This beloved classic is now available in an extra large format perfect for reading aloud in classrooms or at home during bedtime! A big happy frog, a plump purple cat, a handsome blue horse, and a soft yellow duck-- all parade across the pages of this delightful classic children's book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Eric Carle's iconic, boldly colored collages combined with Bill Martin's irresistible, cadenced text create an unforgettable reading experience. With more than twenty million copies sold, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? has opened up a world of story time to generations of children. clearer, brighter, and truer to the colors they represent. The Origins of Brown Bear On a train ride in 1966, the title phrase Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? popped into Bill Martin Jr.'s head. Later, he spotted an illustration of a red lobster in a magazine and contacted the creator, Eric Carle, to ask if he would illustrate his poem. So began Eric Carle's career as a children's book illustrator--along with a life-long collaborative friendship with Bill Martin Jr. Since then, Brown Bear and the three companion titles, Polar Bear , Panda Bear , and Baby Bear , have gone on to sell millions of copies worldwide. The Bear books are a cultural landmark and a key milestone in many children's reading lives. And many adults today remember reading the Bear books themselves as well as the experience of reading them for the first time to their own children. Whether in a picture book or a reader, and now in eBook and audio, the same bold graphics and repetitive, rhythmic text have truly stood the test of time. Throughout Eric Carle's career, he has shown an unshakeable commitment to artistic integrity and a dedication to making art accessible to children. His skillfully designed and beautifully rendered collage art is admired by fellow artists, colleagues and fans in equal measure. And in 2002, with his wife Barbara, Eric founded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, the first museum of its kind in the United States. --Laura Godwin, Vice President and Publisher, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers A Question for Eric Carle Before the Bear books, you worked in advertising but had not yet created a children's book. What went through your mind when you first heard from author Bill Martin Jr. about the Brown Bear manuscript? What made you want to illustrate it? Eric Carle: At that point I was doing work-for-hire and I was very pleased to have the chance to do something different. I went through the manuscript and could see in my mind images of bright colorful animals, big and bold and simple like in posters. I was actually able to finish the art for this book and deliver it in one weekend. The whole process felt right and I was very excited by the opportunity to work on the book with Bill, which really changed my life and set me on the true course in my career. Eric Carle at work in his studio, Northampton, MA Sketches of Mama Bear for Baby Bear Eric Carle, holding a sketch from Baby Bear “The contemporary classic . . . perfect for sharing with a group of preschoolers.” ― The Horn Book Guide “A picture book full of rhyme and repetition that will appeal to preschoolers. Carle's large collages bursting with color are perfect for the text.” ― Booklist Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? ; Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? ; Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? ; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children’s books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004. Eric Carle (1929-2021) was one of America’s leading children’s book illustrators and authors. Author of more than seventy books, his picture book career started when Bill Martin Jr invited him to create the illustrations for Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? That book went on to sell millions of copies worldwide and Eric soon began writing and illustrating his own books, eventually creating the bestselling classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar . Born in the United States, Eric also spent many of his early years in Germany where he studied typography and graphic art at the Academy of Applied Art in Stuttgart. Carle was the recipient of many honors including the American Library Association’s Children’s Literature Legacy Award and the Original Art Lifet