Eric Carle was born in 1929 in New York and is one of the most successful children’s writers of all time. Millions of children have read his most famous book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, but he has also written many other very popular children’s books. As well as writing children’s books, he is also a very talented illustrator and most parents will know that the pictures in children’s books are just as important, if not more important than the words, as bright colours and interesting pictures tend to grab and hold a child’s attention longer than text on a page. If you are looking for some new stories for a young child, then you should consider Eric Carle’s work very carefully- below are some descriptions of his more famous books to help you make a decision.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
I was actually read this book when I was a child, and from the fact that it is still popular, this really is a classic book for young children. It traces the story of a caterpillar eating its way through different foods before emerging as a beautiful butterfly. The illustrations are what really make the book a classic- the pictures are brightly coloured and it is also a really early introduction to biology.

The Very Lonely Firefly
Following a similar kind of plot to “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, this book starts off with a lonely firefly that is looking for friends. The firefly follows different lights by mistake, assuming them to be other fireflies, including a candle, a torch and a lantern. However at the end of the book the lonely firefly finds friends in the form of a dozen or so other fireflies, and the book itself starts flashing as tiny lights are embedded in the last page!

The Mixed Up Chameleon
This story is about a young chameleon who does not like the fact that he changes colour to suit his surroundings. He sees the animals in a zoo and loves how distinctive they are, and he wished for some of their features. The result is that he ends up a curious mix of lots of different animals, but cannot reach a fly to eat it. Instead he wishes he was a chameleon again and he goes back to his original appearance. Like all of Carle’s books, this one is brilliantly illustrated and will be sure to catch the attention of a young child.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
This book is another classic children’s book, but it was written by Bill Martin Jr, whereas Eric Carle provided the excellent illustrations. The book works by the narrator asking a brown bear what he sees, and then asking the animal the bear sees the same question and so on. The book helps young children associate animals and colours with words as well as keeping them entertained.