Listed below is Eric Carle’s comprehensive order of his life’s work. We are showcasing his enchanting works in the order they were published. From his earliest creations to his later masterpieces. Discover more of Carle’s imaginative legacy.
Publication Order of My Very First Book Books
| My Very First Book of Words | (1974) |
| My Very First Book Of Numbers | (1985) |
| My Very First Book of Shapes | (1985) |
| My Very First Book of Colors | (1985) |
| My Very First Book of Food | (1986) |
| My Very First Book of Motion | (1986) |
| My Very First Book of Growth | (1986) |
| My Very First Book of Touch | (1986) |
| My Very First Book of Heads and Tails | (1986) |
| My Very First Book of Animal Homes | (2007) |
| My Very First Book of Animal Sounds | (2007) |
| My First Busy Book | (2015) |
| My First Peek-a-Boo Animals | (2017) |
| My First I See You | (2018) |
| My First Busy World | (2019) |
Publication Order of What’s Your Favorite Books
| What’s Your Favorite Animal? | (2014) |
| What’s Your Favorite Color? | (2017) |
| What’s Your Favorite Bug? | (2018) |
| What’s Your Favorite Food? | (2019) |
Publication Order of World of Eric Carle Books
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar | (1969) |
| A House for Hermit Crab | (1987) |
| Eric Carle’s ABC | (1999) |
| Eric Carle’s Opposites | (2007) |
| The Very Busy Spider’s Favorite Words | (2007) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Favorite Words | (2007) |
| The Very Quiet Cricket’s Favorite Words | (2008) |
| The Very Clumsy Click Beetle’s Favorite Words | (2008) |
| Colors. Colores | (2008) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Buggy Book | (2009) |
| Love from The Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2015) |
| Eric Carle’s How Things Grow | (2015) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s ABC | (2016) |
| Calm with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2016) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Easter Colors | (2017) |
| I Love Dad with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2017) |
| Merry Christmas from the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2017) |
| Where is the Very Hungry Caterpillar? | (2017) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s 123 | (2017) |
| Thanks from the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2017) |
| Sleep Tight Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2018) |
| Can a Cat Do That? | (2018) |
| Happy Birthday from the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2019) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Birthday Party | (2019) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Christmas Eve | (2019) |
| Where Is the Sun? | (2019) |
| Can You Guess? | (2020) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Easter Sticker and Colouring Book | (2020) |
| You Are Ready!: The World Is Waiting | (2020) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Garden Picnic: A Scratch-And-Sniff Book | (2020) |
| Happy Halloween from the Very Busy Spider | (2020) |
| You’re My Little Baby: A Touch-and-Feel Book | (2020) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Creepy-Crawly Halloween | (2020) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Magnet Book | (2020) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Snowy Hide & Seek: A Finger Trail Lift-The-Flap Book | (2020) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s 8 Nights of Chanukah | (2020) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First 100 Words | (2021) |
| Eric Carle’s Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and Other Nursery Rhymes | (2021) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Easter Egg Hunt | (2021) |
| A Day on the Farm with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2021) |
| Thank You, Teacher from the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2021) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Wild Animal Hide-and-Seek | (2021) |
| Can You Guess? Animal Sounds with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2021) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Forest Hide & Seek: A Finger Trail Lift-The-Flap Book | (2021) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Halloween Trick or Treat | (2021) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Father Christmas | (2021) |
| Eric Carle’s Book of Amazing Animals | (2021) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Breakfast | (2021) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Winter | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Spring | (2022) |
| Spring Sings for the Grouchy Ladybug | (2022) |
| How Does an Egg Hatch?: Life Cycles with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2022) |
| How Does a Caterpillar Change?: Life Cycles with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Easter Picnic | (2022) |
| World of Animals(With: PI Kids) | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Bug Hunt | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Summer | (2022) |
| How Does a Tadpole Grow? | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Dinner | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Fall | (2022) |
| Peekaboo Christmas with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats Snacks | (2022) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Garden Friends | (2023) |
| Eric Loves Animals | (2023) |
| I Love Grandma with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2023) |
| I Love Grandpa with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2023) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Ocean Hide & Seek: A Finger Trail Lift-The-Flap Book | (2023) |
| The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Rainbow Colors | (2023) |
| A Day at School with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2023) |
| Baby Bear’s Busy Day with Brown Bear and Friends | (2023) |
| A Day in the Snow with The Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2023) |
Publication Order of Eric Carle Illustrated Books
with Richard Buckley Eric Carle
| 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo | (1968) |
| Pancakes, Pancakes! | (1970) |
| The Tiny Seed | (1970) |
| Do You Want to Be My Friend? | (1971) |
| Rooster’s Off to See the World | (1971) |
| Walter the Baker | (1972) |
| The Secret Birthday Message | (1972) |
| Very Long Train | (1972) |
| Have You Seen My Cat? | (1973) |
| I See a Song | (1973) |
| Why Noah Chose the Dove | (1974) |
| All about Arthur | (1974) |
| The Mixed-Up Chameleon | (1975) |
| The Grouchy Ladybug | (1977) |
| Watch Out!A Giant! | (1978) |
| The Honeybee & the Robber | (1981) |
| Let’s Paint a Rainbow | (1982) |
| Catch the Ball! | (1982) |
| What’s for Lunch? | (1982) |
| The Very Busy Spider | (1984) |
| The Greedy Python The Greedy Python(With: Richard Buckley Eric Carle) | (1985) |
| All Around Us | (1986) |
| Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me | (1986) |
| The Very Quiet Cricket | (1990) |
| Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too? | (1991) |
| Draw Me a Star | (1992) |
| Today Is Monday | (1993) |
| My Apron | (1994) |
| The Very Lonely Firefly | (1995) |
| Little Cloud | (1996) |
| From Head to Toe | (1997) |
| Flora and Tiger | (1997) |
| Hello, Red Fox | (1998) |
| The Very Clumsy Click Beetle | (1999) |
| Dream Snow | (2000) |
| “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth | (2002) |
| Where Are You Going? To See My Friend! | (2003) |
| Mister Seahorse | (2004) |
| 10 Little Rubber Ducks | (2005) |
| Count with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2006) |
| Eric Carle’s Animals | (2008) |
| The Rabbit And The Turtle | (2008) |
| Tom Thumb(By: Jacob Grimm) | (2011) |
| The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse | (2011) |
| Around the Farm | (2013) |
| Friends | (2013) |
| Hear Bear Roar | (2014) |
| The Nonsense Show | (2015) |
| I Love Mum with the Very Hungry Caterpillar | (2016) |
| Hugs and Kisses for the Grouchy Ladybug | (2018) |
| Christmas Cheer for The Grouchy Ladybug | (2019) |
| Wonderful You | (2022) |
| How Does a Seed Sprout? | (2022) |
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
| The Art of Eric Carle | (1992) |
| You Can Make A Collage | (1998) |
Publication Order of Alice McLerran Children’s Books
| The Mountain That Loved a Bird(With: Alice McLerran) | (1985) |
| Secrets(By: Alice McLerran) | (1990) |
| Roxaboxen(By: Barbara Cooney,Alice McLerran) | (1991) |
| Dreamsong(By: Alice McLerran,Valery Vasiliev) | (1992) |
| I Want to Go Home(By: Alice McLerran) | (1992) |
| Kisses(By: Alice McLerran) | (1993) |
| Hugs(By: Alice McLerran) | (1993) |
| The Ghost Dance(By: Paul Morin,Alice McLerran) | (1995) |
| The Year of the Ranch(By: Kimberly Bulcken Root,Alice McLerran) | (1996) |
| Dragonfly(By: Alice McLerran) | (2003) |
Publication Order of Anthologies
| Artist to Artist | (2007) |
More about Eric Carle – Author Bio
Eric Carle, renowned for his vibrant and imaginative children’s books, was born on June 25, 1929, in Syracuse, New York. His unique collage illustrations and gentle storytelling have delighted generations of young readers. Carle’s early years were spent in Germany, where he moved with his parents at the age of six. This European chapter of his life introduced him to the styles and techniques that would later influence his artistic expression.
Carle’s journey into the world of children’s literature began after his return to the United States in the early 1950s. His foray into graphic design and advertising laid the groundwork for his distinct visual style, characterized by colorful, hand-painted paper collages. It was his collaboration with author Bill Martin Jr. on “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” that first introduced Carle to the world of children’s books.
However, it was “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” published in 1969, that catapulted Carle to international fame. This book, with its innovative design, playful storytelling, and educational theme, has been translated into more than 60 languages and sold millions of copies worldwide. Its simple yet profound narrative, following the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly, has become a beloved classic.
Carle’s approach to children’s literature was revolutionary. His books, often exploring themes of nature and learning, are designed to stimulate the minds of young readers, encouraging them to explore, imagine, and learn. His artistry extends beyond the visual; his texts are rhythmic and repetitive, making them appealing and accessible to children.
Over his career, Eric Carle authored and illustrated more than 70 books, leaving an indelible mark on the world of children’s literature. His contributions have been recognized with numerous awards and honors, reflecting his impact on generations of young readers.
Eric Carle’s legacy is one of creativity, education, and joy. His books continue to be a staple in homes and schools around the world, testament to his ability to connect with children through the power of art and storytelling.
His passing on May 23, 2021, was mourned by many, but his vibrant caterpillars, bears, and other creatures live on, bringing color and curiosity into the lives of children everywhere.