The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse [Hardcover]

Eric Carle (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: October 4, 2011 | Age Range: 3 - 5 years

A brilliant new Eric Carle picture book for the artist in us all

Every child has an artist inside them, and this vibrant picture book from Eric Carle will help let it out. The artist in this book paints the world as he sees it, just like a child. There's a red crocodile, an orange elephant, a purple fox and a polka-dotted donkey. More than anything, there's imagination. Filled with some of the most magnificently colorful animals of Eric Carle's career, this tribute to the creative life celebrates the power of art.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, October 2011: The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is a joyous celebration of art and creativity. As a young man, Carle was influenced by the work of Franz Marc, an Expressionist artist famous for his paintings of blue horses, and this book is a fitting tribute to his legacy. Carle’s brilliant, unusual, color pairings--a red crocodile, a polka-dotted donkey--capture the limitless imagination of children and the brief text is simple, yet memorable. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is destined to become a well-worn classic, inspiring readers of all ages to embrace their inner artist.--Seira Wilson

About the Author

Eric Carle lives in Northampton, Massachusetts. Visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 5 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Philomel; First Edition edition (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399257136
• ISBN-13: 978-0399257131
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 17 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Art

More About the Author

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for young children.


Eric was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, and moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old. After graduating from art school, he returned to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories, and found work as a graphic designer.


After seeing an advertisement designed by Eric, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask him to illustrate a story he had written. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, with its distinctive collage style, was the result of their collaboration. This favorite was the beginning of Eric Carle's true career. Soon Eric was writing his own stories, developing a close bond with Ann Beneduce, the founder of Philomel Books, who would be his editor for nearly 40 years. In 1969 they published the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Since this beginning, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote.


The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions. He says "I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born.
Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun."


Eric Carle has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter. He and his wife Barbara divide their time between Massachusetts and Florida.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 127 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Deceptively simple, yet profoundly effective October 6, 2011

By J. Prather TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

On the surface, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse seems pretty simple and rather plain. For me, it took only a little further exploration and one opportunity to read it to a group of two year olds for this this book to reveal it's brilliance and depth. The illustrations are vintage Carle. The format is large and the colors are bold. The text is very minimal. We start out with a boy introducing himself by saying "I am an artist and I paint...". We are then treated to a variety of animals all in different and totally unexpected colors. We have a blue horse, a red crocodile, a yellow cow, a black polar bear and best of all, a polka dotted donkey. The book concludes back with our young artist stating "I am a good artist".

When I shared this with a group, we started just making all the animal sounds, but it wasn't long before the kids caught on to the fact that these animals weren't the right colors, and that's when smiles broke out all around. When we arrived at the black polar bear, some kids were confused and it gave us a good chance to talk about art and the freedom to make things whatever color you want. By the time we arrived at the polka dotted donkey, I heard chuckles and I hope maybe a few parents went home to encourage their young artists to make their own polka dotted animals.

The very idea of this book celebrates joyous, free expression and I would recommend it for any story time audience of toddlers or young preschoolers. It goes far in giving youngsters permission to think outside of the box, all done in a way that makes perfect sense to them. Try this book out for your story time group and watch their eyes light up with the possibilities. This is also an excellent choice for any young family wishing to encourage creativity and free thinking. I can't think of a better literary first step.

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific creative inspirational October 5, 2011

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

The child is an artist painting a blue horse followed by a red crocodile and then a yellow cow. The kid continues to paint other animals using colors like orange for the elephant and polka-dots for donkey drawn from pictures in the mind's eye.

Although the targeted audience is pre-school with a strong message of use your imagination to take you where you want to be, The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse is much more. Eric Carle pays homage to Franz Marc who painted The Blue Horse in 1911; he died during WWI and a few years later the Nazis banned his work. Readers of all ages will appreciate Mr. Carle's original way to encourage the young artist in everyone to draw your imagination and to showcase the work of a great painter from a century ago while also showcasing his on skills. With a green lion, a black polar bear and a purple fox oh my, this is a terrific creative inspirational.

Harriet Klausner

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Vibrant and unexpected November 2, 2011

By E. Strickenburg

Format:Hardcover

Generations of children have been captivated by the vibrant illustrations of Eric Carle; The Very Hungry Caterpillar was a favorite of mine as a child, and now my son loves it too. But in "The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse" we find something new. The illustrations still have the bold cut-out feel of classic Eric Carle, but the animals come in unexpected colors. From a blue horse to a purple fox, these familiar animals in unusual guise surprise and intrigue us.

The story is simple but powerful. Short bites of toddler-friendly text tell of a young child with a paint brush, who realizes the value of his art, even though it defies conventions. Messages conveyed include encouraging creativity, valuing oneself, and accepting the unexpected as "different" rather than "wrong."

At the back of the book, we find the story within a story. This book comes as a tribute to German Expressionist painter Franz Marc, whose art was suppressed under the Nazi regime. Marc used color in a unique and startling way in his work; each color was symbolic of a certain idea or emotion. He's particularly well known for his paintings of blue horses, the color blue representing to him the concepts of masculinity and spirituality.