Eric Carle

Eric Carle was born  on June 25, 1929. 

     This well know children's author and illustrator has written and illustrated more than 70 books since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969. 

   His art work is created in collage technique, using hand-painted papers, which he cuts and layers to form bright and colorful images.  Some books are like toys, incorporating firefly lights,  and cricket chirps. 

   Carle and his wife established the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Massachusetts.

   Google asked Carle to create its logo on March 20, 2009, the first day of spring. 

Hans Christian Andersen

April 2 is the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen. This Danish writer and poet was born in 1805. By the time of his death in 1875 he was known worldwide.

In the English-speaking world, stories such as Thumbelina, The Snow Queen, The Ugly Duckling , The Emperor’s New Clothes, and The Princess and the Pea remain popular and are widely read. "The emperor's new clothes" and "ugly duckling" have both passed into the English language as well-known expressions.

In the Copenhagen harbor there is a statue of The Little Mermaid placed in honor of Hans Christian Andersen.  April 2, Andersen's birthday, is celebrated as International Children's Book Day.

Robert Parker

Well known crime novelist, Robert Parker, died suddenly on January 19.  He was working at his desk on another novel when apparently he was killed by a heart attack.  He was 77 years old.

He is best known for his Spenser series and Jessie Stone series of mystery novels.  Characters and books from both series were the basis of movies.

Spenser was a disciplined and prolific writer.  His editor tells us that more books will be released since he had some already finished.

Information from the New York Times is availalbe here.