s been available. Adding to the appeal of the bright surfaces and easy to “read” imagery is Carle’s frequent habit of incorporating die-cut pages, fold-outs, sound effects, and other interactive presentation strategies into some of his more popular titles.
At this point, I realize that I’ve strayed into something that sounds more like an art critique than a book recommendation, but that brings me to one of my favorite topics: diverse and unexpected means of storytelling. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of comics and other visually dominant storytelling media, and I’d be lying if I claimed I didn’t owe at least some of that love to some fantastic picture books I read as a kid.
Eric Carle’s complex colors and easy compositions are a means of communication that’s every bit as effective and informative as more traditional, text-based storytelling in a lot of cases. His work certainly wasn’t the only influence on my young literary mind, but it was undoubtedly an important one, and I know I’m not alone in this.
I doubt I have to remind anyone of the importance of passing a love of reading on to children, but if you’re looking for a good children’s book to get started with, don’t forget about Eric Carle.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve done a column about children’s books, and now looks like as good a time as any to do a little bit of catching up in that department. Since it’s anybody’s guess when I’ll get around to the subject again, I’m going to go with a classic writer/illustrator today: Eric Carle.
If you aren’t familiar with his name, chances are you’ve seen his books or artwork. He’s most famous for “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” which is the story of, well, a very hungry caterpillar that eats it’s way through an enormous number of different, vibrantly colored items before transforming into a butterfly at the end.
Carle has written and illustrated more than 40 children’s books, all with a unique and interesting style that I’ve always loved. The text is usually basic enough for even very early readers to understand with a little help, but the pictures are what really makes Carle’s books worth reading. His illustration process is an interesting one that pairs extremely simple ideas and techniques with a much more complicated and sophisticated process; they’re sort of like grade school craft projects, but executed with the skill of an experienced professional artist.
Carle’s unique and lovely work is created by a collage technique of layering hand-painted tissue-paper shapes. The simplified, cutout shapes are a great use for the sometimes-intricately painted papers that Carle works with, and the resulting style is one-of a kind and, more importantly, has remained a kid-favorite for the 40-plus years it’s been available. Adding to the appeal of the bright surfaces and easy to “read” imagery is Carle’s frequent habit of incorporating die-cut pages, fold-outs, sound effects, and other interactive presentation strategies into some of his more popular titles.
At this point, I realize that I’ve strayed into something that sounds more like an art critique than a book recommendation, but that brings me to one of my favorite topics: diverse and unexpected means of storytelling. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of comics and other visually dominant storytelling media, and I’d be lying if I claimed I didn’t owe at least some of that love to some fantastic picture books I read as a kid.
Eric Carle’s complex colors and easy compositions are a means of communication that’s every bit as effective and informative as more traditional, text-based storytelling in a lot of cases. His work certainly wasn’t the only influence on my young literary mind, but it was undoubtedly an important one, and I know I’m not alone in this.
I doubt I have to remind anyone of the importance of passing a love of reading on to children, but if you’re looking for a good children’s book to get started with, don’t forget about Eric Carle.
