‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ author Eric Carle dies at 92

Eric Carle (pictured), the author of the famous children’s book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” died on Sunday (local time). He was 92.

According to the reports from Wednesday, Carle died of kidney failure on Sunday at his studio in Massachusetts. Published in 1969, his crowning work “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is the story of the metamorphosis of a hungry caterpillar to a colorful butterfly after a week of feeding. According to Penguin Random House, the children’s book, which consists of 224 words and drawings, has been translated into around 70 languages including the Korean, selling 55 million copies worldwide. In an interview with the New York Times in 1994, Carle said his book is a book of hope, adding “You, little insignificant caterpillar, can grow up into a beautiful butterfly and fly into the world with your talent.”

Born in the U.S. in 1929 under German immigrant parents, Carle flew back to Germany at the age of six for his homesick mother. He studied graphic arts at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart and went back to the U.S., specializing in illustrations and advertisement design. Carle’s career as a picture book illustrator began after his works were rediscovered by author Bill Martin Jr., and he debuted with “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” his first picture book in 1967.


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