Includes bibliographical references and index.

Eric Carle is one of the world's most beloved artists of children's books. Creator of the classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar, he has captured the imagination of millions of children and adults with his bold, colorful collage illustrations. Eric Carle's life and work are explored in this comprehensive portrait that includes more than sixty full-color illustrations from his books; artwork from his student days; a moving autobiographical account of his life, with photographs; anecdotal reflections by Ann Beneduce, his longtime friend and editor of The Very Hungry Caterpillar; essays on the power of his art by his German publisher, Viktor Christen, and Takeshi Matsumoto, curator at the Chihiro Iwasaki Museum in Tokyo; an insightful speech by Eric Carle originally given at the Children's Literature Center in the Library of Congress; a photographic essay on how he creates his collages; and a full-color illustrated bibliography of all of his books.