'Reflecting the beauty that surround us'

 

“Let's put it this way: if you are a novelist, I think you start out with a 20 word idea, and you work at it and you wind up with a 200,000 word novel. We, picture-book people, or at least I, start out with 200,000 words and reduce it to 20.” – Eric Carle

As a journalist I was told time and again to “write tight.”  In other words, say everything you can about a topic so that it is crystal clear in as few words as possible, because publication space is always at a premium.  Writing as journalists might be good training for children’s book writers.  But if I were an editor I’d be asking someone like Carle about the best way to write tight, because he was an expert at it for over 50 years.  Of course his wonderful artwork didn’t hurt either.

 

Born in Syracuse, NY on June 25, 1929 Carle was the author of mega-sellers like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?   Carle said he always attempted to make his books both entertaining and educational – offering young readers (and often their parents) opportunities to learn something about the world.  He also advised writers wanting to work in the children’s literary genre’ to “recognize children’s feelings, inquisitiveness and creativity.”   

 

 Carle, who was named for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his career contribution to American children’s literature shortly before his death in 2021, said,  “We have eyes, and we're looking at stuff all the time, all day long.   I just think that whatever our eyes touch should be beautiful, tasteful, appealing, and important.”