The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The canonical entry point and Eric Carle's best-known picture book.
Author guide
Eric Carle Books in Order
Eric Carle (1929–2021) was an American author, designer, and illustrator of children's books. Educated in Germany and later based in the United States, he created more than seventy books, usually writing and illustrating them with brightly colored hand-painted-paper collages. His work often combines simple cumulative narratives with natural-history concepts and interactive formats such as die-cut pages, foldouts, tactile surfaces, and sound. He also wrote folklore retellings, a memoir-like collection of autobiographical stories, and the art autobiography The Art of Eric Carle.
children's literaturepicture booksillustrated booksnonfiction for childrenfolklore retellingsmemoir
Not sure where to begin?
Start with one of these
Pancakes, Pancakes!
A representative early standalone picture book with a clear narrative and nonfiction-like process.
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse
The first book in Carle's late loose trilogy about imaginative art.
Flora and Tiger: 19 Very Short Stories from My Life
The best entry point for older readers seeking Carle's autobiographical short stories.
Read in order
Books by series
quartet · complete
The Very Special Books
A quartet of Eric Carle picture books distinguished by tactile, die-cut, sound, or light-enhanced formats.
trilogy · complete
Blue Horse trilogy
A loose trilogy of late picture books celebrating imaginative, unconventional art and perception.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Nonfiction (1)
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The Art of Eric CarleAmazon ↗art-monograph-and-memoir · 1996
Short fiction (1)
- Flora and Tiger: 19 Very Short Stories from My LifeAmazon ↗
memoir-and-short-story-collection · 1997
Children's books (28)
- 1, 2, 3 to the ZooAmazon ↗
picture-book · 1968
- Pancakes, Pancakes!Amazon ↗
picture-book · 1970
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The Tiny SeedAmazon ↗picture-book · 1970
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Do You Want to Be My Friend?Amazon ↗picture-book · 1971
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Rooster's Off to See the WorldAmazon ↗picture-book · 1972
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The Secret Birthday MessageAmazon ↗picture-book · 1972
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Walter the BakerAmazon ↗picture-book · 1972
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Have You Seen My Cat?Amazon ↗picture-book · 1973
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I See a SongAmazon ↗picture-book · 1973
- All About ArthurAmazon ↗
picture-book · 1974
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The Mixed-Up ChameleonAmazon ↗picture-book · 1975
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The Grouchy LadybugAmazon ↗picture-book · 1977
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The Honeybee and the RobberAmazon ↗picture-book · 1981
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Papa, Please Get the Moon for MeAmazon ↗picture-book · 1986
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A House for Hermit CrabAmazon ↗picture-book · 1987
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The Rabbit and the TurtleAmazon ↗picture-book · 1988
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Draw Me a StarAmazon ↗picture-book · 1992
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My ApronAmazon ↗picture-book · 1994
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Little CloudAmazon ↗picture-book · 1996
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From Head to ToeAmazon ↗picture-book · 1997
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Hello, Red FoxAmazon ↗picture-book · 1998
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The Very Clumsy Click BeetleAmazon ↗picture-book · 1999
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Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?Amazon ↗nonfiction-picture-book · 2000
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Dream SnowAmazon ↗picture-book · 2000
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"Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," Said the SlothAmazon ↗picture-book · 2002
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Where Are You Going? To See My Friend!Amazon ↗bilingual-picture-book · 2003
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Mister SeahorseAmazon ↗picture-book · 2004
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10 Little Rubber DucksAmazon ↗picture-book · 2005
Other (11)
- The Very Long TailAmazon ↗
folding-book · 1972
- The Very Long TrainAmazon ↗
folding-book · 1972
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My Very First Book of ColorsAmazon ↗activity-book · 1974
- My Very First Book of NumbersAmazon ↗
activity-book · 1974
- Eric Carle's Storybook: Seven Tales from the Brothers GrimmAmazon ↗
folklore-collection · 1976
- Seven Stories from Hans Christian AndersenAmazon ↗
folklore-collection · 1978
- Twelve Tales from AesopAmazon ↗
folklore-collection · 1980
- Catch the BallAmazon ↗
activity-book · 1982
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What's for Lunch?Amazon ↗activity-book · 1982
- My Very First Book of Heads and TailsAmazon ↗
activity-book · 1986
- My Very First Book of ToolsAmazon ↗
activity-book · 1986