FAMILY GUIDE:

FAMILY GUIDE:
Eric Carle: Animals and Friends
Hi! ¡Hola! 今⽇日は
Salut! ‫ﻉعﻝلﻱيﻙكﻡم ﺱسﻝلﺍاﻡم‬
Hej! 你好 Hallo! Oi!
Hujambo! ‫שׁלוֹם‬
ָ Ciao!
Over the past 45 years,
author and illustrator Eric
Carle has created more than
70 beautiful picture books,
which have been translated
into more than 60 languages.
Often, his books are about
animals and the natural world,
which have fascinated Carle
ever since he was a little boy.
Take your friend by the hand and come on a journey through the
colorful universe of Carle’s art. We’ll meet many animals along the
way!
Image credits: Eric Carle (b. 1929), Front cover illustration and Final illustration for “…and ran…”, 2012, Friends [Philomel,
2013], Acrylic and tissue paper collage on illustration board © 2013 by Eric Carle. Collection of Eric and Barbara Carle.
Courtesy of The Eric Carle Museum
1
In Eric Carle’s book Friends, a little boy travels through rolling waves,
over rocky mountains, under a fluffy-clouded sky to find his friend.
Can you find:
ü a picture of curvy waves in many shades of blue and green?
ü a picture of a jagged mountaintop?
ü a picture of white clouds floating in a blue sky
Write down 3 animals you might meet in each of these places into the boxes below:
Mountain
Water
Sky
Spread your wings (but stay clear of the walls, please!) and find a
picture of a baby giraffe and her mother! Take a close look!
Notice the intricate pattern on the Giraffe’s fur!
Have you ever wondered why giraffes have spots?
Aileen Fisher’s poem Baby Giraffe, which is printed
next to Carle’s illustration in the book Do Bears have
Mothers, Too? explains:
2
And nobody blends so perfectly
With a sunlit grove…so it’s hard to see
What spots are giraffe and what are tree.
What do the fur, skin, or feathers of other animals in this
gallery look like? What colors, textures, and patterns do you
notice?
Look at the patterns below. Can you tell which animal they belong to?
__________
__________
_________
__________
__________
Eric Carle (b. 1929), Final illustration for “Baby Giraffe,” ca. 1973, Do Bears Have Mothers Too? [Crowell, 1973], Acrylic and
tissue paper collage on illustration board, © 1973 by Eric Carle. Collection of Eric and Barbara Carle. Courtesy of The Eric
Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Crane your neck to find an animal that
loves to hang upside down in the jungle . . .
3
For his book ”Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said
the Sloth, Eric Carle teamed up with the
famous zoologist Jane Goodall to introduce
children to the gentle creatures named sloths,
which live in the rainforests of South America.
Please draw your version of a sloth into the branches of the tree below.
Don't forget to add plenty of tropical leaves for it to snack on!
In Eric Carle’s story, many animals
come up to the sloth and ask him, in
turn, why he is so slow, quiet, and
boring and the sloth himself admits:
“I dawdle and I dillydally, I am
also unflappable, languid,
stoic, impassive, sluggish,
lethargic, placid, calm, mellow,
laid-back and, well, slothful!”
Looking around in the exhibition,
can you find an animal that is the
opposite of the sloth: an animal
that’s fast and active and likes to move swiftly from place to place?
Write the name of your animal here: _________________________________________
Can you come up with at least 3 words to describe it?
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Eric Carle (b. 1929), Final illustration for Final illustration for “Slowly, slowly, slowly, a sloth crawled...,” July 25, 2001 “Slowly,
Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth [Philomel, 2002], Acrylic and tissue paper collage on illustration board, © 2001 by Eric Carle.
Collection of Eric and Barbara Carle. Courtesy of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Slowly, slowly, slowly, move along the wall to the section about
Eric Carle’s book The Artist who Painted a Blue Horse!
The young artist in The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse loves to paint animals.
4
Can you find:
ü a running horse with flying tail?
ü a slyly tiptoeing fox?
ü a crocodile with its huge mouth wide open?
But WAIT A MINUTE!! Horses aren’t blue! Or are they?
Please help the artist make a list of the colors
he used for each animal.
a ______________________ horse and . . .
a ______________________ crocodile and . . .
a ______________________ cow and . . .
“There isn’t any wrong
color and . . .you don’t
have to stay within the
lines. In art, you’re
supposed to be free!”
a ______________________ fox and . . .
a ______________________ donkey.
- Eric Carle
Eric Carle’s artist teaches us, that in art, you
can set your own rules and make your own decisions!
In the space below, please draw your favorite picture from the exhibition:
Thank you for coming along! Please continue to explore: You might
want to read an Eric Carle book in the Reading Nook, or venture
into the Family Learning Lab on the third floor for hands-on
activities. Enjoy!