About Eric Carle
Eric Carle (June 25, 1929 – May 23, 2021) was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 70 languages and sold more than 55 million copies. Carle illustrated more than 70 children's books, most of which he also wrote. His books have sold more than 170 million copies around the world. == Early life and education == Carle was born on June 25, 1929, in Syracuse, New York, to German immigrants: Johanna (née Oelschlåger) and Erich W. Carle, a former civil servant. He spent his earliest years immersed in nature and making art, and had happy memories of school—especially art class, a "sun-filled room, large sheets of paper, colourful paints and fat brushes." But when he was six years old, his mother, homesick for Germany, led the family back to Stuttgart. Growing up in Germany, then in thrall to the Nazi regime, was not easy for Carle. Schools were strict, paper rationed, and corporal punishment the norm. The Nazis banned modern art as "degenerate." But when Carle was around 12, a daring teacher, Friedrich Krauss, at great personal risk, exposed him to the works of Klee, Matisse and Picasso, who would be formative influences for the young artist. At the start of World War II, Carle's father was drafted into the German Army.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.