An Author Study

By Trish Henry

Click on the reading ladybug if you want to return to this page at any time.

At the end of this lesson you will be able to do the following:

• Identify the interactive elements of one of Eric Carle’s books

• Recognize Eric Carle’s unique artistic style

• Name two or more facts about Eric Carle

• Name two or more facts about an insect in one of Eric Carle’s books

Born: 1929 in Syracuse, New York. Eric moved to Germany when he was 6 years old.

Returned: When he was 23, Eric Carle returned to America. He speaks German and English.

The first book Eric illustrated was Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin.

The first book he wrote and illustrated was The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Family: Wife = Barbara; two grown children = one son and one daughter

Home: Northampton, Massachusetts

Eric Carle’s books are sometimes called “toy books" because the reader can interact by touching cut out pages or raised lines, listening to sound effects or seeing special effects like lights.

Eric Carle books you can touch, see, or

hear

Pick one type of book to learn about by clicking on one of the pictures below.

Touch

Hear

See

Stories to touch…Click on your favorite book

to learn more.

In this story a very hungry caterpillar eats a variety of foods until the day he spins his cocoon. Did you know that most butterflies don’t really come out of cocoons? They come out of a chrysalis.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

A story about change

Butterfly Nonfiction1. Egg 2. Larva

3. Pupa

4. Adult

Click on a picture to learn about butterflies

Did you know that spiders are not insects? They are arachnids. The garden spider spins a a circular web called an orb web. Garden spiders help gardeners by eating insects that eat plants.

Did you know you can feel the spider’s web in this book?

A story about responsibility

3. Click on Anansi or the blue and purple spider to hear and see an African folktale about Anansi the Spider. Be patient, the movie may take a few seconds to start.

1. Click on Little Miss Muffet and listen.

2. Click on the spider web to hear another song.

Anansi

Stories to hear…Click on your favorite book

to learn more.

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle

The bright “eye” spots on Eric Carle’s click beetle are not eyes. They are colorful spots that scare away predators. Their real eyes are very small.

A story about perseverance

Click Beetle NonfictionThere are about 500 different species of click beetles in the United States. Click beetles are small and rather clumsy.

Wings: 2 hard wings, 2 soft wings

Legs: 6

Sound: When a click beetle lands on its back, it will stretch and release a snap mechanism that is located between its head and abdomen, making a clicking sound. This causes the beetle to flip through the air. Hopefully it will land on its feet.

The Very Quiet Cricket

Have you ever sat outside on a summer night and heard crickets chirping? There is a computer chip in this interactive book that allows you to hear a cricket chirping without going outside.

A love story

Cricket NonfictionCrickets are dark brown to shiny black with antennae longer than their body.

Legs: six

Size: 15-25 millimeters (.625-1 inch)

Food: seeds, small fruits, occasionally dead insects

Sounds: Both males and females can hear, but only males can make sounds. He chirps by rubbing his wings together.

Stories to see…Click on your favorite book

to learn more.

The Very Lonely Firefly

Its not always easy to find a friend. In this story, a lonely firefly keeps trying until he finds the perfect group of friends for him.

A story about belonging

Firefly Nonfiction

Description: Fireflies are flat, soft-bodied beetles. Most are brown or black and have red or yellow marks on their back.

Legs: six

Light: fireflies have a luminous, light-giving organ called a lantern on their abdomen. The light is cold to the touch.

Ladybugs are also called ladybird beetles. Like spiders, ladybugs help gardeners by eating insects that destroy plants.

A story about manners

Every InsectEvery Insect (ant, fly, bee) is Divided into three:

One head, one chest, one stomach Part.

Some have brains. All have heart.

Insects have no bones.

No noses.

But with feelers they can smell Dinner half a mile away.

Can your nose do half as well?

Also you’d be in a fix

With all those legs to manage: Six.

---By Dorothy Aldis

---From the book Eric Carle’s Animals, Animals

Eric uses a form of art called collage.

Collage is when many pictures or things are glued down to make another picture.

Eric Carle uses tissue paper he has painted to make his collage pictures.

Which one is Eric Carle?Click on your answer. If

your answer is correct you will automatically go to the

next question.

This is Theodore Giesel. You might know him

better as Dr. Seuss. Please try again.

Which of these pictures is a collage? Click on your answer.

Try AgainThink about the pictures in the Eric Carle books we read. What did they

look like?

You are terrific! Which Eric Carle book did you choose.

What made this book interactive.

Lights or other special cut out pages or illustrations

SoundsTouch

What made this book interactive?

Lights or other special cut out pages or illustrations

SoundsTouch

What made this book interactive?

Lights or other special cut out pages or illustrations

SoundsTouch

You are a genius!

Come see me when you are done. I have an art project for you to do. I would also like to ask you some more questions about Eric Carle and the insects in his books.

But first go to the next slide to see another story about a mosquito and to hear some more songs about bees and flies.

More Fun with Insects

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s ears

Click on an a fly or a bee to hear another favorite song about an insect. Click on the black screen to see a story about mosquitoes that buzz in people’s ears.

Books by Eric Carle

Also by Eric CarleThe Art of Eric Carle

Dream Snow

Eric Carle: Picture Writer (VHS video)

A House for Hermit Crab

The Mixed-Up Chameleon

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (VHS video)

You Can Make a Collage: A Very Simple How-to Book

Teacher Resources Additional Worksheets and Activities

Teacher Resources• Aardema, V. and Weston Wood. (1975). Why mosquitoes buss in

people’s ears. [Motion Picture, streaming video]. Retrieved April 21, 2003,from United Learning: http://www.unitedstreaming.com

• Blackwell, V. (2003). Grouchy Ladybug and More. Retrieved April 2003 from http://www.vickiblackwell.com/lit/ladybug.html

• Carle, E. (2003). Official Eric Carle Website. Accessed April 2003 at http://www.eric-carle.com/

• Clipart. Retrieved April 2003 from Animation Library: http://www.animationlibrary.com/a-l/

• Porter, K. Kid Things. Retrieved April 2003 from http://www.minibite.com/kids/index.htm

• Rainbow Educational Media. (1990). Insect Metamorphosis [Motion Picture, streaming video]. Retrieved April 3, 2003,from United Learning: http://www.unitedstreaming.com

• Weston Wood Producer. (1993). African and African American folktales: How Anansi obtained the sky god’s stories [Motion Picture, streaming video]. Retrieved April 21, 2003,from United Learning: http://www.unitedstreaming.com

Worksheets

Worksheets and Activities

The following are some of the Worksheets used during our Eric Carle author study unit. They are all Microsoft Word documents.

The Butterfly or the EggButterfliesMixed-Up TitlesInsect Word SearchMystery BugHave you seen my cat