ED 608 Author Study

4/25/21

Lacey Kirstein

Eric Carle’s children literature books has become a staple for kids all over the world. His unique
artwork and clever story telling abilities have allowed him to write and illustrate over 70 books. His
books are award winning and worldly renowned as some of his works have been translated into many
different languages. One of the greatest things about this author is his love for art. In his works we can
see that he has a passion for design and art. Eric Carle grew up in Germany with his mother and father,
after graduating college he moved to New York where he had various jobs that displayed his talent in art
to the world. After designing some ads as the art director for an ad agency, that world started to see Eric
Carle’s talent.

In addition to writing many books he has also collaborated with many authors to help illustrate
their stories. It started when Bill Martin Jr. requested help from Eric on a book he had written, the result:
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See. While Eric’s writing style is unique and loved by many
around the world, it is really his unique style of artwork that allows readers to recognize his work
immediately. Eric uses a collage style of artwork, painting his own papers, cutting them out, and placing
them on the page to enhance the reader’s experience.

While his books are visually stimulating for reader’s Eric Carle also focuses on the emotions of
his targeted audience, young readers. In all his stories he puts in a lesson, one in which children learn
something about the world around him. He has an extensive knowledge of nature and conveys that
through his stories in the simplest of ways. He believes that most children are inquisitive about nature
and he developed a passion for sharing what he knows with children. Today Eric Lives in Florida and runs
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Books read for this project:

1) The Hungry Caterpillar 4) Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother

too?

2) Pancakes, Pancakes!

5) From Head to Toe

3) The Very Busy Spider

6) Mr. Seahorse
Literacy Strategies used by this Author:

1) Repeating Details: ‘Specific details repeated at different points in the text, creating a thread of
continuity through the artful repetition of detail’ (Ray, Another Invitation to My Library: Ways
with Words: Chapter 8).

Examples:

A. Mister Seahorse: During Mr. Seahorse he passes a plethora of different fish, each fish
described tells the reader that the mail is the one birthing, and or, being the primary
caretaker for the babies.

(Pg. 7) ‘I just built a nest and right away Mrs. Stickleback laid her eggs into it. Now I am taking
good care of them until they hatch’.

(Pg. 10) ‘…His mouth was full of eggs…Mrs. Tilapia laid her eggs and now you are taking good
care of them until they hatch.’

(Pg. 17) ‘Mrs. Pipe laid her eggs along my belly. Now I am taking good care of them until they
hatch.’

2) Repeating sentence structure: ‘Repetition…kinds of words, and how they are put together’
(Ray, Another Invitation to My Library: Ways with Words: Chapter 8).

Examples:

A. Mister Seahorse: During this story Mr. Seahorse passes by a series of different types of fish
hiding in their natural habitats.

(Pg. 5-6) ‘…he passed right by…a group of trumpet fish hidden in a patch of reeds’

(Pg. 9-10) ‘…he passed right by…a lionfish hidden behind a coral reef’

(Pg. 13-14) ‘…he passed right by…several leaf fish hidden among the seaweed’

(Pg. 17-18) ‘…he passed right by… a stonefish hidden behind a rock’

B. The Very Busy Spider: Throughout this book we see characters interacting with Spider met
with silence because of her hard work and dedication.

(Pg. 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16,18) ‘The spider didn’t answer. She was very bust spinning her web.’

(Pg. 21) ‘The spider didn’t answer. She had fallen asleep. It had been a very, very busy day.’

C. From Head to Toe: During this story, the author discusses the different ways that animals
move. He explains the ways they move using actions words throughout the story.

(Pg. 1-22) ‘I am a (animal) and I can (action word) Can you do it? I can do it!’
3) Direct Contact sentence: ‘These sentences invite readers to be active participants with the
writer, either by following the writer’s instructions of by listening to the writer’s commentary.’
(Ray, Another Invitation to My Library: Ways with Words: Chapter 8).

Examples:
A. From Head to Toe: This book asks a simple question that gets readers up and moving. It
allows educators to explain action words to their students and get them directly involved in
acting while reading the story.

(Pg. 1-22) ‘I am a (animal), and I can (action word) Can you, do it? I can do it!’

4) Taffy sentence: ‘…begin with a central idea and then pull that idea out a little bit, and then a
little bit more, and maybe even a little bit more. Each time the sentence is stretched, a little
more detail is added, and the original detail is repeated.’ (Ray, Another Invitation to My Library:
Ways with Words: Chapter 8).

Examples:

A. The Hungry Caterpillar: This story shows the lifecycle of a butterfly. After the caterpillar
emerges from his egg, he is very hungry. The Taffy sentence comes while he is eating his
way through various foods.

(Pg. 6-12) ‘On Monday he ate through one apple, but he was still hungry. On Tuesday he ate
through two pears, but he was still hungry. On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but
he was still hungry. On Thursday he ate though four strawberries, but he was still hungry.
On Friday he ate through five oranges, but he was still hungry. 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.’

5) Wonderous Print (text shaped to match meaning/interesting italics): ‘…writers will lay out text
or the print of a single word on the page in a way that matches the meaning of the text in that
place. …this is a very common technique in picture books and in poetry…’ (Ray, Another
Invitation to My Library: Ways with Words: Chapter 8).

Examples:

A. Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?: This story uses unique print, punctuation marks, and
italics to get the point across to young readers.

(Pg. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21) A (animals name in colorful font) has a mother just
like you!

(Pg. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21) Does a (animal name) have a mother too? (Sentence
italicized on each page for this question)
My strategy used as a writer:

Eric Carle has a wide range of writing strategies he uses to engage young readers. After learning
about these many techniques there is one that stands out to me. If I were a writer, I would use the
direct contact sentence strategy. This is a strategy used to get the reader actively involved with the
words on a page. As a preschool teacher I see this method use quite often. It gives young readers,
especially children that might not be able to read yet, a way to still interact with the text. This strategy
also gives readers that ability to use their imaginations, which is how young students learn, by being
actively inquisitive about their learning. Books should be ones “… you can play with, and a toy you can
read” (Carle, 2019).
Resources:

Eric Carle. “Eric Carle's Biography.” Eric Carle, Eric Carle, 27 Nov. 2019, eric-carle.com/about-
eric-carle/eric-carles-biography/.

Ray, Wood Katie, Another Invitation to My Library: Ways with Words: Chapter 8

Carle, Eric. Mister Seahorse. Philomel Books, 2011.

CARLE, ERIC. VERY BUSY SPIDER. RANDOM HOUSE, 2021.

Carle, Eric. From Head to Toe. HarperCollins Publishers, 2018.