Eric Carle

Summer is the season for bugs - catching them as well as scratching their bites. Check out thesebooks on bugs."100 Hungry Ants," by Elinor J. Pinczes"Roly Poly Spider,"by Jill Sardegna"Insects are My Life,"by Megan McDonald"Ladybug, Ladybug,"by Ruth Brown"Very Hungry Caterpillar,"by Eric Carle"Very Busy Spider,"by Eric Carle"Where the Butterflies Grow,"by Joanne Ryder- Courtesy Barnes & Noble, children's division, Annapolis Harbour CenterPub Date: 6/17/98

AMHERST, Mass. - Two-year-old twins Moira and Mia McDonald, in matching bob haircuts and red turtlenecks, zip across the granite floor among the framed pictures of old friends, stopping at familiar faces and exclaiming, "Look what I found!" The very hungry caterpillar and the grouchy ladybug watch as the tots speed past. But it's the very greedy python that gets the girls wriggling, giggling and "ssssssssing" in front of his green curled body fashioned from brightly colored tissue paper.

Here is a list of the most popular books among first-graders surveyed by Reading Today, the bimonthly newspaper of the International Reading Association:* "Guinea Pigs Don't Read Books," by Colleen Stanley Bare* "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel," by Virginia Lee Burton* "The Very Busy Spider," by Eric Carle* "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," by Eric Carle* "The Sunflower That Went FLOP," by Joy Cowley* "Clyde Monster," Robert Crowe* "Animal Tracks," by...

AMHERST, Mass. - "I would like to visit you," an ardent fan wrote to Eric Carle, author of toddler classics such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. "But I'm not allowed to cross the street." Another fan wrote to tell Carle: "You and I are a lot alike. I like color, you like color. I like stories, you like stories." Who says the under-5 set can't be cognoscenti of high art? Or at least renderings of a churlish ladybug and a butter-fingered click beetle. But that is only one sliver of the audience that Carle hopes to entice with his latest venture, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, which opened here Nov. 22. The museum says it is the first in the country dedicated to the work of luminaries for little people, including Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are)

When words fail you, check out these wordless picture books. You and your young reader can tell the story to each other -- in your own words.* "The Snowman," by Raymond Briggs* "Boy, Dog & Friend," by Mercer Mayer* "Window," by Jeannie Baker* "Tuesday," by David Wiesner* "Time Flies," by Eric Rochman* "Noah's Ark," by Peter Spier* "Deep in the Forest," by Brinton Tukle* "Do You Want To Be My Friend," by Eric Carle-- Courtesy Barnes & NobleAnnapolis Harbour...

Bonnie Scott, a columnist for Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, uses the Internet to support her children's reading. Here are some of her suggestions:I start with the Children's Literature Web guide at www.acs. ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown. Here I have found lists of Children's Book Award winners, children's best-sellers and specific resources for parents.A Web traveler's Toolkit will link you to the best children's literature sites. Forums and bulletin boards let you post questions about kids and reading.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the illustrations in these beautiful books must be worth millions. Check them out of your local library and read them with your youngster. The "view" is spectacular!* Eric Carle, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (Philomel 1969) and other books. Carle's modern, painterly illustrations are matched here by a fascinating text.* Helen Cooper, "The House Cat" (Scholastic, 1993). Positively luminous illustrations make cats seem even more magical than they really are.* C.R. Erkel, "The Farmhouse Man" (Putnam, 1994)

In "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "The Grouchy Ladybug" and "The Very Busy Spider," author and illustrator Eric Carle makes insects appealing. Here Carle answers some of the questions children write to him.Why do you use small creatures in your books most of the time? When I was a small boy, my father would take me on walks across meadows and through the woods. He would lift a stone or peel back the bark of a tree and show me the living things that scurried about. I think in my books I honor my father by writing about small living things.

The Very Quiet Cricket. Eric Carle. Pilomel Books. Unpaged. $17.95. Eric Carle's classic "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" was published more than 20 years ago. In few words and bright-as-newborn collage illustrations the book told of a caterpillar who ate his way into life as a butterfly. His latest book concerns another sort of transformation conveyed in similarly simple, enchanting terms -- a young cricket tries to sing, fails and finally finds his voice.As kindred insects introduce themselves to him in turn -- a locust, praying mantis, dragonfly, et al. -- the little cricket wants to reply but is left at a loss for words.

AMHERST, Mass. - "I would like to visit you," an ardent fan wrote to Eric Carle, author of toddler classics such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar. "But I'm not allowed to cross the street." Another fan wrote to tell Carle: "You and I are a lot alike. I like color, you like color. I like stories, you like stories." Who says the under-5 set can't be cognoscenti of high art? Or at least renderings of a churlish ladybug and a butter-fingered click beetle. But that is only one sliver of the audience that Carle hopes to entice with his latest venture, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, which opened here Nov. 22. The museum says it is the first in the country dedicated to the work of luminaries for little people, including Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are)

Here is a list of the most popular books among first-graders surveyed by Reading Today, the bimonthly newspaper of the International Reading Association:* "Guinea Pigs Don't Read Books," by Colleen Stanley Bare* "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel," by Virginia Lee Burton* "The Very Busy Spider," by Eric Carle* "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," by Eric Carle* "The Sunflower That Went FLOP," by Joy Cowley* "Clyde Monster," Robert Crowe* "Animal Tracks," by...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the illustrations in these beautiful books must be worth millions. Check them out of your local library and read them with your youngster. The "view" is spectacular!* Eric Carle, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" (Philomel 1969) and other books. Carle's modern, painterly illustrations are matched here by a fascinating text.* Helen Cooper, "The House Cat" (Scholastic, 1993). Positively luminous illustrations make cats seem even more magical than they really are.* C.R. Erkel, "The Farmhouse Man" (Putnam, 1994)

When words fail you, check out these wordless picture books. You and your young reader can tell the story to each other -- in your own words.* "The Snowman," by Raymond Briggs* "Boy, Dog & Friend," by Mercer Mayer* "Window," by Jeannie Baker* "Tuesday," by David Wiesner* "Time Flies," by Eric Rochman* "Noah's Ark," by Peter Spier* "Deep in the Forest," by Brinton Tukle* "Do You Want To Be My Friend," by Eric Carle-- Courtesy Barnes & NobleAnnapolis Harbour...

Bonnie Scott, a columnist for Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, uses the Internet to support her children's reading. Here are some of her suggestions:I start with the Children's Literature Web guide at www.acs. ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown. Here I have found lists of Children's Book Award winners, children's best-sellers and specific resources for parents.A Web traveler's Toolkit will link you to the best children's literature sites. Forums and bulletin boards let you post questions about kids and reading.

In "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "The Grouchy Ladybug" and "The Very Busy Spider," author and illustrator Eric Carle makes insects appealing. Here Carle answers some of the questions children write to him.Why do you use small creatures in your books most of the time? When I was a small boy, my father would take me on walks across meadows and through the woods. He would lift a stone or peel back the bark of a tree and show me the living things that scurried about. I think in my books I honor my father by writing about small living things.

Summer is the season for bugs - catching them as well as scratching their bites. Check out thesebooks on bugs."100 Hungry Ants," by Elinor J. Pinczes"Roly Poly Spider,"by Jill Sardegna"Insects are My Life,"by Megan McDonald"Ladybug, Ladybug,"by Ruth Brown"Very Hungry Caterpillar,"by Eric Carle"Very Busy Spider,"by Eric Carle"Where the Butterflies Grow,"by Joanne Ryder- Courtesy Barnes & Noble, children's division, Annapolis Harbour CenterPub Date: 6/17/98

MOST CHILDREN look forward to learning how to read. But unfortunately some lose interest once the basic skill is mastered. The PTA at Carrolltowne Elementary School is striving to promote a lifelong love of reading in its students by sponsoring a "100 Days of Reading" program throughout the school.In its sixth year, the program unites the school's administration, teachers, parents, students and the local business community in an effort to encourage daily reading by each student. The theme of this year's program is "Catch the Wave, Read."

AMHERST, Mass. - Two-year-old twins Moira and Mia McDonald, in matching bob haircuts and red turtlenecks, zip across the granite floor among the framed pictures of old friends, stopping at familiar faces and exclaiming, "Look what I found!" The very hungry caterpillar and the grouchy ladybug watch as the tots speed past. But it's the very greedy python that gets the girls wriggling, giggling and "ssssssssing" in front of his green curled body fashioned from brightly colored tissue paper.

MOST CHILDREN look forward to learning how to read. But unfortunately some lose interest once the basic skill is mastered. The PTA at Carrolltowne Elementary School is striving to promote a lifelong love of reading in its students by sponsoring a "100 Days of Reading" program throughout the school.In its sixth year, the program unites the school's administration, teachers, parents, students and the local business community in an effort to encourage daily reading by each student. The theme of this year's program is "Catch the Wave, Read."

The Very Quiet Cricket. Eric Carle. Pilomel Books. Unpaged. $17.95. Eric Carle's classic "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" was published more than 20 years ago. In few words and bright-as-newborn collage illustrations the book told of a caterpillar who ate his way into life as a butterfly. His latest book concerns another sort of transformation conveyed in similarly simple, enchanting terms -- a young cricket tries to sing, fails and finally finds his voice.As kindred insects introduce themselves to him in turn -- a locust, praying mantis, dragonfly, et al. -- the little cricket wants to reply but is left at a loss for words.