Eric Carle (1929 – 2021) was a highly acclaimed and beloved author, illustrator, and creator of more than seventy picture books for young children. In a 2012 survey of School Library Journal readers, his most famous work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, was voted the number two children's picture book, bested only by Where the Wild Things Are. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, published in 1969, has been translated into sixty languages and sold over thirty-eight million copies. Born in Syracuse, New York in 1929, Carle moved with his parents to Germany when he was six. He was educated there and graduated from a prestigious art school in Stuttgart. Eager to return to the U.S., Carle returned to New York City in 1952 and began working as a graphic designer for The New York Times. He was later, for many years, the art director of an advertising agency. Carle illustrated Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, a collaboration with writer Bill Martin Jr., in 1967. The book became a bestseller and established Carle's career. Carle's work has been honored with numerous awards, including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his contributions to American children's literature.