“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is one of the world's most famous children's books.
It was invented by Eric Carle in 1969. Now the author and illustrator has died at the age of 91.
Our obituary.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is one of the most successful children's books in the world.
Eric Carle, who wrote and illustrated the book, has now died at the age of 91.
The American grew up in Germany from 1935.
Sometimes 244 words are enough to inscribe yourself forever in literary history.
244 words about immortality - Eric Carle wrote them down.
The fact that he didn't need any more text in the original English edition for his global success “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” also impressively testifies to how powerful language and our imagination can be.
In the original, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" gets by with 244 words
"Objection!", Especially young readers will shout out loud at this point. That's true, of course, you are right in your protest! Because we all know it's not about the number 244. In Carle's book, which first appeared in 1969, has since been translated into 70 languages and sold more than 50 million copies, very different digits are important. Namely 1 apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries, 5 oranges, 1 piece of chocolate cake, 1 ice cream cone, 1 sour cucumber, 1 slice of cheese, 1 piece of sausage, 1 lollipop, 1 piece of fruit loaf, 1 sausage, 1 tartlet and 1 piece Melon. These are the numbers from which literary history was created - because these are the quantities that the "very hungry caterpillar" eats up. To put it mildly, she has a very healthy hunger and - pardon me - a sick stomach.
The artist Paul Klee was a role model for Eric Carle
Of course, this makes it the most famous children's book in the world.
As has only just become known, Eric Carle, who in addition to this has created more than 70 other publications for young readers, died on Sunday at the age of 91 in his studio in the US state of Massachusetts.
The author and illustrator has combined his stories with pictures in bright colors.
He painted them on tissue paper, which increased the radiance, and arranged them into collages.
No wonder that the artist named the painter Paul Klee (1879-1940) as a model.
“The colorful illustrations are a kind of antidote to the grays and browns of my childhood in Germany,” Carle explained in an interview before his 90th birthday in June 2019.
Eric Carle was born in New York State in 1929
In fact, his life story is closely linked to the course of the 20th century - and almost incomprehensible in the tragedy of the first few years: Carle was born in Syracuse in the US state of New York in 1929 - his parents Johanna and Erich had emigrated from Germany to the USA. But the homesickness of the two was so great that it pulled them back: in 1935 to Nazi Germany. Decades later, Eric Carle remembered the time when he was six in Stuttgart: “This start of school is unforgettable for me - a small classroom with narrow windows, a hard pencil, a small sheet of paper and the strict admonition not to make mistakes. It was such a contrast to Miss Frickey ”- that was his elementary school teacher in the USA -“ whom I loved and whose light-flooded classroom I painted in bright colors ”.He never forgot the blows of his teacher in Stuttgart with a thin, hard bamboo stick into old age. “I have painful memories of growing up in Germany during the Second World War.” It got even worse: with the attack on Poland, the father had to join the armed forces; he was taken prisoner by the Soviets and did not return to the family until 1947. His son was forcibly assigned to the so-called Westwall in 1944 as a Hitler Youth. After the liberation, the young man first studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Württemberg's capital before returning to the USA in 1952: As with his parents 17 years earlier, Eric Carle was also homesick for this step. With 40 dollars in his pocket and his portfolio with drawing samples, he is said to have arrived in New York.He first worked in advertising and as a graphic designer for the "New York Times". Very late, in 1967, he designed his first children's book, “Brown Bear, Who Are You Seeing?” And started his own business as an author and illustrator.
Eric Carle put the inconspicuous creatures in the center
By the way, Master Petz was one of the really big animals that Carle dedicated himself to in his work.
He preferred to focus on the inconspicuous beings who often achieve amazing things: for example the "little mouse" looking for a friend, "the little bug always naughty", "the little glowworm" or the "little spider" who spins and is silent .
Not to mention the very hungry caterpillar.
Their message, however, applies to both young and old readers: No matter what stands in our way - when we have worked our way through the obstacles, a colorful butterfly rises at the end.
And it flies out into the world.