eric carle museum of picture book art

Went here on a Sunday afternoon as we saw there was a Madeline artwork exhibit. The artwork is wonderful and the Madeline exhibit interesting, but not much else to look at. 30 mins tops. Had three adults and two teens but most there seemed to have kids under six, The gift shop is great and has some awesome gift items.

We decided to head down the Eric Carle Museum because Piggy and Elephant were having an event. The museum was free for the day and they had a free hard cover Piggy and Elephant book for the first 500 children. They even bussed families up from out of town for the event. There were great films playing in the amphitheater. We enjoyed watching a film about Eric Carle and the 3 Knuffle Bunny films by Mo Willems. I wish Mo Willems was there to sign books, it would have been amazing to meet him and have him sign our book. The actual art museum only has 3 exhibit rooms, which I do have to admit after driving over 2 hours was a bit disappointing. It was great to see what was there and the Madeline exhibit. The art studio was a lot of fun for my child. She created her own book. The artwork in there was beautiful! There was also free face painting. My daughter was so excited to get the pigeon on her face! The entire event was very well organized and they had plenty of staff for the different events. There were author readings and book signings, but we were occupied with other events when they were scheduled. The store has many great items, from books by all of the major authors to fabric and toys. My co-workers have enjoyed professional development classes there. We had a great time.

I have a 4-year old and often take her to puppet shows at the museum. The shows are always good. Oddly, I haven't found the museum to be especially kid friendly in terms of looking at the exhibits -- at least not for preschoolers. Great hands-on art room, however.

Looking for something to do on the spur of the moment lead us to this museum. And what a surprise to find the Madeline exhibit!!! Original paintings of the author Ludwig Bemelmans was extensive. We had my mother with us visiting our daughter in western Mass. and when she entered the gallery her eyes lit up like a small child's would. It brought her back to her childhood. It also took me back to my very own. I loved the books as a young girl and to share this with my mother, was wonderful. Also featured during this time was Alice Bolam Preston and of course Eric Carle, which took our son right back to his childhood, too. Three generations of adults were thoroughly pleased. The museum in the midst of farmland is a wonderful surprise (albeit, it is attached to Amherst College). A smallish museum felt like a sweeping modern building inside with plenty of light for their class rooms and lobby. The book store is filled with the most amazing award winning children's books. They also have some adult and young adult books. These titles are thoughtfully picked out, every title was one I wished I owned. Most I had the immense pleasure of reading during my life-time. For a bookie, like myself, I was in a little slice of heaven. If you are in the area you must go! http://www.carlemuseum.org/

There are only three galleries, and one was being changed over while we were there. (This was our second visit.) One gallery always has an exhibit about Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) and the other to some other topic about picture book art - this time about "Madeline." They have both a library and a book store and beautiful pictures to see. Should take less than 2 hours for most folks.Don't forget the adjacent Yiddish Book Repository.

Nice little museum with very good book store. Its on a college campus and should be free or at least by donation only. If your in the area and looking for something to do but a let down if you've gone out of your way.

As the parent of two (once young) children and a volunteer in both public and elementary school libraries, a visit to the Eric Carle museum was an obvious choice on my recent trip to the Amherst area. I had many expectations for this museum which were not met. I expected to see the work of many illustrators exhibited in this large museum, but there were only 3 illustrators featured (and I completely missed one of them). I expected to be able to create some art of my own in the Art Studio, but despite the museum website's assertion that all ages were welcome, it was clearly only for young children. I expected to see the well-known film of Eric Carle creating his art (which I had seen on TV many years ago) or the film of Mr. Roger's visit to Eric Carle, but there was no theatre. I expected our visit to last at least 1 - 1.5 hours but we were done in about 30 minutes. And with an admission fee of $9 per person, it makes for an expensive visit. (Note: Ask for the unadvertised AAA discount of 25%.)

Have driven by many times not knowing what is was found on trip advisor great gallery and kids can play in art room well worth the price

Beautiful facility showcasing the artistic career and process Eric Carle. Two other galleries showcase work by other recognized children's illustrators. Original drawings and the backstory for Harriet The Spy was well done. The featured show of Simms Taback's illustrations was delightful. Check the website for the various activities and gallery shows during the year. There is an art room for children and an extensive library of children's lit to enjoy with story times, too. Indoor & outdoor eating area -bring your own food. Wonderful bookshop, too! Friendly staff.

just like most art museums young children will not appreciate this little museum. The art is nicely presented with strong emphasis on Eric Carle(obviously). Gift shop does have children's books as well as some art workfor sale, again slanted toward the eponymous artist.

Eric Carle was the author of “The Hungry Caterpillar” and countless other illustrated childrens’ books. He and his wife donated the museum and much of his artwork. This is an excellent facility and, while we wished for a bit more content, is worth a visit if you have any interest in children’s books.The museum itself is in a modern structure in a rural area near Amherst, Massachusetts. The structure was built in 2002 and is in almost perfect shape. The facility itself is well-lit and well-designed. The heart of the museum is a set of three galleries. One houses mostly work by Eric Carle himself. Like any art, it is much more vibrant in real life than you see even in the books. While we were there, the other two galleries were taken up with special exhibitions on Simms Taback (the book I recognized immediately was “There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly”) and Louise Fitzhugh (“Harriet the Spy”). The Taback artwork was displayed his use of different media including, in places, gluing pieces of paper onto his drawn artwork. The Fitzhugh exhibit was in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Harriet the Spy book.About half the visitors had children with them and they have various activities to entertain them and keep them engaged. By the galleries they have list of pictures to find, such as the “fish with wings.” Kids seemed to like them, but we saw several adults, including ourselves, using them as well.Three of the rooms are of special note. As this is a museum about children’s books it was only fitting that they have a children’s library – which they did. They also have a large gift shop with resembled an upscale children’s bookstore. Most of the books involved detailed artwork, but they also had a section for older children. One of my favorite sections was of children’s books in other languages ranging from Afrikaans to Chinese to Danish to Swahili (and others). This collection included both books from other countries and books translated into those languages, all of which you can buy. Lastly, they had an art room where children could try to copy the styles of the various authors.Incidentally, if you are closer to the Midwest there is another museum of children’s illustrators – the Mazza Museum – in Findley, Ohio. That museum has a broader range of authors, but is about the same size as this one. See http://www.mazzamuseum.org.There is a nice lunchroom/café at the Eric Carle, but you pretty much need to bring your own food (they have free coffee and a vending machine). You can get sandwiches at the Atkins grocery store/market up the road.Check out the bathrooms while you are at the museum – they have artwork on many of the tiles.We spent over an hour here, including time buying books in the gift shop. We thought the building was terrific and enjoyed the art we saw, but came away wishing there was a little more content. It certainly is worth a trip if you like children’s books and find yourself near Amherst.

I found this museum completely over rated! They have an Arts & Crafts room when you first walk in, which is the best part of the place for kids. Everything else isn't all that kid friendly, which you'd kind of think it would be, being a children's book author and all. After our first visit 2 years ago, we didn't really think we'd be going back any time soon. Just this past year, they had a Mo Willems exhibit. Again, it was geared a lot more towards the adults, including the artwork and preliminary sketches were hung at adult eye level. We had a good time, great reading the process of his books, but the kids were less than impressed. They were bored within 10 minutes.They have a cafe, but with only a couple vending machines. I was really surprised at how poorly designed this place is for kids!

This museum will appeal to adults and children alike. Small and manageable with an art studio where everyone can be creative, and an exceptionally good gift shop.

This was the first time for our nine year old granddaughter. I wish we would have had more time. Two hours was definitely not enough. She loved the young artist area. Tissue paper collage is much more challenging than it looks. The scavenger hunt for details in the paintings was also fun and helped her focus on the art work. We were there in time to watch a short movie in the auditorium that was well done and a change of pace. Seeing the actual artwork from familiar books is so amazing. Even the best quality books never do justice to the original art. The bookstore is too overwhelming for me. There are too many choices. I never buy anything.

Who doesn't love Eric Carle books? We arrived and found the grounds to be clean and parking very convenient. Upon entering the building we saw rooms to do some arts and crafts, read books or buy books. There was one Hungry Caterpillar box like structure for children to sit in and have their picture taken.Rooms with art work hung on walls many not eye level for children. I thought due to his writing children's books it would be more kid friendly. Outside there were lawns to run on but a row of trees and a sculpture "not for climbing" which by the way you would not know as there was only one sign and it was far from the offending structure and trees,