About the Museum
The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a non-profit organization in Amherst, MA, is to inspire a love of art and reading through picture books. The only full-scale museum of its kind in the United States, The Carle collects, preserves, presents, and celebrates picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world. In addition to underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form, The Carle offers educational programs that provide a foundation for arts integration and literacy.
Eric and Barbara Carle founded the Museum in November 2002. Eric Carle is the renowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, including the 1969 classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Since opening, the 40,000-square foot facility has served more than half a million visitors, including 30,000 schoolchildren. Its extensive resources include a collection of more than 10,000 picture book illustrations, three art galleries, an art studio, a theater, picture book and scholarly libraries, and educational programs for families, scholars, educators, and schoolchildren. Educational offerings include professional training for educators around the country.
Read here about the remarkable life of Eric Carle MORE
Hours:
The Bookshop, Art Studio, and Reading Library hours are the same as the Museum.
Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day.
Join award-winning author and illustrator Nadia Salomon and London Ladd as they share A Voice of Hope, the first picture book biography about social activist Myrlie Evers-Williams. Salomon and Ladd will take us behind the scenes to discuss their collaborative journey, sharing the research, writing, and artistic process that went into creating the book. Book signing to follow […]
Free with Museum admission Join Guest Curator Margi Hofer for a guided tour of Free to Be… You and Me: 50 Years of Stories and Songs. Who You'll Meet Margi Hofer Margi Hofer is an independent curator specializing in American material culture. As museum director of the New-York Historical Society from 2015 to 2023, she guided a dynamic […]
Braille Storytime with Mary Westgate Free with Museum admission Join Berkshire Hills Music Academy’s Mary Westgate for a fun, music-filled storytime featuring singing, musical instruments, and braille books. WHO YOU'LL MEET MARY WESTGATE Mary Westgate has been reading Braille books and singing with children for over 10 years. Mary is a day student at Berkshire Hills Music […]
Explore the BERL Enjoy a morning exploring the Barbara Elleman Research Library (BERL), a collection of scholarly resources and rare books. Librarian Betty Matthews will share some of the treasured items Elleman amassed over the course of her thirty-year career in the children’s literature field, along with more recent additions to the library. Free with museum […]
Bilingual Storytime: Marcelo, Martello, Marshmallow Free with Museum admission Marcelo is a curious and inventive boy who has a lot of questions, especially about words and their meanings. His parents provide him with an assortment of explanations, but as Marcelo ventures further to discover these answers, he decides to create his own vocabulary. This beloved story, originally […]
Música from Brazil! November 9, 10:30 - 11 am Free with Museum admission Join the band BR413 for live Brazilian music, including Samba, Bossa Nova, Baião, and Xaxado, and traditional children’s songs in Portuguese. Bring your singing voice and dancing feet! To be followed by our bilingual English and Portuguese storytime of the classic Brazilian picture book Marcelo, Martello, Marshmallow. Concert: Choro das 3 […]
Enjoy this interactive storytime for early learners. Move, sing, talk, and explore materials during this interactive storytime designed with toddlers and preschoolers in mind. Recommended for children under 5 and their caregivers. WHO YOU'LL MEET DAVID FEINSTEIN Literacy Educator at The Carle since 2017, David enjoys working with artists, educators, and families to create and share their stories.
Educator Workshop: Day of Play November 5, 2024 at 9 am - 4 pm $90, Museum Members $76.50 Join the Carle Education Staff and The Center Dance Studio for a full-day workshop celebrating the value and joy of play. Participants will explore play from multiple perspectives and engage in hands-on learning across museum spaces. In rotating breakout […]
Dudunya, the Art & Many Hats of Vladimir Radunsky Free with Museum admission Dudunya, the Art & Many Hats of Vladimir Radunsky (2023, 57 min.) is a tribute to an extraordinary artist and author. Vladimir Radunsky (1954-2018) was born in the Soviet Union, studied architecture, dropped out of college, then emigrated to the United States, where he found his […]
How does your family celebrate Thanksgiving? Do other families celebrate the same way? At Our Table is a fresh and inclusive look at Thanksgiving that celebrates sharing, community, family, food, and respect for America’s first inhabitants. Join author Patrick Hulse for a reading of At Our Table, joyfully illustrated by Chickasaw artist Madelyn Goodnight. After the reading, children […]
Join The Center Dance Studio for creative movement and narrative dance inspired by Daniel’s Good Day, by Micha Archer. Kids will love this interactive class that honors the reader, and storyteller, in all of us. Bring your imagination and your dancing feet! Recommended for children ages 2-6. Caregiver participation welcome. Free with Museum admission
Story Chasers Join educator David Feinstein for a fun-filled storytelling adventure! Starting with a read-aloud designed for early learners, we will use books to spark our creativity and chase story themes across the museum, including the galleries, art studio, and Bobbie’s Meadow. Prepare to go wherever the stories take us! WHO YOU'LL MEET DAVID FEINSTEIN Literacy Educator […]
The Carle's Cauldron Bubble Bash Celebrate the spooky season at The Carle with a monster puppet show, singalong storytime, and plenty of bubbles! Guests are invited to wear their Halloween costumes, or make their own unique costumes in the Art Studio. Costumes inspired by your favorite picture books are encouraged! Schedule 11:00 am - 11:45 am […]
Braille Storytime with Mary Westgate Free with Museum admission Join Berkshire Hills Music Academy’s Mary Westgate for a fun, music-filled storytime featuring singing, musical instruments, and braille books. Who You'll Meet Mary Westgate Mary Westgate has been reading Braille books and singing with children for over 10 years. Mary is a day student at Berkshire Hills Music […]
Spend the afternoon at The Carle with award-winning artist Roger Mello! Mello will read from his book, Griso: The One and Only, about a unicorn who travels the world in search of another unicorn. Book signing to follow program. Can’t make the event? You may reserve signed books online. Additional activities throughout the day include a lively and fun-filled dance workshop with Brazilian dancer Luana Dias David […]
Enjoy this interactive storytime for early learners. Move, sing, talk, and explore materials during this interactive storytime designed with toddlers and preschoolers in mind. Recommended for children under 5 and their caregivers. WHO YOU'LL MEET DAVID FEINSTEIN Literacy Educator at The Carle since 2017, David enjoys working with artists, educators, and families to create and share their stories.
The Carle is pleased to welcome Roger Mello as the 2024 Educators’ Night guest speaker. Meet Roger Mello, enjoy his presentation, and ask him questions! Plus, browse the Museum and collect fun free materials for your classroom, and enjoy a book signing following the program. This event is free and open to all educators as space […]
Educator Workshop During this educator workshop, K-12 teachers will spend time in the special exhibition, Pictures at Play: Metafiction in Art, looking closely at how the displayed images make use of some key metafictive storytelling devices. Metafiction fundamentally means stories about stories, fiction about fiction. In picturebook images, it can also mean pictures about pictures. We’ll explore […]
Join The Center Dance Studio for creative movement and narrative dance inspired by Patricia Intriago’s Dot. Kids will love this interactive class that honors the reader, and storyteller, in all of us. Bring your imagination and your dancing feet! Recommended for children ages 2-6. Caregiver participation welcome.
Join Director of Education Courtney Waring for a guided tour exploring The Carle’s current exhibitions. Who You'll Meet Courtney Waring Courtney joined The Carle as Director of Education in 2013. She enjoys fostering the confidence to appreciate and enjoy art of every kind.
