Storytime: March is for Eric Carle

by | Mar 12, 2024 | Blog, Kid's Corner, Story Time | 0 comments

Eric Carle is one of the most celebrated authors/illustrators in the world. His picture book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. He believes “that children are naturally creative and eager to learn.” And his desire was “to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun.” We hope you and your child have fun with Eric Carle, his books and the accompanying activities. For more information on Eric Carle, go to https://eric-carle.com/ .

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Ages 2-5

Sing, Talk, Read, Write, Play

Tip

Children like to explore works of art that use a variety of materials and approaches to color, line, shape, texture, pattern, and space. Find a number of different illustrations for a song or a rhyme that your child already knows. Look at the pictures together and help her see and talk about their similarities and differences. Having fun making comparisons is one way to help your child develop an appreciation and love for art. ~ Lambert

Activity

Encourage your child to create a piece of art like Eric Carle. Paint several sheets of paper with watercolors, let them dry, draw a simple pattern on a blank piece of paper, cut out shapes from the dried watercolor paper and paste them on to the canvas like a puzzle. For a video on how Eric Carle creates a collage, go here

Books Presented

Book cover for Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle

Have You Seen My Cat? by Eric Carle

A young boy encounters all sorts of cats while searching for the one he lost.

Book cover for Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.

Children see a variety of animals, each one a different color, and a teacher looking at them.

Book cover for Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle

Papa, Pleas Get the Moon for Me by Eric Carle

A child asks her father for the moon, but when he reaches it, it is too big to carry home.

Book cover for From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle

Encourages the reader to exercise by following the movements of various animals; presented in a question and answer format.
Book cover for The Nonsense Show by Eric Carle

The Nonsense Show by Eric Carle

Ducks growing out of bananas? A mouse catching a cat? What’s wrong with this book? Yes, there’s something strange, something funny, and even downright preposterous on every page of this book. But it’s not a mistake–it’s nonsense! And it’s also surrealism.

Book cover for The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

The farm animals try to divert a busy little spider from spinning her web, but she persists and produces a thing of both beauty and usefulness. The pictures may be felt as well as seen.
Book cover for The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Follows the progress of a very hungry caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food, until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep.

Book cover for The Greedy Python by Richard Buckley

The Greedy Python by Richard Buckley

A hungry python tries to swallow every animal that he sees in the jungle.

Songs, Rhymes, and Fingerplays

Have You Seen My Cat?

Have you seen my cat?
My furry, tabby cat?
Is he under the ________ hat?

The Color I See

Red, red is the color I see.
If you’ve got red, then show it to me.
Stand up, take a bow, turn around.
Bring up your red and sit back down.

Yellow…
Blue…
Green…
Purple…
Orange…

Source: Verona Storytime

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Zoom, zoom, zoom
We’re looking for the moon.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
We’re looking for the moon.
We think that we will take a look underneath the ________ book.
Zoom, zoom, zoom
We’re looking for the moon. 5,4,3,2,1

Adapted from Jbrary

S-N-A-K-E

Tune: Bingo
I had a snake
he was so green
as green as snakes can be!
S-N-A-K-E, S-N-A-K-E, S-N-A-K-E, 
he is my favorite snake!

Can You Shake Your Egg?

(Tune: Have You Ever Seen?)
Can you shake your egg with me,
egg with me, egg with me?
Can you shake your egg with me
and put it on your (head, knee, belly, etc.)?

Source: Verona Storytime

Spider on the Farm

(Tune: Old MacDonald)
A busy spider lived on a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.
And on that farm she met a _________ *
E-I-E-I-O.
With a _____   _____ here,
And a _____   _____ there.
Here a _____ , there a _____ ,
Everywhere a _____  _____ .
A busy spider lived on a farm,
E-I-E-I-O.
*horse, cow, sheep, goat, pig, dog, cat, duck, rooster…
And she caught a fly in her web… Yum! Yum!

Shake My Sillies Out

I’ve gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
Shake, shake, shake my sillies out
And wiggle my waggles away

I’ve gotta clap, clap, clap my crazies out…
I’ve gotta jump, jump, jump my jiggles out…
I’ve gotta yawn, yawn, yawn my sleepies out…
I’ve gotta shake, shake, shake my sillies out.

Source: Hope Harrison

Crafts and Activities

Coloring page featuring all of the animals from the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Brown Bear coloring page

Standing cat craft

Standing Cat Craft

Coloring page featuring a house, the moon, and a cat.

House and Moon coloring page

Moon Phase Viewer craft

Moon Phase Viewer

Coloring page with the Very Hungry Caterpillar being help up by balloons.

Very Hungry Caterpillar on Balloons

Cupcake Liner Caterpillar Craft

Cupcake Liner Caterpillar

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