June 25 – Happy Birthday, Eric Carle

nPostednon June 25, 2015

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ThenVery Hungry Caterpillar.

nThenVery Busy Spider.

nPancakes,nPancakes!

nAllnAbout Arthur (An Absolutely Absurd Ape).

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nEric Carle wrote andnillustrated all of those books, and many, many more, and henillustrated a whole lot of books that he didn’t write.

nCarle was born on thisndate in 1929, in New York, to parents who had come to America fromnGermany. His mom was so homesick for Germany, the family returned tonthat nation in or around 1935, when little Eric was just six yearsnold.

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nDo you know what wasnhappening in Germany in 1935?

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nAdolph Hitler was thenruler. The nation was rearming, in violation of the treaty that hadnended World War I. The Nuremberg Laws were passed, causingndiscrimination toward Jewish people. The Nazi flag – with thenswastika – was made the German national flag.

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nIt was a bad time to movento Germany, and it was about to get bad for the Carle family.

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nEric Carle’s dad was soonndrafted into the German army. He lived through the entire war, butnwhen Germany lost the war, he was taken prisoner by the forces of thenSoviet Union. Two years later, Eric’s father was finally able to gonhome to Germany and his father. He was sick, semi-starved, andnweighed only 85 pounds.

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Eric Carle himself wasnforced to take part in World War II, also. The German government madenboy ages 15 and older dig trenches, so for a year or two, he had tondig trenches every day with other teens and with Russian prisoners.nHe saw people being killed just a few feet away. When he was finallynable to go home, his house was the only one still standing in hisnneighborhood – but the roof, windows, and doors were all gone.

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nThat is an example ofnreally bad timing, but Eric Carle remembered America, and he missednit and wanted to return there someday. Finally, in 1952, age 23, EricnCarle arrived in New York City with only $40. But he was able to getna job as a graphic designer for ThenNew York Times! He wasndrafted into the U.S. Navy for a few years – he was stationed innGerman! – but when he was released from that stint, he went back tonNYC to work with art and publishing.

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It was educator/authornBill Martin, Jr., who noticed Carle’s artwork and lured him tonillustrate a book he was writing. And from there, Carle never lookednback. He started a museum of picture book art, and he has won manynawards, and he loves what he does!