As part of our butterfly unit, we read the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I want the children to make their own hungry caterpillar artwork, so I started looking up information about how Eric Carle (the author/illustrator) creates his art.
First I found out that the book is 40 years old this year! Then, I found some great videos and slideshows on-line that show kids how he makes his artwork and how he got the original idea for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. In class today, we watched these clips with Ms. Johnson's first grade class. All of the kids were excited to see how Eric Carle created his art. Check out these sites to find out more:
Eric talks about getting his idea for the book and how it developed into the story we have today
Six-minute video of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Slideshow of how he created the very hungry caterpillar using collage techniques
Slideshow of how he paints tissue paper to use in his artwork
Slideshow of his art studio
What did your child learn about Eric Carle and his books? Post a comment about what your child learned or found interesting! Explore other parts of Eric Carle's website (www.eric-carle.com) together to learn more. We can't wait to find out more about this beloved children's book author.
4 comments:
Chase said that he learned that Eric Carle lives in Massachusetts.
Chase and Carstyn talked about the words cocoon and chrysalis while watching the movie. They want to know: Is there a difference?
Love,
Carstyn and Chase
The kids and I watched the first two videos before I had to leave for the high school open house. I forgot to ask Patrick what he learned. I will have to ask him in the morning. I learned something though - there is a cool museum, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Massachusetts that I want to visit :)
Thanks for sharing this with us!
Patrick said he learned that Eric Carle keeps his painted tissue paper in large black drawers.
I can remember Eric Carle's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" from when I was a small child. I can even remember when he visited my elementary school years ago. This was one of my favorite books as a child, and immediately recognized Eric Carle's artwork when i saw this page. The Caterpillar image is one that no child can forget, and I can't wait to have an excuse to take my nephews to the Museum of Picture Book Art in Mass. (Thanks Carole!)
Post a Comment