Eric Carle (born June 25, 1929) is a children's book author and illustrator, most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has been translated into over 30 languages. Since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 71 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Born in New York but raised in Germany, Carle returned to the United States in 1952 and began working in graphics arts, first for the New York Times and then at a New York advertising agency.

His distinctive collage-illustration has made his books instantly recognizable, and he has won numerous awards throughout his career.  The first book he illustrated, written by Bill Martin, Jr., was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (1967).

Carle then wrote and illustrated 1, 2, 3 To The Zoo (1968), and has been publishing children's books ever since. Some of Carle's most popular titles are The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1975), The Very Busy Spider (1984), The Very Quiet Cricket (1990) and The Very Lonely Firefly (1995).