Eric Carle, 1929-2021

As I've said before, there are many reasons to vilify Dubyah--but among these reasons is *not* his love of Eric Carle.

When Dubyah named "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as his favorite book, people all over the country sniffed--in judgment. But people are ridiculous. Dubyah was giving a sincere answer. And "Caterpillar" is a work of art.

Carle was not an especially memorable storyteller--with the exception of "Caterpillar"--but he did see the world in his own way, and he made exuberant pictures of natural phenomena. He made you aware--or re-made you aware--of the wonders of the natural world; he communicated joy through his attention to the curves on an exoskeleton or the colors of a bear's fur. Like Sondheim, Eric Carle had his own "signature." If you saw a Carle bear, you immediately knew it was a Carle bear (and not a Pinkney bear, and so on).

My dream is to travel to the Eric Carle Museum, to see the works of other illustrators (plus Carle). During COVID, I had a Homer Simpson moment. Do you remember when Homer buys Marge a bowling ball for her birthday, but really it's Homer who wants the ball? During COVID, I bought my husband an Eric Carle tee shirt and mug, though I'm not sure my motives would stand up to careful scrutiny. (Marc has cheerfully made use of the shirt and the mug.)

Many thanks to Eric Carle--and rest well.

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