Little Cloud

by Eric Carle, Kathy Darling

Overview

The clouds drift across the bright blue sky-all except one. Little Cloud trails behind. He is busy changing shapes to become a fluffy sheep, a zooming airplane, and even a clown with a funny hat. Eric Carle's trademark collages will make every reader want to run outside and discover their very own little cloud.

As minimalist as the text, these images may well inspire kids to cast more creative glances at the sky. (Publishers Weekly)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399230349
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/28/1996
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.31(w) x 12.31(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

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 eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 25 languages and sold over twelve million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than sixty books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote.

Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, Eric Carle moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old; he was educated there, and graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Kunste, in Stuttgart. But his dream was always to return to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories. So, in 1952, with a fine portfolio in hand and forty dollars in his pocket, he arrived in New York. Soon he found a job as a graphic designer in the promotion department of The New York Times. Later, he was the art director of an advertising agency for many years.

One day, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask Carle to illustrate a story he had written. Martin's eye had been caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Carle had created for an advertisement. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was the result of their collaboration. It is still a favorite with children everywhere. This was the beginning of Eric Carle's true career. Soon Carle was writing his own stories, too. His first wholly original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, followed soon afterward by the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Eric Carle's art is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His art work is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and cheerful images. Many of his books have an added dimension - die-cut pages, twinkling lights as in The Very Lonely Firefly, even the lifelike sound of a cricket's song as in The Very Quiet Cricket - giving them a playful quality: a toy that can be read, a book that can be touched. Children also enjoy working in collage and many send him pictures they have made themselves, inspired by his illustrations. He receives hundreds of letters each week from his young admirers. The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions.

The themes of his stories are usually drawn from his extensive knowledge and love of nature - an interest shared by most small children. Besides being beautiful and entertaining, his books always offer the child the opportunity to learn something about the world around them. It is his concern for children, for their feelings and their inquisitiveness, for their creativity and their intellectual growth that, in addition to his beautiful artwork, makes the reading of his books such a stimulating and lasting experience.

Carle says: "With many of my books I attempt to bridge the gap between the home and school. To me home represents, or should represent; warmth, security, toys, holding hands, being held. School is a strange and new place for a child. Will it be a happy place? There are new people, a teacher, classmates - will they be friendly? I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born. Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun."

copyright © 2000 by Penguin Group (USA) Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.

Hometown:

Northampton, Massachusetts and the Berkshires

Date of Birth:

June 25, 1929

Place of Birth:

Syracuse, New York

Education:

Akademie der bildenden Künste, Stuttgart, 1946-50

Website:

http://www.eric-carle.com/

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Carle's luminous collage art features broad, swirling strokes reminiscent of finger painting. As minimalist as the text, these images may well inspire kids to cast more creative glances at the sky." —Publishers Weekly

"Simplicity itself....A perfect story-hour choice [that] segues nicely into a trip outside to look at the sky." —Booklist

Editorial Reviews

A minor addition to Carle's lengthy list of child-captivating titles, this lean tale introduces a cloud that changes itself into a handful of shapes. Calling upon memories of objects it has seen, Little Cloud becomes a plane, a shark, trees, a rabbit and a clown before rejoining its peers. At this point they do what clouds are apt to do when they get together: "Then all the clouds changed into one big cloud and rained!" Popping out from a textured background of rich turquoise, Carle's luminous collage art features broad, swirling strokes reminiscent of fingerpainting. As minimalist as the text, these images may well inspire kids to cast more creative glances at the sky. Although the conceit is imaginative, the execution lacks the inventiveness and extra sparkle of such Carle classics as the "Very" quartet. Ages 2-6. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Have you every lain back on the grass, looking at clouds and deciphering their shapes in your imagination? Eric Carle, with his simplistic illustrations, has done just that in this board book. As the clouds go by, Little Cloud trails behind, touching the tops of trees, transforming himself into a sheep, airplane, hat, and the like. Finally he rejoins the other clouds, ending the cloud journey with rain. Blues, greens, and whites are predominately featured in the full-page illustrations. 1998 (orig.

Children's Literature - Mary Sue Preissner

PreS-Gr 1-A familiar story line involving the whimsical world of ever-changing shapes in the sky. Little Cloud drifts away from his wispy friends and entertains himself by changing into a variety of forms-a lamb, an airplane, a shark, a clown, etc.-before joining the others to form one big cloud that rains. Charles Shaw's It Looked Like Spilt Milk (HarperCollins, 1947) explores a similar theme. While the concept is not unique, the style is definitely Carle's own. His trademark painted cut-paper collages are eye-catching and appealing. Children will enjoy the simple text and the colorful illustrations.-Kathy Mitchell, Gadsden Co. Public Library, Quincy, FL

School Library Journal

Carle, who has been writing and illustrating pictures books for almost 40 years, proves that his touch is as sure as ever in this book about a cloud and the shapes it takes on. The format is simplicity itself. Against a heavenly blue background, a little cloud transforms itself. In one spread it turns into a sheep, in another a shark, in a third a rabbit. It even becomes a clown's hat, and then the whole clown. When it joins up with the other clouds, they turn dark together, and then it begins to rain. The oversize format features textured collage cloud shapes that take up almost the whole spread. With only one line of text per spread and such easy-to-see pictures, this qualifies as a perfect story hour choice--and segues nicely into a trip outside to look up at the sky.

Ilene Cooper

"Carle's luminous collage art features broad, swirling strokes reminiscent of finger painting. As minimalist as the text, these images may well inspire kids to cast more creative glances at the sky." —Publishers Weekly

"Simplicity itself....A perfect story-hour choice [that] segues nicely into a trip outside to look at the sky." —Booklist

From the Publisher