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Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert are American author/illustrators who have commonalities in their backgrounds as well as the work they produce. Carle was born in 1929 in New York and was raised between New York and Germany. Ehlert was born in 1935 in Wisconsin. Both authors were raised in families that encouraged their creative tendencies. Ehlert’s parents actively created through woodwork and sewing and fostered their daughter’s artistic side by providing her own table to work on projects. As young adults they both attended art school and initially worked as graphic designers before finding their niche in children’s literature. The first book Carle wrote and illustrated was 1,2,3 Zoo in 1968. Ehlert started her career later, in 1987, with the publication of Growing Vegetable Soup. Although both artists use collage there are differences in their style. This page will explore their use of colorful collage, embellishments, complex images, and educational concepts.

Colorful Collage

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Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert are both well-known illustrators who use bright, bold colors when creating illustrations using the technique of collage. Their illustrations are eye catching and engaging but have variations in their style.

Carle uses tissue paper that is painted in acrylic, while Ehlert has more variety in her use of materials. Ehlert often uses solid paper for the main sections of her illustrations, along with embellishments that will be discussed in the next section. Although both illustrations use vibrant colors, Carle’s work often has more variations in colors, such as streaks, dots, and swirls. This leads to a softer appearance and almost simulates motion in the images. Ehlert’s work is likely to have a solid image which leads to a static appearance.

Embellishments

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Carle and Ehlert enhance their illustrations through the use of embellishments. Carle adds touches of crayons to bring depth, movement, and detail to his illustrations. Although these are small touches, they do an excellent job at finishing off the pictures. Ehlert has several techniques to enhance her illustrations. The first is to layer on other pieces of paper to the background of the image. Another technique is to use found objects, such as scraps of fabrics, pinecones, and bottlecaps. An example of an illustration using found objects is seen in the section below. This creative use of materials adds whimsy and imagination to the illustrations. It also serves as a great example for children of what they can create with everyday objects.

Complex Images

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Collage is a time consuming process due to the multiple steps. Artists create small images that are then combined to create a larger image. Despite the time and effort required to create collage, both illustrators create complex images with multiple pieces. However, the style and technique used varies. Carle’s images use painted pieces of tissue paper, along with small additions of crayon. The use of one main material adds to a feeling of cohesiveness even when the illustrations contain many parts. Ehlert uses a range of materials, such as tissue paper, feathers, and even remnants of food to create her illustrations. The cohesiveness in her illustrations comes from the various materials creating an image that has one theme, such as fish.

Educational

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Young children gain knowledge not only through the words in a book, but also through the pictures. Carle and Ehlert capitalize on the ability of books to teach by including educational elements in their books. Nature is a common theme for both authors. While Carle’s books are primarily focused on nature, they also include other themes such as friendship. Carle also teaches about nature by including people in some of his books, while Ehlert does not include people. Carle has a more subtle approach to teaching. For example, in Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me, rather than naming the phases of the moon he explains that the moon gets smaller and smaller until it disappears. A more direct approach is taken by Ehlert. Even with her fiction books she labels pictures throughout the book and includes a section at the end with more information. Both authors excel at using their illustrations to not only entertain but educate children at the same time.

Photos Credits:

Carle, E. (1969). The Very Hungry Caterpillar [Drawing].

Carle, E. (1970). Pancakes, Pancakes! [Drawing].

Carle, E. (1996). Papa, Please Get the Moon For Me [Drawing].

Carle, E. (2015). The Nonsense Show [Drawing].

Ehlert, L. (1990). Feathers for Lunch [Drawing].

Ehlert, L. (2001). Waiting for Wings [Drawing].

Ehlert, L. (2010). Lots of Spots [Drawing].

Ehlert, L. (2016). Rain Fish [Drawing].

Eric Carle [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/78750984937/photos/a.430286979937/10151427436314938/?type=1&theater

Lois Ehlert [Photograph]. (2011). Retrieved from http://mayosmasterpieces.blogspot.com/2011/05/loving-lois-ehlert-and-on-to-ocean.html