Talking Points: Eric Carle
How can the natural world inspire our stories?
Eric Carle was a children’s picture book artist and author. Inspired by the colours and forms from the natural world, he worked mainly with tissue paper, layering them together like the foliage and greenery he had seen. He coloured the paper with acrylic paint and collaged them together before adding details with crayons.
Watch the videos below and answer the following questions to begin a discussion about Eric Carle’s work.
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Eric Carle
Eric Carle is the author and illustrator of over seventy picture books for young children. The most well known book from this collection is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
As a child, Carle’s dad would take him for walks through meadows, memories which heavily influenced his illustrations.
Visit Eric Carle’s website to explore more of his work.
Find out how Eric Carle paints tissue paper.
If your school has access to YouTube you may want to show the first 7 or so minutes of this documentary.
Questions to Ask Children
Have you read The Very Hungry Caterpillar? (If you have the book in school it may be a nice idea to pass it round the class.)
What do you like about Eric Carle’s work?
How does the caterpillar in Eric Carle’s work make you feel?
What’s your favourite insect? Why?
This Talking Points Is Used In...
using sketchbooks to make visual notes
Show me what you see
