The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has been dazzling audiences around the globe for over seven years, faithfully bringing to the stage Eric Carle’s timeless classics.
Created by Jonathan Rockefeller, each production of the critically acclaimed show features a menagerie of over 75 magical puppets, including the star of the show –The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Alongside The Very Hungry Caterpillar, every production of the show features three other Eric Carle stories. Audiences may meet the colorful characters of Brown Bear, Brown Bear; travel the world with 10 Little Rubber Ducks; or help The Very Lonely Firefly find the friends he’s searching for. These beloved tales and their messages of community, self-expression, and the power of creativity are brought to life by a captivating cast of storytellers, sweeping original music, and stunning puppetry.
Other Eric Carle stories shared in The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show may include The Very Busy Spider, Mister Seahorse, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse and Dream Snow. After receiving universal acclaim from publications including The New York Times, Time Out, The Huffington Post and more, and receiving a Drama Desk nomination for Unique Theatrical Experience, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show has been performed in over 20 countries to over 3 million children.
We invite you to leap onto the page and join us for an unforgettable journey full of whimsy, nostalgia, and one very hungry caterpillar.
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 66 languages and sold over 50 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 152 million copies of his books have sold around the world.
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 Künste, 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 Eric Carle to illustrate a story he had written. Bill’s eye had been caught by a striking picture of a red lobster that Eric 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 Eric 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 artwork 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 book you can play with and a toy you can read. Children also enjoy working in collage and many send him pictures they have made themselves, inspired by his illustrations.
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 Eric Carle’s 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.
“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.”
- Eric Carle
Based in New York, Rockefeller Productions is the acclaimed family entertainment company that originates, produces, tours and presents celebrated stories in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and Asia; including Disney's Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation, The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, Paddington Gets In a Jam, amongst others.
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