Eric Carle (June 25, 1929 - May 23, 2021) was an American author and illustrator born in Syracuse, New York. He was likely best known for his children's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. During his career, he won numerous awards such as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal.
Select Bibliography (written and illustrated by Carle unless otherwise indicated):
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See (1967) (written by Bill Martin, Jr.)
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969)
- The Tiny Seed (1970)
- Do You Want to Be My Friend? (1971)
- Rooster's Off to See the World (1972)
- Have You Seen My Cat? (1973)
- I See a Song (1973)
- Why Noah Chose the Dove (1974) (written by Isaac Bashevis Singer)
- The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1975)
- The Grouchy Ladybug (1977)
- The Very Busy Spider (1984)
- The Greedy Python (1985) (written by Richard Buckley)
- Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me (1986)
- A House for Hermit Crab (1987)
- The Lamb and the Butterfly (1988) (written by Arnold Sundgaard)
- The Very Quiet Cricket (1990)
- Hello, Red Fox (1998)
- The Very Clumsy Click Beetle (1999)
- "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the Sloth (2002)
- The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse (2011)
Tropes common in his works:
- A Dog Named "Dog": Many of his characters simply use their species name as their name.
- Constantly Curious: The Lamb from The Lamb and the Butterfly is heard asking tons of questions to the butterfly she befriended and how different her lifestyle is compared to a butterfly.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Let's see: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Quiet Cricket, The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Busy Spider and then some.
- The Face of the Sun: In most of his books, the sun is depicted with a vague smiling face.
- Intellectual Animal: Animals in his stories can often talk to each other.
- Interspecies Friendship: Downplayed. None of the animals in his work seem interested in eating each other, even when they should, and are friendly towards each other.
- The Man in the Moon: Again, like his sun illustrations, the moon in his books is usually depicted as a huge full moon with a smiling face. This is especially prominent in Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me.
- Nature Lover: The themes of his stories were usually drawn from his knowledge and love of nature.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Due to his art style, many of the animals in his illustrations can be considered this.
- Short Story: Most, if not all, of his books are for children.
- Sweet Sheep: The Lamb and the Butterfly is focused on a little lamb who is constatly curious about the lifestyle of a butterfly that he befriended.
