From School Library Journal
Grade 4
Up?Carle shares a bit of himself in this collection of vignettes.
In his words, "The stories...from various places and times...have
three things in common: animals or insects, friends or relatives,
and me." Nineteen short stories, each no more than three pages and
sparsely illustrated by the author, allow readers glimpses into the
artist''s life. They meet his grandparents who argued about a hen
that might have been a rooster. Carle reminisces about exp
For more than 25
years Eric Carle''s crickets, spiders, and caterpillars have
delighted young readers across the world. Now for the first time
the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar gives readers a peek
into his own, real-life universe of animals and insects, and
family, as he tells the stories of his life.All true, Eric Carle
sets his stories down, not as they happened, but as they came to
him. We meet him as a young boy in America and Germany, fooling his
Oma by "hypnotizing" her chickens; wandering with his naturalist
father, looking for lizards; making a box-home for the fascinating
Maihefer beetle with his friends. And the adult Carle, bemused by
his retrieving cat and a stubborn turtle who prefers a busy street
to a shady park. And more.Playful, mischievous, and sensitive,
these warm and intimate stories present Eric Carle''s vast
readership with an enchanting glimpse of the man behind his
universally-loved books.