Eric Carle is a staple in the children's literature world even though he didn't start publishing until he was 40. Although
Hungry, Hungry, Caterpillar is his most famous work, Carle has illustrated more than 70 books. His artwork typically has vivid pictures on either plain white or deep black and blue backgrounds. He creates his look by using hand painted tissue paper in a collage.
Another note about Carle's books. If you look closely, he has done an excellent job of weaving in so many educational ways to use them.
Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar is something I use even in second grade when teaching life cycles. I use
The Grouchy Ladybug when we teach telling time. I read
Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me to third graders when we talk about moon phases. These books captivate children young and old. (For the record - older kids totally love being read to, even if they pretend they are too cool!)
Norfolk's always free and beautiful Chrysler Museum welcomes the
Eric Carle Moonlight Nights & Other Exhibits from June 14th to September 8th. The exhibit is great for all ages. It has original art work of Eric Carle, showing how he creates his books. It also has interactive games for the kids and a puppet show experience that is also great for taking pictures. Several of Carle's books are available for the kids to read or for you to read to them. There is a magnetic board, activity bags, and peg boards to play on.
Want to check out the exhibit for yourself? Tomorrow, June 15th is a Family Day. They will have moonlit night crafts, visits from zoo animals which are featured in the artwork, stories, and local librarians around. At 10:30 and 2:30 a screening of the Eric Carle documentary will be shown and Astro will be entertaining.all day long NASA will be in attendance, the Norfolk Public Library Bookmobile will be ready for checkout, and Applewood Book Party will have custom books available. Be sure to check out the Rainbow Puppet presentation at 11:30 and 1:30 also.
On July 11th and August 22nd from 5-8 you can come down to the museum in your pajamas and enjoy Moonlight Nights Pajama Party with s'mores and astronomy activities. Stuffed animal friends are welcome too. Chrysler's Tickle My Ears program, which hosts a monthly story time (we wrote about it
here!), will meet June 20th, July 11th, August 1st and 15th all with Eric Carle stories.
Tickle My Ears is open to ages 2-5 and meets at 10:30.
As a reminder, the museum is
free and open to the public Tuesday-Sunday. Strollers are available free of charge. Also, don't forget to check out the
Wonder Studio which has art that's safe for kids! You can see our write up on that
here!
If anything, Carle's exhibit should be a reminder to read a ton this summer. Read to your kids; have your kids "read" to you. Ask questions. Just fifteen minutes a day can make a huge difference in their future. What a great way to start off the summer by mixing art, fun, and a little education! (Hey- just because this teacher is
officially on summer vacation, doesn't mean I stop trying to force everyone to read!)
