This summer my fiance and I embarked on an over 2,000 mile road trip to his home state of Vermont. We explored so many interesting things along the journey throughout New England. One of my top requests was to stop at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts. It's a quintessential New England college town that is also famous for being the hometown of Emily Dickinson. Considering that I'm a reading teacher, avid admirer of children's literature, and a lover of a great museum gift shop, it was right up my alley!
Here's the main link so you can take a peek:
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| This is me posing with the "photo opportunity" Very Hungry Caterpillar. :) |
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| Four very large canvases line the central hall which were created by Carle. |
The museum has a sense of talking to children with a sense of understanding and respect. Bins of books from the artists are in bins in each room of the three galleries for children to explore and connect to the exhibitions. Pencils, clip boards, and interactive pamphlets are right at a child's level of grabbing a hold of to use. A fantastic library is also accessible for visitors to sit and explore together. There is an AMAZING museum store, and a room for children to experiment with making art to take home. There are also numerous talks and performances occur throughout the year in their auditorium. These photos were taken out in the main hall, and I obviously couldn't take photos of the actual art in the exhibitions. It was really neat to actually see the art of Eric Carle, as well as Leo Lionni and other artists. If you are ever up that way, be sure to check it out!
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| This banner hung in front of the museum's children's library. I love it! |
- The Official Eric Carle website for the author
- Book Lists and Suggestions from the knowledgeable staff of the Carle
- This book, Artist to Artist, was given to me by a special friend and fellow children's book lover Denise Johnson. It's still one of my very favorites in my writing workshop process book collection. :) There are 23 artists who share about their process, photos, and drafts of their work. The proceeds from this book support the Carle Museum.
- Eric Carle talking about The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It was filmed for the 40th celebration of this classic picture book. It includes Eric Carle talking about the inspiration, process, and shows him creating the caterpillar.
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Isn't this such a cool car? :) You can promote literacy everywhere you drive in this! :) |
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