Exhibition on Eric Carle’s ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ Picture Books Starts in Tokyo

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:13 JST, April 25, 2026

An exhibition commemorating 50 years since the globally beloved picture book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle (1929–2021) was published in Japanese started at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo in the capital’s Koto Ward on Saturday.

The exhibition, titled “Eric Carle: Art, Books, and the Caterpillar,” is organized by The Yomiuri Shimbun and other entities and features about 180 works, mainly from the collection of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in the United States.

Original illustrations by Carle are among the works on display.

At a preview event on Friday, visitors were seen looking at original illustrations from 27 picture books, including “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.”

The exhibition allows visitors to explore the distinctive charms of Carle’s picture books, such as his collage technique, which brings diverse expressions to animals and landscapes.

The exhibition will run through July 26.