Eric Carle (born June 25, 1929) is an American designer, illustrator, and writer of children's books. He is most noted for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a picture book that has been translated into more than 65 languages and sold more than 46 million copies, which is equivalent to 1.7 copies sold every minute since it was published. Since it was published in 1969 he has illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world. In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Eric Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field.
For his contribution as a children's illustrator Carle was U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.