The Eric Carle Museum

Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?  Polar Bear, Polar Bear what do you hear?  The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  The Grouchy Ladybug.  My kids love these Eric Carle books.  When my sister-in-law, Sheila, suggested that we meet at the Eric Carle Museum, I thought how perfect! 

My husband's brother and his family live in South Carolina.  Last month they were making a trip to the Berkshires for a wedding.  We each drove 2 hours and met in the middle, in Amherst, MA at the museum.

I was so great to see each other!

The museum was really cute.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in the exhibit hall.  The kids were given a hunt and find list that kept them busy, giving the grown-ups a chance to catch up.

It was really interesting to see how Eric Carle created the illustrations for these books.  It's a collage technique, using hand-painted papers.  He cuts and layers them to create his bright and cheerful characters.  I little bit like decoupage!  This video shows his unique technique.

There is craft room and a gift shop.  We went to the gift shop but never made it to the craft area because we were all starving! 

If you are visiting the western Massachusetts area this museum is worth a visit.
www.carlemuseum.org

A few more pictures from our visit.
My boys Nolan and Sean are their cousins Bridie and Molly - (this was outside the museum, pretty sure they were not suppose to me picking those apples...oops!)

   

Great day!