Eric Carle is a beloved author and illustrator of children’s picture books. He is best known for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but has many more well written, beautifully illustrated works of art.
Eric Carle is an appropriate author study for kids preschool through third grade. His books lend themselves to discuss a plethora of topics and skills including prediction, the color wheel, collage art, insects, plants, and the structure of a sentence. An author study can be done on his work for any length of time, a few days up to a month or more.
The past few years we have studied Eric Carle for a month at a time. Today I want to share how we studied him this year by using the author study process discussed in this post.
Eric Carle Author Study
1)Collect Books by Eric Carle.
Because Eric Carle is a popular author and illustrator, books are easy to come by. Check out loads of books at the library, borrow from friends, and scour your bookshelves. Some favorites: The Very Busy Spider, Walter the Baker, and Mister Seahorse.
2)Learn about Eric Carle’s life.
Learning about Eric Carle’s life can give context to the books and help kids feel connected to him. A few videos below are a great place to start.
3)Read books by Eric Carle.
Read and enjoy books by Eric Carle. Let your kids choose which ones they want to read on any specific day or choose for them. Put up a piece of chart or construction paper and discuss what you notice about Eric Carle as an author and illustrator as you read.
4)Create and complete Eric Carle inspired art and activities.
Eric Carle Inspired Art
1)Discuss how Eric Carle uses collage art.
Eric Carle uses collage art to create his illustrations. In the video below, he discusses this technique.
2)Make painted papers.
Use white cardstock or tissue paper (like Eric Carle) to create painted papers. This can be done over the course of a few days. (My kids loved this part.)
3)Create an animal, insect, or other object with the painted papers.
Kids can create any insect or animal they would like with their painted papers. If you want to add in science, study insects or a certain animal and kids can create the studies insect or animal.
4)Display your Eric Carle creations or make a book out of them.
Create a book using the collage creations or simply display them in your home for all to see.
Other Eric Carle Activities
Using the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? notice and record the color words or details in the book. Discuss how authors use details to help us picture the story in our mind’s eye.
After reading Walter the Baker, make pretzels together.
Discuss the color wheel using the book, Hello, Red Fox.
Read Pancakes, Pancakes and make pancakes for dinner.
Using The Very Busy Spider, The Grouchy Ladybug, and The Very Quiet Cricket, learn about insects and bugs.
Discuss the life cycle of a butterfly using The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
There are many authors to choose from when doing an author study and I believe Eric Carle to be one of the best. He will inspire you and your kids with his simple stories and beautiful illustrations. Tell me: will you study Eric Carle this year?