Eric Carle’s vibrant illustrations and whimsical stories have captivated children for generations. His signature style, featuring textured paper collages bursting with color, inspires creativity and a love for art in young minds.
This collection of 25 Eric Carle-inspired crafts brings the magic of his books to life, allowing children to recreate their favorite characters and scenes.
With a focus on readily available materials and simple techniques, these crafts are perfect for a fun afternoon of crafting, learning, and storytelling.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar:
Wiggling Caterpillar:
Construction paper segments become a delightful caterpillar with wiggle room! Cut out green circles for the body and attach them with brads to allow for movement. Add a googly eye and pipe cleaner antennae for a playful touch.
Rainbow Button Caterpillar:
Transform buttons into a colorful caterpillar! Glue buttons of various sizes and colors in a row, adding a felt head with wiggle eyes and pipe cleaner antennae.
Tissue Paper Feast:
Let your child create the caterpillar’s delicious journey with construction paper and colorful tissue paper squares. Glue the squares onto the paper to represent the different foods the caterpillar munches on throughout the story.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?:
Peek-a-Boo Bear Craft:
This adorable paper bag craft brings the guessing game from the book to life. Decorate a brown paper bag with construction paper circles for eyes and a black felt nose. Cut peek-a-boo holes on the front for different colored construction paper animal faces to peek through.
Rainbow Fish Craft:
Craft a shimmering fish inspired by the “What Do You See?” illustration. Cut out a fish shape from construction paper. Let your child decorate it with colorful scales made from cut-up pieces of holographic wrapping paper.
Colorful Bird Craft:
Create a vibrant bird using construction paper feathers. Cut out different sized and shaped feathers from colorful paper. Glue them onto a construction paper bird shape to create a beautiful masterpiece.
The Very Busy Spider:
Webby Fun:
This craft encourages fine motor skills and creativity. Cut a large circle from white construction paper. Let your child use yarn or string to create a spider web design on the paper. Add a paper spider cutout in the center for a complete web.
Pom-Pom Spider:
Craft a fluffy and fun spider with yarn and construction paper. Use a pom-pom maker to create a large pom-pom for the spider’s body. Glue on googly eyes and pipe cleaner legs for a playful spider friend.
The Very Quiet Cricket:
Paper Plate Cricket:
A classic material gets a new twist! Cut a green paper plate in half to create the cricket’s body. Decorate with black paint for stripes and add construction paper circles for eyes and a pipe cleaner antenna.
Chirping Crickets in a Grass Patch:
Create a textured scene with construction paper and cotton balls. Cut out a green construction paper base and glue cotton balls on it to represent the grass. Add paper cricket cutouts chirping away amidst the cotton fluff.
The Grouchy Ladybug:
Paper Plate Ladybug:
This is a quick and easy craft perfect for young children. Paint a red paper plate and let it dry. Add black spots with paint or construction paper circles. Glue on googly eyes and pipe cleaner antennae for a charming ladybug.
Flying Ladybugs:
Craft a ladybug mobile to decorate your child’s room. Cut out ladybug shapes from red construction paper. Decorate with black spots and pipe cleaner antennae. Thread them onto string and hang them from a coat hanger for a delightful mobile.
Other Eric Carle Favorites:
Handprint Hermit Crab Craft:
Capture a special moment with a handprint turned into a charming hermit crab! Trace your child’s hand on brown construction paper. Cut it out and glue on a smaller shell shape made from another color of construction paper. Decorate the shell with markers or paint for a personalized touch.
Butterfly and Caterpillar Transformation:
Explore metamorphosis with this craft. Cut out a large butterfly shape and a smaller caterpillar shape from construction paper. Let your child decorate them with colorful tissue paper squares. Attach them together with a brad to showcase the caterpillar’s transformation.
Mixed-Up Chameleon:
Embrace the colorful chaos of the Mixed-Up Chameleon with a collage. Cut out different colored shapes from construction paper. Glue them onto a construction paper chameleon silhouette to create a unique and vibrant artwork.
The Very Quiet Cricket Listening Activity:
Replicate the cricket’s quiet listening with cotton balls. Glue cotton balls onto a construction paper scene with different objects like a bird, a flower, and a car.
More Story-Inspired Crafts:
Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me Craft:
Capture the whimsical scene with a paper plate moon. Paint a paper plate yellow and decorate it with a crater. Cut out a construction paper silhouette of a child reaching for the moon and glue it onto a blue construction paper background with the paper plate moon hanging above.
The Tiny Seed Collage:
Explore the plant life cycle with a collage. Glue various materials like dried leaves, beans, and seeds onto construction paper to represent the different stages of the tiny seed’s growth.
10 Little Rubber Ducks Craft:
Craft a bathtub full of playful ducks! Cut out a blue construction paper bathtub shape. Glue on yellow construction paper duck shapes with googly eyes and orange construction paper triangle bills.
Little Cloud Craft:
Recreate the calming sky with shaving cream and glue. Cover a construction paper base with shaving cream. Let your child drip blue and white glue onto the shaving cream to create a fluffy cloud design. Once dry, peel away the shaving cream for a textured cloud effect.
General Eric Carle-Inspired Techniques:
Eric Carle Tissue Paper Art:
Channel Eric Carle’s signature style with colorful tissue paper squares. Glue squares of different colors and sizes onto construction paper to create a unique abstract artwork.
Eric Carle Inspired Moon Collage:
Craft a moonlit scene with textured materials. Glue torn pieces of white tissue paper onto a blue construction paper background to create a starry night sky. Add a construction paper moon shape embellished with glitter or sequins for a sparkly effect.
Eric Carle Inspired Turtle Art:
Create a captivating turtle with colorful construction paper and paint. Cut out a turtle shape from brown construction paper. Let your child decorate the shell with paint or add geometric shapes cut from different colored construction paper pieces.
Expanding on the Crafts:
Storytelling Through Crafts:
After creating the crafts, use them as props to retell the stories or create new narratives. Let your child use the crafts to act out scenes from the books or invent their own adventures with the characters.
Craft a Mobile:
Take your crafts to new heights by creating a mobile. Use string or yarn to hang various Eric Carle-inspired crafts from a coat hanger or a stick. This is a fantastic way to display the artwork and add a touch of whimsy to a room.
These crafts are just a starting point! Encourage your child to experiment with different materials and techniques to create their own unique interpretations of Eric Carle’s beloved characters and stories. Happy crafting!
