Eric Carle, best known for ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, is a celebrated children’s author.
Born in 1929, Carle moved from New York to Germany at six, enduring WWII as a trench-digger before returning to the US in 1952.
He initially worked as a graphic designer and army mail clerk, then found his calling after Bill Martin Jr. enlisted him as an illustrator.
Carle then wrote and illustrated his own books, with ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ selling over 33 million copies.
In 2002, he established The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Known for his deep understanding of child psychology,
Carle addresses children’s thoughts, feelings and growth through his work.
Google acknowledged his influence in 2009.
In this article I have listed the greatest quotes by Eric Carle.
Best Eric Carle Quotes
Brown Bear, Brown Bear was kind of my first important book. ~ Eric Carle.
The hardest part is developing the idea, and that can take years. ~ Eric Carle.
Papa, please get the moon for me. ~ Eric Carle.
On Monday he at through one apple. ~ Eric Carle.
He was a big, fat caterpillar. ~ Eric Carle.
Simplify, slow down, be kind. And don’t forget to have art in your life – music, paintings, theater, dance, and sunsets. ~ Eric Carle.
One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and – pop! – out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar. ~ Eric Carle.
The “Very Hungry Caterpillar” story is about hope. You, like the little caterpillar, will grow up, unfold your wings and fly off into the future. ~ Eric Carle.
You know, now it’s sinking in. It’s taken me a long time to realize – and it is sinking in – how important this book is. And I have a certain distance now. I’ve done it such a long time ago. ~ Eric Carle.
Famous Eric Carle Quotes
Let’s put it this way: if you are a novelist, I think you start out with a 20 word idea, and you work at it and you wind up with a 200,000 word novel. We, picture-book people, or at least I, start out with 200,000 words and I reduce it to 20. ~ Eric Carle.
On Saturday, he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon That night he had a stomach ache. ~ Eric Carle.
He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He stayed inside for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and… he was a beautiful butterfly! ~ Eric Carle.
They are deceptively simple. I admit that. But for me, all my life I try to simplify things. As a child in school, things were very hard for me to understand often, and I developed a knack, I think. I developed a process to simplify things so I would understand them. ~ Eric Carle.
In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf. ~ Eric Carle.
My own style grew out of my work as a graphic designer. I try to express the essence of my stories and ideals very clearly, using simple shapes, often in bright colors against a white background. You might almost think of my illustrations, and especially the cover art, as little posters. ~ Eric Carle.
Great Eric Carle Quotes
One day I think it’s the greatest idea ever that I’m working on. The next day I think it’s the worst that I’ve ever worked on – and I swing between that a lot. Some days I’m very happy with what I’m doing, and the next day I am desperate – it’s not working out! ~ Eric Carle.
The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better. ~ Eric Carle.
On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry. ~ Eric Carle.
On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry. ~ Eric Carle.
That night he had a stomachache! ~ Eric Carle.
Ever since I was very young, as far back as I can remember, I have loved making pictures. I knew even as a child that, when I grew up, I would be an artist of some kind. The lovely feeling of my pencil touching paper, a crayon making a star shape in my sketchbook, or my brush dipping into bright and colorful paints – these things affect me as joyfully today as they did all those years ago. ~ Eric Carle.
We have eyes, and we’re looking at stuff all the time, all day long. And I just think that whatever our eyes touch should be beautiful, tasteful, appealing, and important. ~ Eric Carle.
One day I think it’s the greatest idea ever that I’m working on. The next day I think it’s the worst that I’ve ever worked on – and I swing between that a lot. Some days I’m very happy with what I’m doing, and the next day I am desperate – it’s not working out! ~ Eric Carle.
So these were the 24 top Eric Carle quotes and sayings.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Larry David quotes and Jonathan Edwards quotes.
