Description:
From bestselling author and illustrator Eric Carle, the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, comes another classic tale about one very clumsy click beetle. A perfect gift to share with the child or grandchild in your life.
When a little click beetle falls onto his back, he seeks the help of a wise old click beetle. "Look at me," says the more experienced click beetle, giving a loud CLICK and flipping onto its feet. But try as he might, the clumsy little click beetle just can't get the hang of it--or can he? In the tradition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carle creates a winning story of perseverance and pride in achievement complete with an ingenious fiber-optic microchip that truly gives voice to the valiant little beetle as it CLICKs its way through the colorful pages and somersaults into your heart.
Praise for The Very Clumsy Click Beetle:
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
When a little click beetle falls onto his back, he seeks the help of a wise old click beetle. "Look at me," says the more experienced click beetle, giving a loud CLICK and flipping onto its feet. But try as he might, the clumsy little click beetle just can't get the hang of it--or can he? In the tradition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carle creates a winning story of perseverance and pride in achievement complete with an ingenious fiber-optic microchip that truly gives voice to the valiant little beetle as it CLICKs its way through the colorful pages and somersaults into your heart.
Praise for The Very Clumsy Click Beetle:
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Eric Carle first published The Very Hungry Caterpillar in 1969, fully intending to create a series of interactive creature books for children. The beloved busy spider, quiet cricket, and lonely firefly books followed, but the artist's quest was not truly complete until The Very Clumsy Click Beetle was born. Carle, who says he'd rather watch a bug attempt to climb over a pebble than join an expedition to Mount Everest, appreciates the small things in life: the Eyed Elator (Alaus oculatus), to be exact--unremarkable except for that when this beetle falls on its back, it can't roll over to get up. Instead, it will stretch and release a snap mechanism that clicks and flips the beetle through the air, and ideally, back onto its feet.
The very clumsy click beetle has no trouble with the clicking and flipping part, but it does have trouble landing on its feet. The young beetle tries and tries again, encouraged by an ambling turtle, a slithering snail, and a scurrying mouse. Finally, when a curious boy approaches, the beetle takes coaching from a wise old click beetle ("QUICK, CLICK and FLIP!") and succeeds. Children will love the bright, bold, tissue-paper illustrations that tell this story of perseverance, as well as--of course--the unusual clicking sound (emanating from an electronic chip with built-in battery and light sensor) that accompanies this playful book. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1999 by Eric Carle. Permission of Philomel Books.) (Preschool and older) --Karin Snelson
From Library Journal
Pres-Grade 2-Carle's charming little hero gets stuck on its back and can't get up. An elder click beetle advises the youngster how to right itself, but it can't quite get the hang of flipping itself over on its legs. Encouraged to keep trying by a turtle, a snail, a worm, and a mouse, the small creature becomes more and more discouraged as it keeps landing on its back. When a curious boy starts investigating, the beetle becomes frightened and finally executes the perfect click and flip to land on its feet. The book features a clicking sound effect at the end, courtesy of a strategically placed microchip. Done in colored tissue-paper collage, the illustrations burst from the pages and are charmingly rendered. When the boy is introduced, readers see him from the beetle's perspective, as just two huge feet. Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children.
Jane Claes, Texas Woman's University, Denton
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Jane Claes, Texas Woman's University, Denton
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This winning addition to Carle's ouevre stars a clumsy click beetle, an insect whose distinctive locomotion is explained in an opening note: when it falls on its back, a click beetle cannot roll over. Instead, it stretches, clicks, and then flips through the air. After being shown how to land on its feet by a wise mentor, this young beetle is ready to strut its stuff. But as an earthworm, turtle, snail, and mouse saunter by, the beetle can land only on its back. The threat of a young boy's outstretched palm finally motivates the bug to get going. All of Carle's "Very Special" books feature some added sensory feature. Here, the microchip that replicates the insect's noise is a well-placed surprise. Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute. Although Carle treads familiar territory here, preschoolers won't mind; they'll relate to the protagonist's cry of "Look at me!" and the final acknowledgment, "You have done it!" Julie Corsaro
Review
Praise for The Very Clumsy Click Beetle:
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
From the Inside Flap
HEAR the beetle CLICK as it flips through the pages of this book and learns how to land on its feet!
"Look at me!" calls the little click beetle as it clicks and flips through the air. But -- "How very clumsy of me!" it exclaims as it fails, over and over again, to land on its feet. "Keep on trying", urges the patient turtle. "Don't worry, you'll get there", says the slow-moving snail.
Small readers will recognize and empathize with the clumsy little beetle's eagerness to learn what the older beetle can already do so well. They will understand, too, its frustration when at first it fails. And they will surely rejoice in its eventual triumph.
Here, in colorful collage illustrations and an engaging story, distinguished artist Eric Carle offers readers a message of hope and encouragement. He says, "All young children, as they grow up, have to face a lot of daunting challenges. In this book I wanted to reassure them that practice and perseverance really do pay off".
From the Back Cover
Eric Carle's books are beloved by children everywhere, not only for the striking beauty of the collage illustrations and the fun of the stories, but because children sense his real interest in their own deepest concerns. In this book he deals compassionately with their universal feelings of awkwardness as they go about learning new skills -- and encourages them to keep on trying until they succeed.
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, like all of Eric Carle's Very special books, has an added sensory feature -- in this case, the audible "click" as the reader turns the page. This invites the small child not only to read the text and look at the pictures, but also to listen to the click beetle as it flips through the pages.
About the Author
Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has been translated into 70 languages and sold over 55 million copies. Carle illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 170 million copies of his books have sold around the world. In 2003, Carle received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) for lifetime achievement in children's literature. In 2002, Eric and his wife, Barbara, cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (www.carlemuseum.org) in Amherst, Massachusetts, a 40,000-square-foot space dedicated to the celebration of picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world, underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form. Eric Carle passed away in May 2021 at the age of 91. His work remains an important influence on artists and illustrators at work today. www.eric-carle.com
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
An interview with Eric Carle:
Q: Eric, how did you come to decide on a click beetle for your new book?CARLE: I like little bugs and insects, and I know that they have become my "signatures" -but it's not an artificially arrived-at signature. I grew up fascinated by little worms, bugs, and insects. I suppose my father had a lot to do with it...in our walks around the garden, he would point out these little insects to me. Maybe it was because in Germany we didn't have elephants, giraffes or other large animals, so I had to settle for likinglittle creaturesants, worms, and bugs. But don't you think that most little boys and little girls seem to have an interest in them, too? There are so many surprising things about insectstheir life cycles, for instance. Some, like cicadas, take seven years to hatch, andthen only live for a week or so! Why would nature do that? Recently, I was reading about butterflies and to my surprise I discovered that one species is carnivorous! It eats other insects. And ants are amazing! There are so many different kinds of ants in the same colony, each with its own specializationbuilders, fighters, food hunters and harvesterssome even build mushroom cellars! Fascinating!! The click beetle might seem at first like a dull little guy, but it has this remarkable ability to flip through the air and I found that very interesting! I learned that adult click beetles have this wonderful ability, but do you know that they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time? One out of two attempts is not successful! Don't you think that's strange? What did nature have in mind when it designed a bug that has only a fifty percent chance of getting out of harm's way?Q:Did you have a concept for the book in mind first, and then find the click beetle to fulfill the concept? Or were you fascinated by click beetles and the concept came second?CARLE: Let me take a step back. Thirty years ago, I had written THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR and at one point, I thought it would be nice to have a quartet of books. I just thought a "quartet" sounded like a nice little group for a child to own. So over the years I did write four booksTHE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY and THE VERY QUIET CRICKET. But then I thought, "Gee, a 'quintet' of books would be even nicer!" So I settled on the idea of the click beetle, an insect I had been thinking about for some time. Perseverance seemed to be thenatural theme. Because they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time, it takes perseverance to get really good at it. Of course, that is an anthropomorphic point of view. My little insects are metaphors for children, who have the same problems of learning to walk, to talk, to run, etc. So the importance of "stick-to-itiveness" became the theme for THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE.Q:Perhaps this is an unfair or undiplomatic question, but which of the VERY... books is your favorite?CARLE: All of my books are my beloved children, but THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLARmay be the one I feel closest to because it was my first child. And one always has a soft spot for the first-born.Q:Your art appears deceptively simple, but anyone with an ounce of sense can see that it is very complicated. How long does it take you from conception to finished art?CARLE: Do you mean from the time I begin to actually work on the collages themselves until the end? Well, it varies. About 75% of the creative process goes into thinking the book through, honing the story line, struggling with the concept. I keep wondering if the concept is good or bad. I may put the idea away and keep taking it out again and again,looking at it from every angle. The art itself is the last quarter of the process and it's also the most intensive, but not as personally intensive as the first three-quarters of the effort. The real creative process takes place before I actually begin putting the paper collage pieces on the pages. But the whole book is with me most of the timeI think about itconstantly, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, wondering how I can make it better. Then the artwork becomes a separate unit of the project and that's a new struggle. But it's not as hard a struggle as the initial "thinking it through" stage. I feel very secure with my art although, of course, I have lapses at times. I have doubts one day and thenext day I think it's the best work I've ever done. I waffle between the two and out of that conflict something seems to grow. Sometimes I think it is all easy and wonderful, but that's not true. It really is a struggle at times. When the book is finished there is also a sense of what the French call "la petite mort"the little deathor maybe more appropriately, postpartum separation! And it happens with every book. When it's allfinished I often think, "Could I have done this better or did I do my best?" Sometimes I look at one of my books after it's been in print for five years or so and think, "Oh, I wish I had done that differently." But most of the time, I'm surprised at how enduring my work seems to be. It's not something I set out to do, but it turns out that even THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, written thirty years ago, still looks new and fresh today. Itdoesn't look dated.Q:You seem to have at least two climaxes in each of your books. In THE VERYCLUMSY CLICK BEETLE, the first climax comes when the little click beetle is aboutto be stepped on before he can accomplish the flip, and the second climax is the final joy of his actually being able to do it. Do you consciously set out to do this?CARLE: The fact that I often give my stories double climaxes happens naturally. I never knew I did it! It was my German publisher who first pointed that out to me, and he was right, of course, but I had never noticed it and it was not my conscious intention to do that. It just happened because I thought it added suspense and made for a better story.Q:Which of your books was the most effortless from start to finish?CARLE: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR was the most effortless. It was a joy from start to finish.Q:What do you call your style of cut-paper working?CARLE: It's an art form called collage, in which the image is formed of pieces of paper, cloth or other material, cut and pasted onto a surface. I make my images with self-prepared tissue papers, meaning that I hand-paint all the papers with various textures and colors. I keep a stock of these hand-painted papers, so I have my materials ready to use when I want to create a collage image.Q:Whom do you consider the most outstanding collage artist?CARLE: Kurt Schwitters, a German who worked in the twenties and thirties, is undoubtedly the best. But his work is not like my work at all. In his collages, he used railway tickets, newspapers, and parts of posters. A more pictorial artist would be Matisse. In the children's book world, the outstanding artists would be Leo Leonni, Ezra Jack Keats, and Lois Ehrlert. I often compare my collage papers to a painter's palette; or perhaps theyare more like a painter's brushes and tubes of oil paints.Q:Your books are known for their use of technology. THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY lights up and so on. How did you come to be interested in this?CARLE: (Carle chuckles). As a graphic designer, I have always tried to expand the capabilities of paper. And now with sound chips and light chips and all the other new technology available, I really like the thought of combining paper with this technology to create something new. I'm also interested in the technology of new ideas, and I like the idea of surprise! You know I also have a background in advertising and good advertising usually presents a surprise to the viewer.Q:Were you an artist as a child?CARLE: I always drew pictures, even then. It was my favorite occupation at that time of my life. My parents were very supportive and my relatives brought me watercolors and papers and crayons. My mother would proudly show off my work to anyone who happened to come by.Q:Some of the "lessons" contained in your books - the importance of work in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, the need to belong in THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY, and the need to be loved in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, are very sophisticated concepts, touching sometimes on abstract subjects. How do you get such a complicated and important message across without being either overly wordy or preachy?CARLE: The underlying topics which are addressed in each of the books you mention are indeed very basic and universal desires and needs. Very basic ideas. In the books, these lessons are camouflaged, are not didactically presented; they are not the primary concerns of my books. The primary concern is to tell a good story, to impart just sheer fun and then, secondarily, to educate or to convey some useful idea. In part the ideas come from my own philosophical thoughts and musings. My ability to write them simply and in a way that children can easily understand is intuitive. I try not to intellectualize too much about the ideas in my books. I do remember my own childhood feelings and emotions quite clearly; so perhaps this helps me to understand the basic needs and interests of the youngchildren for whom I create my books. Other than that, I really don't know how I do it. Either you have intuition or you don't. And you have to trust your intuition, too. Trust that it's not going to lead you away from the point you are trying to make, and trust that it is correct in terms of the child reader.Q:For some illustrators, writing is difficult but creating the illustrations is a joy. Is writing easy for you?CARLE: (long pause)..Hmmm...I guess the best way for me to answer that is to tell you that I have pictures that need words, and I have words that need pictures, and that's how I work at it. So the two elements are really closely intertwined. It's not a question of words being easier than pictures, or vice versa.Q:1999 is a big year for you! You are celebrating the 30th birthday of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, your own 70th birthday, and the publication of THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE. Can you tell me some of the highlights of the year so far?CARLE: Well, earlier in the year, I was in London with my English publisher where I was honored and appreciated. That was very nice indeed. The same thing happened in Germany where I had an exhibition at the Picture Book Museum of Troisdorf, which is near Cologne. I also gave two workshops there. And there were some celebrations there also. The mayor honored me by giving me the Golden Key to the town! I was honored at the American Library Association in New Orleans in June, and there's more to come this Fall in New York. Yes, it's been an exciting year. To have a seventieth birthday does feel very special. I think perhaps finally, in my seventieth year, I'm just beginning to become wise - at least I hope so!(Copyright © 1999 Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers)
Q: Eric, how did you come to decide on a click beetle for your new book?CARLE: I like little bugs and insects, and I know that they have become my "signatures" -but it's not an artificially arrived-at signature. I grew up fascinated by little worms, bugs, and insects. I suppose my father had a lot to do with it...in our walks around the garden, he would point out these little insects to me. Maybe it was because in Germany we didn't have elephants, giraffes or other large animals, so I had to settle for likinglittle creaturesants, worms, and bugs. But don't you think that most little boys and little girls seem to have an interest in them, too? There are so many surprising things about insectstheir life cycles, for instance. Some, like cicadas, take seven years to hatch, andthen only live for a week or so! Why would nature do that? Recently, I was reading about butterflies and to my surprise I discovered that one species is carnivorous! It eats other insects. And ants are amazing! There are so many different kinds of ants in the same colony, each with its own specializationbuilders, fighters, food hunters and harvesterssome even build mushroom cellars! Fascinating!! The click beetle might seem at first like a dull little guy, but it has this remarkable ability to flip through the air and I found that very interesting! I learned that adult click beetles have this wonderful ability, but do you know that they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time? One out of two attempts is not successful! Don't you think that's strange? What did nature have in mind when it designed a bug that has only a fifty percent chance of getting out of harm's way?Q:Did you have a concept for the book in mind first, and then find the click beetle to fulfill the concept? Or were you fascinated by click beetles and the concept came second?CARLE: Let me take a step back. Thirty years ago, I had written THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR and at one point, I thought it would be nice to have a quartet of books. I just thought a "quartet" sounded like a nice little group for a child to own. So over the years I did write four booksTHE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY and THE VERY QUIET CRICKET. But then I thought, "Gee, a 'quintet' of books would be even nicer!" So I settled on the idea of the click beetle, an insect I had been thinking about for some time. Perseverance seemed to be thenatural theme. Because they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time, it takes perseverance to get really good at it. Of course, that is an anthropomorphic point of view. My little insects are metaphors for children, who have the same problems of learning to walk, to talk, to run, etc. So the importance of "stick-to-itiveness" became the theme for THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE.Q:Perhaps this is an unfair or undiplomatic question, but which of the VERY... books is your favorite?CARLE: All of my books are my beloved children, but THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLARmay be the one I feel closest to because it was my first child. And one always has a soft spot for the first-born.Q:Your art appears deceptively simple, but anyone with an ounce of sense can see that it is very complicated. How long does it take you from conception to finished art?CARLE: Do you mean from the time I begin to actually work on the collages themselves until the end? Well, it varies. About 75% of the creative process goes into thinking the book through, honing the story line, struggling with the concept. I keep wondering if the concept is good or bad. I may put the idea away and keep taking it out again and again,looking at it from every angle. The art itself is the last quarter of the process and it's also the most intensive, but not as personally intensive as the first three-quarters of the effort. The real creative process takes place before I actually begin putting the paper collage pieces on the pages. But the whole book is with me most of the timeI think about itconstantly, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, wondering how I can make it better. Then the artwork becomes a separate unit of the project and that's a new struggle. But it's not as hard a struggle as the initial "thinking it through" stage. I feel very secure with my art although, of course, I have lapses at times. I have doubts one day and thenext day I think it's the best work I've ever done. I waffle between the two and out of that conflict something seems to grow. Sometimes I think it is all easy and wonderful, but that's not true. It really is a struggle at times. When the book is finished there is also a sense of what the French call "la petite mort"the little deathor maybe more appropriately, postpartum separation! And it happens with every book. When it's allfinished I often think, "Could I have done this better or did I do my best?" Sometimes I look at one of my books after it's been in print for five years or so and think, "Oh, I wish I had done that differently." But most of the time, I'm surprised at how enduring my work seems to be. It's not something I set out to do, but it turns out that even THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, written thirty years ago, still looks new and fresh today. Itdoesn't look dated.Q:You seem to have at least two climaxes in each of your books. In THE VERYCLUMSY CLICK BEETLE, the first climax comes when the little click beetle is aboutto be stepped on before he can accomplish the flip, and the second climax is the final joy of his actually being able to do it. Do you consciously set out to do this?CARLE: The fact that I often give my stories double climaxes happens naturally. I never knew I did it! It was my German publisher who first pointed that out to me, and he was right, of course, but I had never noticed it and it was not my conscious intention to do that. It just happened because I thought it added suspense and made for a better story.Q:Which of your books was the most effortless from start to finish?CARLE: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR was the most effortless. It was a joy from start to finish.Q:What do you call your style of cut-paper working?CARLE: It's an art form called collage, in which the image is formed of pieces of paper, cloth or other material, cut and pasted onto a surface. I make my images with self-prepared tissue papers, meaning that I hand-paint all the papers with various textures and colors. I keep a stock of these hand-painted papers, so I have my materials ready to use when I want to create a collage image.Q:Whom do you consider the most outstanding collage artist?CARLE: Kurt Schwitters, a German who worked in the twenties and thirties, is undoubtedly the best. But his work is not like my work at all. In his collages, he used railway tickets, newspapers, and parts of posters. A more pictorial artist would be Matisse. In the children's book world, the outstanding artists would be Leo Leonni, Ezra Jack Keats, and Lois Ehrlert. I often compare my collage papers to a painter's palette; or perhaps theyare more like a painter's brushes and tubes of oil paints.Q:Your books are known for their use of technology. THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY lights up and so on. How did you come to be interested in this?CARLE: (Carle chuckles). As a graphic designer, I have always tried to expand the capabilities of paper. And now with sound chips and light chips and all the other new technology available, I really like the thought of combining paper with this technology to create something new. I'm also interested in the technology of new ideas, and I like the idea of surprise! You know I also have a background in advertising and good advertising usually presents a surprise to the viewer.Q:Were you an artist as a child?CARLE: I always drew pictures, even then. It was my favorite occupation at that time of my life. My parents were very supportive and my relatives brought me watercolors and papers and crayons. My mother would proudly show off my work to anyone who happened to come by.Q:Some of the "lessons" contained in your books - the importance of work in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, the need to belong in THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY, and the need to be loved in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, are very sophisticated concepts, touching sometimes on abstract subjects. How do you get such a complicated and important message across without being either overly wordy or preachy?CARLE: The underlying topics which are addressed in each of the books you mention are indeed very basic and universal desires and needs. Very basic ideas. In the books, these lessons are camouflaged, are not didactically presented; they are not the primary concerns of my books. The primary concern is to tell a good story, to impart just sheer fun and then, secondarily, to educate or to convey some useful idea. In part the ideas come from my own philosophical thoughts and musings. My ability to write them simply and in a way that children can easily understand is intuitive. I try not to intellectualize too much about the ideas in my books. I do remember my own childhood feelings and emotions quite clearly; so perhaps this helps me to understand the basic needs and interests of the youngchildren for whom I create my books. Other than that, I really don't know how I do it. Either you have intuition or you don't. And you have to trust your intuition, too. Trust that it's not going to lead you away from the point you are trying to make, and trust that it is correct in terms of the child reader.Q:For some illustrators, writing is difficult but creating the illustrations is a joy. Is writing easy for you?CARLE: (long pause)..Hmmm...I guess the best way for me to answer that is to tell you that I have pictures that need words, and I have words that need pictures, and that's how I work at it. So the two elements are really closely intertwined. It's not a question of words being easier than pictures, or vice versa.Q:1999 is a big year for you! You are celebrating the 30th birthday of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, your own 70th birthday, and the publication of THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE. Can you tell me some of the highlights of the year so far?CARLE: Well, earlier in the year, I was in London with my English publisher where I was honored and appreciated. That was very nice indeed. The same thing happened in Germany where I had an exhibition at the Picture Book Museum of Troisdorf, which is near Cologne. I also gave two workshops there. And there were some celebrations there also. The mayor honored me by giving me the Golden Key to the town! I was honored at the American Library Association in New Orleans in June, and there's more to come this Fall in New York. Yes, it's been an exciting year. To have a seventieth birthday does feel very special. I think perhaps finally, in my seventieth year, I'm just beginning to become wise - at least I hope so!(Copyright © 1999 Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers)
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Visit the World of Eric Carle Store
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle (Eric Carle's Very Series)
Product ID: U039923201K
Condition: New
AED10590
Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Type: Hardcover
Availability: In Stock
Quantity:
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Order today to get by 7-14 business days
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Imported From: United States
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Visit the World of Eric Carle Store
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle (Eric Carle's Very Series)
Product ID: U039923201K
Condition: New
Type: Hardcover
AED10590
Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Availability: In Stock
Quantity:
|
Order today to get by 7-14 business days
Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.
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Description:
From bestselling author and illustrator Eric Carle, the creator of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, comes another classic tale about one very clumsy click beetle. A perfect gift to share with the child or grandchild in your life.
When a little click beetle falls onto his back, he seeks the help of a wise old click beetle. "Look at me," says the more experienced click beetle, giving a loud CLICK and flipping onto its feet. But try as he might, the clumsy little click beetle just can't get the hang of it--or can he? In the tradition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carle creates a winning story of perseverance and pride in achievement complete with an ingenious fiber-optic microchip that truly gives voice to the valiant little beetle as it CLICKs its way through the colorful pages and somersaults into your heart.
Praise for The Very Clumsy Click Beetle:
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
When a little click beetle falls onto his back, he seeks the help of a wise old click beetle. "Look at me," says the more experienced click beetle, giving a loud CLICK and flipping onto its feet. But try as he might, the clumsy little click beetle just can't get the hang of it--or can he? In the tradition of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Carle creates a winning story of perseverance and pride in achievement complete with an ingenious fiber-optic microchip that truly gives voice to the valiant little beetle as it CLICKs its way through the colorful pages and somersaults into your heart.
Praise for The Very Clumsy Click Beetle:
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Eric Carle first published The Very Hungry Caterpillar in 1969, fully intending to create a series of interactive creature books for children. The beloved busy spider, quiet cricket, and lonely firefly books followed, but the artist's quest was not truly complete until The Very Clumsy Click Beetle was born. Carle, who says he'd rather watch a bug attempt to climb over a pebble than join an expedition to Mount Everest, appreciates the small things in life: the Eyed Elator (Alaus oculatus), to be exact--unremarkable except for that when this beetle falls on its back, it can't roll over to get up. Instead, it will stretch and release a snap mechanism that clicks and flips the beetle through the air, and ideally, back onto its feet.
The very clumsy click beetle has no trouble with the clicking and flipping part, but it does have trouble landing on its feet. The young beetle tries and tries again, encouraged by an ambling turtle, a slithering snail, and a scurrying mouse. Finally, when a curious boy approaches, the beetle takes coaching from a wise old click beetle ("QUICK, CLICK and FLIP!") and succeeds. Children will love the bright, bold, tissue-paper illustrations that tell this story of perseverance, as well as--of course--the unusual clicking sound (emanating from an electronic chip with built-in battery and light sensor) that accompanies this playful book. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1999 by Eric Carle. Permission of Philomel Books.) (Preschool and older) --Karin Snelson
From Library Journal
Pres-Grade 2-Carle's charming little hero gets stuck on its back and can't get up. An elder click beetle advises the youngster how to right itself, but it can't quite get the hang of flipping itself over on its legs. Encouraged to keep trying by a turtle, a snail, a worm, and a mouse, the small creature becomes more and more discouraged as it keeps landing on its back. When a curious boy starts investigating, the beetle becomes frightened and finally executes the perfect click and flip to land on its feet. The book features a clicking sound effect at the end, courtesy of a strategically placed microchip. Done in colored tissue-paper collage, the illustrations burst from the pages and are charmingly rendered. When the boy is introduced, readers see him from the beetle's perspective, as just two huge feet. Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children.
Jane Claes, Texas Woman's University, Denton
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Jane Claes, Texas Woman's University, Denton
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This winning addition to Carle's ouevre stars a clumsy click beetle, an insect whose distinctive locomotion is explained in an opening note: when it falls on its back, a click beetle cannot roll over. Instead, it stretches, clicks, and then flips through the air. After being shown how to land on its feet by a wise mentor, this young beetle is ready to strut its stuff. But as an earthworm, turtle, snail, and mouse saunter by, the beetle can land only on its back. The threat of a young boy's outstretched palm finally motivates the bug to get going. All of Carle's "Very Special" books feature some added sensory feature. Here, the microchip that replicates the insect's noise is a well-placed surprise. Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute. Although Carle treads familiar territory here, preschoolers won't mind; they'll relate to the protagonist's cry of "Look at me!" and the final acknowledgment, "You have done it!" Julie Corsaro
Review
Praise for The Very Clumsy Click Beetle:
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
"Sure to be loved and requested again and again, Click Beetle is a well-crafted story, joyfully illustrated, that speaks to the hearts of young children."--Library Journal
"At once stark and sophisticated, Carle's trademark collage art fills the pages of his latest Very volume."--Publishers Weekly
"Carle's trademark artwork, featuring large, colorful collages set against expansive white space, is--as always--a strong attribute."--Booklist
From the Inside Flap
HEAR the beetle CLICK as it flips through the pages of this book and learns how to land on its feet!
"Look at me!" calls the little click beetle as it clicks and flips through the air. But -- "How very clumsy of me!" it exclaims as it fails, over and over again, to land on its feet. "Keep on trying", urges the patient turtle. "Don't worry, you'll get there", says the slow-moving snail.
Small readers will recognize and empathize with the clumsy little beetle's eagerness to learn what the older beetle can already do so well. They will understand, too, its frustration when at first it fails. And they will surely rejoice in its eventual triumph.
Here, in colorful collage illustrations and an engaging story, distinguished artist Eric Carle offers readers a message of hope and encouragement. He says, "All young children, as they grow up, have to face a lot of daunting challenges. In this book I wanted to reassure them that practice and perseverance really do pay off".
From the Back Cover
Eric Carle's books are beloved by children everywhere, not only for the striking beauty of the collage illustrations and the fun of the stories, but because children sense his real interest in their own deepest concerns. In this book he deals compassionately with their universal feelings of awkwardness as they go about learning new skills -- and encourages them to keep on trying until they succeed.
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, like all of Eric Carle's Very special books, has an added sensory feature -- in this case, the audible "click" as the reader turns the page. This invites the small child not only to read the text and look at the pictures, but also to listen to the click beetle as it flips through the pages.
About the Author
Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has been translated into 70 languages and sold over 55 million copies. Carle illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 170 million copies of his books have sold around the world. In 2003, Carle received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (now called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) for lifetime achievement in children's literature. In 2002, Eric and his wife, Barbara, cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (www.carlemuseum.org) in Amherst, Massachusetts, a 40,000-square-foot space dedicated to the celebration of picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world, underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form. Eric Carle passed away in May 2021 at the age of 91. His work remains an important influence on artists and illustrators at work today. www.eric-carle.com
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
An interview with Eric Carle:
Q: Eric, how did you come to decide on a click beetle for your new book?CARLE: I like little bugs and insects, and I know that they have become my "signatures" -but it's not an artificially arrived-at signature. I grew up fascinated by little worms, bugs, and insects. I suppose my father had a lot to do with it...in our walks around the garden, he would point out these little insects to me. Maybe it was because in Germany we didn't have elephants, giraffes or other large animals, so I had to settle for likinglittle creaturesants, worms, and bugs. But don't you think that most little boys and little girls seem to have an interest in them, too? There are so many surprising things about insectstheir life cycles, for instance. Some, like cicadas, take seven years to hatch, andthen only live for a week or so! Why would nature do that? Recently, I was reading about butterflies and to my surprise I discovered that one species is carnivorous! It eats other insects. And ants are amazing! There are so many different kinds of ants in the same colony, each with its own specializationbuilders, fighters, food hunters and harvesterssome even build mushroom cellars! Fascinating!! The click beetle might seem at first like a dull little guy, but it has this remarkable ability to flip through the air and I found that very interesting! I learned that adult click beetles have this wonderful ability, but do you know that they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time? One out of two attempts is not successful! Don't you think that's strange? What did nature have in mind when it designed a bug that has only a fifty percent chance of getting out of harm's way?Q:Did you have a concept for the book in mind first, and then find the click beetle to fulfill the concept? Or were you fascinated by click beetles and the concept came second?CARLE: Let me take a step back. Thirty years ago, I had written THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR and at one point, I thought it would be nice to have a quartet of books. I just thought a "quartet" sounded like a nice little group for a child to own. So over the years I did write four booksTHE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY and THE VERY QUIET CRICKET. But then I thought, "Gee, a 'quintet' of books would be even nicer!" So I settled on the idea of the click beetle, an insect I had been thinking about for some time. Perseverance seemed to be thenatural theme. Because they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time, it takes perseverance to get really good at it. Of course, that is an anthropomorphic point of view. My little insects are metaphors for children, who have the same problems of learning to walk, to talk, to run, etc. So the importance of "stick-to-itiveness" became the theme for THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE.Q:Perhaps this is an unfair or undiplomatic question, but which of the VERY... books is your favorite?CARLE: All of my books are my beloved children, but THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLARmay be the one I feel closest to because it was my first child. And one always has a soft spot for the first-born.Q:Your art appears deceptively simple, but anyone with an ounce of sense can see that it is very complicated. How long does it take you from conception to finished art?CARLE: Do you mean from the time I begin to actually work on the collages themselves until the end? Well, it varies. About 75% of the creative process goes into thinking the book through, honing the story line, struggling with the concept. I keep wondering if the concept is good or bad. I may put the idea away and keep taking it out again and again,looking at it from every angle. The art itself is the last quarter of the process and it's also the most intensive, but not as personally intensive as the first three-quarters of the effort. The real creative process takes place before I actually begin putting the paper collage pieces on the pages. But the whole book is with me most of the timeI think about itconstantly, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, wondering how I can make it better. Then the artwork becomes a separate unit of the project and that's a new struggle. But it's not as hard a struggle as the initial "thinking it through" stage. I feel very secure with my art although, of course, I have lapses at times. I have doubts one day and thenext day I think it's the best work I've ever done. I waffle between the two and out of that conflict something seems to grow. Sometimes I think it is all easy and wonderful, but that's not true. It really is a struggle at times. When the book is finished there is also a sense of what the French call "la petite mort"the little deathor maybe more appropriately, postpartum separation! And it happens with every book. When it's allfinished I often think, "Could I have done this better or did I do my best?" Sometimes I look at one of my books after it's been in print for five years or so and think, "Oh, I wish I had done that differently." But most of the time, I'm surprised at how enduring my work seems to be. It's not something I set out to do, but it turns out that even THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, written thirty years ago, still looks new and fresh today. Itdoesn't look dated.Q:You seem to have at least two climaxes in each of your books. In THE VERYCLUMSY CLICK BEETLE, the first climax comes when the little click beetle is aboutto be stepped on before he can accomplish the flip, and the second climax is the final joy of his actually being able to do it. Do you consciously set out to do this?CARLE: The fact that I often give my stories double climaxes happens naturally. I never knew I did it! It was my German publisher who first pointed that out to me, and he was right, of course, but I had never noticed it and it was not my conscious intention to do that. It just happened because I thought it added suspense and made for a better story.Q:Which of your books was the most effortless from start to finish?CARLE: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR was the most effortless. It was a joy from start to finish.Q:What do you call your style of cut-paper working?CARLE: It's an art form called collage, in which the image is formed of pieces of paper, cloth or other material, cut and pasted onto a surface. I make my images with self-prepared tissue papers, meaning that I hand-paint all the papers with various textures and colors. I keep a stock of these hand-painted papers, so I have my materials ready to use when I want to create a collage image.Q:Whom do you consider the most outstanding collage artist?CARLE: Kurt Schwitters, a German who worked in the twenties and thirties, is undoubtedly the best. But his work is not like my work at all. In his collages, he used railway tickets, newspapers, and parts of posters. A more pictorial artist would be Matisse. In the children's book world, the outstanding artists would be Leo Leonni, Ezra Jack Keats, and Lois Ehrlert. I often compare my collage papers to a painter's palette; or perhaps theyare more like a painter's brushes and tubes of oil paints.Q:Your books are known for their use of technology. THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY lights up and so on. How did you come to be interested in this?CARLE: (Carle chuckles). As a graphic designer, I have always tried to expand the capabilities of paper. And now with sound chips and light chips and all the other new technology available, I really like the thought of combining paper with this technology to create something new. I'm also interested in the technology of new ideas, and I like the idea of surprise! You know I also have a background in advertising and good advertising usually presents a surprise to the viewer.Q:Were you an artist as a child?CARLE: I always drew pictures, even then. It was my favorite occupation at that time of my life. My parents were very supportive and my relatives brought me watercolors and papers and crayons. My mother would proudly show off my work to anyone who happened to come by.Q:Some of the "lessons" contained in your books - the importance of work in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, the need to belong in THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY, and the need to be loved in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, are very sophisticated concepts, touching sometimes on abstract subjects. How do you get such a complicated and important message across without being either overly wordy or preachy?CARLE: The underlying topics which are addressed in each of the books you mention are indeed very basic and universal desires and needs. Very basic ideas. In the books, these lessons are camouflaged, are not didactically presented; they are not the primary concerns of my books. The primary concern is to tell a good story, to impart just sheer fun and then, secondarily, to educate or to convey some useful idea. In part the ideas come from my own philosophical thoughts and musings. My ability to write them simply and in a way that children can easily understand is intuitive. I try not to intellectualize too much about the ideas in my books. I do remember my own childhood feelings and emotions quite clearly; so perhaps this helps me to understand the basic needs and interests of the youngchildren for whom I create my books. Other than that, I really don't know how I do it. Either you have intuition or you don't. And you have to trust your intuition, too. Trust that it's not going to lead you away from the point you are trying to make, and trust that it is correct in terms of the child reader.Q:For some illustrators, writing is difficult but creating the illustrations is a joy. Is writing easy for you?CARLE: (long pause)..Hmmm...I guess the best way for me to answer that is to tell you that I have pictures that need words, and I have words that need pictures, and that's how I work at it. So the two elements are really closely intertwined. It's not a question of words being easier than pictures, or vice versa.Q:1999 is a big year for you! You are celebrating the 30th birthday of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, your own 70th birthday, and the publication of THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE. Can you tell me some of the highlights of the year so far?CARLE: Well, earlier in the year, I was in London with my English publisher where I was honored and appreciated. That was very nice indeed. The same thing happened in Germany where I had an exhibition at the Picture Book Museum of Troisdorf, which is near Cologne. I also gave two workshops there. And there were some celebrations there also. The mayor honored me by giving me the Golden Key to the town! I was honored at the American Library Association in New Orleans in June, and there's more to come this Fall in New York. Yes, it's been an exciting year. To have a seventieth birthday does feel very special. I think perhaps finally, in my seventieth year, I'm just beginning to become wise - at least I hope so!(Copyright © 1999 Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers)
Q: Eric, how did you come to decide on a click beetle for your new book?CARLE: I like little bugs and insects, and I know that they have become my "signatures" -but it's not an artificially arrived-at signature. I grew up fascinated by little worms, bugs, and insects. I suppose my father had a lot to do with it...in our walks around the garden, he would point out these little insects to me. Maybe it was because in Germany we didn't have elephants, giraffes or other large animals, so I had to settle for likinglittle creaturesants, worms, and bugs. But don't you think that most little boys and little girls seem to have an interest in them, too? There are so many surprising things about insectstheir life cycles, for instance. Some, like cicadas, take seven years to hatch, andthen only live for a week or so! Why would nature do that? Recently, I was reading about butterflies and to my surprise I discovered that one species is carnivorous! It eats other insects. And ants are amazing! There are so many different kinds of ants in the same colony, each with its own specializationbuilders, fighters, food hunters and harvesterssome even build mushroom cellars! Fascinating!! The click beetle might seem at first like a dull little guy, but it has this remarkable ability to flip through the air and I found that very interesting! I learned that adult click beetles have this wonderful ability, but do you know that they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time? One out of two attempts is not successful! Don't you think that's strange? What did nature have in mind when it designed a bug that has only a fifty percent chance of getting out of harm's way?Q:Did you have a concept for the book in mind first, and then find the click beetle to fulfill the concept? Or were you fascinated by click beetles and the concept came second?CARLE: Let me take a step back. Thirty years ago, I had written THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR and at one point, I thought it would be nice to have a quartet of books. I just thought a "quartet" sounded like a nice little group for a child to own. So over the years I did write four booksTHE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY and THE VERY QUIET CRICKET. But then I thought, "Gee, a 'quintet' of books would be even nicer!" So I settled on the idea of the click beetle, an insect I had been thinking about for some time. Perseverance seemed to be thenatural theme. Because they only land on their feet fifty percent of the time, it takes perseverance to get really good at it. Of course, that is an anthropomorphic point of view. My little insects are metaphors for children, who have the same problems of learning to walk, to talk, to run, etc. So the importance of "stick-to-itiveness" became the theme for THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE.Q:Perhaps this is an unfair or undiplomatic question, but which of the VERY... books is your favorite?CARLE: All of my books are my beloved children, but THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLARmay be the one I feel closest to because it was my first child. And one always has a soft spot for the first-born.Q:Your art appears deceptively simple, but anyone with an ounce of sense can see that it is very complicated. How long does it take you from conception to finished art?CARLE: Do you mean from the time I begin to actually work on the collages themselves until the end? Well, it varies. About 75% of the creative process goes into thinking the book through, honing the story line, struggling with the concept. I keep wondering if the concept is good or bad. I may put the idea away and keep taking it out again and again,looking at it from every angle. The art itself is the last quarter of the process and it's also the most intensive, but not as personally intensive as the first three-quarters of the effort. The real creative process takes place before I actually begin putting the paper collage pieces on the pages. But the whole book is with me most of the timeI think about itconstantly, sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, wondering how I can make it better. Then the artwork becomes a separate unit of the project and that's a new struggle. But it's not as hard a struggle as the initial "thinking it through" stage. I feel very secure with my art although, of course, I have lapses at times. I have doubts one day and thenext day I think it's the best work I've ever done. I waffle between the two and out of that conflict something seems to grow. Sometimes I think it is all easy and wonderful, but that's not true. It really is a struggle at times. When the book is finished there is also a sense of what the French call "la petite mort"the little deathor maybe more appropriately, postpartum separation! And it happens with every book. When it's allfinished I often think, "Could I have done this better or did I do my best?" Sometimes I look at one of my books after it's been in print for five years or so and think, "Oh, I wish I had done that differently." But most of the time, I'm surprised at how enduring my work seems to be. It's not something I set out to do, but it turns out that even THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, written thirty years ago, still looks new and fresh today. Itdoesn't look dated.Q:You seem to have at least two climaxes in each of your books. In THE VERYCLUMSY CLICK BEETLE, the first climax comes when the little click beetle is aboutto be stepped on before he can accomplish the flip, and the second climax is the final joy of his actually being able to do it. Do you consciously set out to do this?CARLE: The fact that I often give my stories double climaxes happens naturally. I never knew I did it! It was my German publisher who first pointed that out to me, and he was right, of course, but I had never noticed it and it was not my conscious intention to do that. It just happened because I thought it added suspense and made for a better story.Q:Which of your books was the most effortless from start to finish?CARLE: THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR was the most effortless. It was a joy from start to finish.Q:What do you call your style of cut-paper working?CARLE: It's an art form called collage, in which the image is formed of pieces of paper, cloth or other material, cut and pasted onto a surface. I make my images with self-prepared tissue papers, meaning that I hand-paint all the papers with various textures and colors. I keep a stock of these hand-painted papers, so I have my materials ready to use when I want to create a collage image.Q:Whom do you consider the most outstanding collage artist?CARLE: Kurt Schwitters, a German who worked in the twenties and thirties, is undoubtedly the best. But his work is not like my work at all. In his collages, he used railway tickets, newspapers, and parts of posters. A more pictorial artist would be Matisse. In the children's book world, the outstanding artists would be Leo Leonni, Ezra Jack Keats, and Lois Ehrlert. I often compare my collage papers to a painter's palette; or perhaps theyare more like a painter's brushes and tubes of oil paints.Q:Your books are known for their use of technology. THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY lights up and so on. How did you come to be interested in this?CARLE: (Carle chuckles). As a graphic designer, I have always tried to expand the capabilities of paper. And now with sound chips and light chips and all the other new technology available, I really like the thought of combining paper with this technology to create something new. I'm also interested in the technology of new ideas, and I like the idea of surprise! You know I also have a background in advertising and good advertising usually presents a surprise to the viewer.Q:Were you an artist as a child?CARLE: I always drew pictures, even then. It was my favorite occupation at that time of my life. My parents were very supportive and my relatives brought me watercolors and papers and crayons. My mother would proudly show off my work to anyone who happened to come by.Q:Some of the "lessons" contained in your books - the importance of work in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, the need to belong in THE VERY LONELY FIREFLY, and the need to be loved in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, are very sophisticated concepts, touching sometimes on abstract subjects. How do you get such a complicated and important message across without being either overly wordy or preachy?CARLE: The underlying topics which are addressed in each of the books you mention are indeed very basic and universal desires and needs. Very basic ideas. In the books, these lessons are camouflaged, are not didactically presented; they are not the primary concerns of my books. The primary concern is to tell a good story, to impart just sheer fun and then, secondarily, to educate or to convey some useful idea. In part the ideas come from my own philosophical thoughts and musings. My ability to write them simply and in a way that children can easily understand is intuitive. I try not to intellectualize too much about the ideas in my books. I do remember my own childhood feelings and emotions quite clearly; so perhaps this helps me to understand the basic needs and interests of the youngchildren for whom I create my books. Other than that, I really don't know how I do it. Either you have intuition or you don't. And you have to trust your intuition, too. Trust that it's not going to lead you away from the point you are trying to make, and trust that it is correct in terms of the child reader.Q:For some illustrators, writing is difficult but creating the illustrations is a joy. Is writing easy for you?CARLE: (long pause)..Hmmm...I guess the best way for me to answer that is to tell you that I have pictures that need words, and I have words that need pictures, and that's how I work at it. So the two elements are really closely intertwined. It's not a question of words being easier than pictures, or vice versa.Q:1999 is a big year for you! You are celebrating the 30th birthday of THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, your own 70th birthday, and the publication of THE VERY CLUMSY CLICK BEETLE. Can you tell me some of the highlights of the year so far?CARLE: Well, earlier in the year, I was in London with my English publisher where I was honored and appreciated. That was very nice indeed. The same thing happened in Germany where I had an exhibition at the Picture Book Museum of Troisdorf, which is near Cologne. I also gave two workshops there. And there were some celebrations there also. The mayor honored me by giving me the Golden Key to the town! I was honored at the American Library Association in New Orleans in June, and there's more to come this Fall in New York. Yes, it's been an exciting year. To have a seventieth birthday does feel very special. I think perhaps finally, in my seventieth year, I'm just beginning to become wise - at least I hope so!(Copyright © 1999 Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers)
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