Fantastical Creatures and Enchanting Images On View at The Carle

The Carle will present an enchanting exhibition that explores the rich visual traditions of fairies, mermaids, wizards, and other supernatural beings through beloved picture book illustrations. On view November 22, 2025 – April 26, 2026, Sprites, Spells, and Splashes: Magical Beings in Picture Book Art is curated by The Carle’s associate curator Isabel Ruiz Cano and features more than 40 classic and contemporary works.  

“From the brownies of the British Isles to the djinns of the Middle East, magical beings abound in folklore. These creatures exist in a parallel world within and alongside humans,” said Ruiz Cano. “Picture book art can be a powerful bridge between cultures, a keeper of stories, and a source of wonder that allows us to see the invisible. Although we may not always be able to spot these creatures, the artists in this exhibition bring their mysterious forms to light.”  

Featured artists in Sprites, Spells, and Splashes include Iasmin Omar Ata, Ashley Bryan, Eric Carle, Ju Hong Chen, Raúl Colón, Palmer Cox, Diane Dillon, Leo Dillon, Tony DiTerlizzi, Raissa Figueroa, John Anster Fitgerald, Yvonne Gilbert, Michael Hague, Trina Schart Hyman, Julie Kim, Robert Lawson, Arnold Lobel, Jessica Love, Petra Mathers, Kay Nielsen, Brian Pinkney, Jerry Pinkney, Alice Bolam Preston, Júlia Sardà, Esmé Shapiro, Uri Shulevitz, Virginia Stroud, Saki Tanaka, Minako Tomigahara, and Phoebe Wahl. 

“We have many supernatural creatures hiding within our vast collection, causing mischief and magic at the Museum,” said The Carle’s Executive Director Jennifer Schantz. “Sprites, Spells, and Splashes will open our eyes to the fantastical world that is hiding in plain sight, captured in the pages of picture books.” 

Exhibition Highlights 

Some of the earliest works on view in the exhibition are Alice Bolam Preston’s pen and ink drawings from the 1919 fairytale book Seven Peas in the Pod by Margery Bailey. In “The Prince That Married a Nixie,” Preston’s signature delicate linework depicts the water spirit as an elegant humanoid with fins and webbed hands, and for “The Brownie in the House,” the winding tendrils on the brownie’s acorn cap lend Art Nouveau flourishes to the illustration. 

The exhibition opens with depictions of Sprites, tiny creatures who are responsible for everyday acts of mischief. Highlights include Phoebe Wahl’s vibrant, multi-textured collage for Backyard Fairies (2018), in which a modern girl searches for clever flower fairies hiding in plain sight, and Esmé Shapiro’s work for Alma and the Beast (2019), with parallel universes colliding as a hairless beast arrives in Alma’s “hairy” world. Also on view is Robert Lawson’s art from the nonsense fairytale The Wonderful Adventures of Little Prince Toofat by George Randolph Chester (1922), which features Moonaticks, made-up sprites with round moon heads, who bewitch the protagonists with “marshmallow dreams.” 

The Spells section of the exhibition features benevolent or wicked magicians, witches, and wizards, who enchant or haunt us. Arnold Lobel’s wizard from Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep by Jack Prelutsky (1976) is rendered in stark black-and-white, with a menacing vulture perched atop the tower. The accompanying poem reads “The wizard, watchful, waits alone / within his tower of cold gray stone / and ponders in his wicked way / what evil deeds he’ll do this day.” Leo and Diane Dillon’s cover illustration for the 1983 edition of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle casts the mysterious Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which as witches, with The Black Thing—the source of all evil in the universe—looming behind them. The supernatural beings spill out of their Art Deco frames and onto the spine of the book. 

Splashes, the final section of the exhibition, is the domain of water-related supernatural creatures. Jerry Pinkney’s graphite and watercolor artworks for The Little Mermaid (2020) combine the emotional drama of the story with what he called the “spectacular beauty of the ocean.” Pinkney’s extensive research enabled him to capture fish, coral, sea turtles, jellyfish, and other underwater wonders in great detail. In Jessica Love’s artwork for the hardcover case for Julián is a Mermaid (2018)—only seen when the book is removed from its jacket—Julián transforms into the mermaid of his dreams, at home amongst a swirling school of fish. 

Programming 

Events related to Sprites, Spells and Splashes include Solstice Spells: Game Night with Dungeon Delvers and Tarot Card Readings on December 4, part of The Carle After Dark programming; and a Virtual Storytime and Character Design Activity with Saki Tanaka, on January 15. Additional programs will be announced. 

About The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art 

Founded by Eric and Barbara Carle in 2002, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is the international champion of picture book art. Situated on 7.5 acres in Amherst, Massachusetts, The Carle houses a rich and deep collection of art of more than 20,000 works of art from nearly 400 picture book artists, including Eric Carle (The Very Hungry Caterpillar), and illuminates its collection through exhibitions, education, programming, and art-making—making it a critical resource for picture book artists and authors, and art-loving communities locally, nationally, and abroad. The Carle’s mission is to elevate picture book art and inspire a love of art and art creation. Since opening its doors more than 20 years ago, The Carle has welcomed more than one million visitors—plus more than four million additional museumgoers who have enjoyed its touring exhibitions around the world.