Eric Carle's Collage Techniques

Eric Carle Eric Carle is an author and artist who is well known around the world. He has illustrated more than seventy books and there are over 145 million copies of his books that are available in 62 languages. He is most well known for his book, The Hungry Caterpillar, but he has also created many other famous children's stories such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, Rooster Off to See the World, and Draw Me a Star. He uses a unique collage technique to create his illustrations that captures the eyes of young children everywhere. His books have been used in classrooms to encourage and motivate students to think outside the box. He was born in Syracuse, New York in 1929, but moved with his

He uses a collage technique to create his illustrations, he first paints layers of tissue papers with acrylic paint with a variety of brush sizes and textures, he then combines the layers together, and then cuts out an object or shape out of the colorful paper to create his finished illustration. By using this collage technique, it creates another dimension into the story as well as adding a fun playful aspect. His illustrations also have a scribble-like appearance to them that interests young children, Carle states that he, “Will never stop being a scribbler” (Carle, ). His images appeal to young children because he has a deep understanding of childhood emotions and thoughts. He creates his books keeping in mind how a child would feel in that moment and how he can relate his book to young children, “I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun” (Carle, ). His goal is to encourage children to want to learn and motivate them to use their

These books stood out to me because they each have a story behind them and they can be used in an elementary classroom to help teach a concept. The first book, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, is about an artist who creates a horse that is different because the horse was blue and abstract. The artist then gains confidence and starts creating all sorts of different animals in unusual colors, such as a green lion or a pink rabbit. At the end of the story is Carle’s inspiration for writing the story stemmed from his childhood in Germany. In Germany, students were forbidden to learn about or view abstract art, the Germans labeled abstract art as “degenerate.” Although, his art teacher Herr Krauss introduced him to abstract art in secret and Carle was able to see the freedom and beauty within each piece. The second book that stood out to be is Rooster’s Off to See the World. This book is about a Rooster that invites his friends on a journey with him to see the world. As it grows dark the friends start to head home until everyone has gone back home. As the Rooster adds friends the rooster counts how many people are added to the group. In the top corner of the page are pictures of how many animals are currently on the journey. As the friends leave the rooster counts how many