The Carle's 2025-2026 Exhibition Schedule

Upcoming Exhibitions

Note: details are subject to change; please refer to the respective exhibition pages linked below.

Cooking with Eric Carle

September 20, 2025–August 23, 2026

Curated by Isabel Ruiz Cano, Courtney Waring, and Rachel Hass

Eric Carle’s career in book publishing began with commissions for Red Flannel Hash and Shoo-Fly Pie (published in 1965), a compilation of folk recipes from across the United States. When he switched over to his signature collage style, Carle continued to feature food in many of his books: Today is Monday concludes with a whole feast, and the board book My Very First Book of Food offers delightful small-scale snacks. From The Very Hungry Caterpillar to Walter the Baker, creatures and characters munch on all kinds of food in Eric Carle’s artwork.

Sprites, Spells, and Splashes: Magical Beings in Picture Book Art

November 22, 2025–April 26, 2026

Curated by Isabel Ruiz Cano

This enchanting exhibition explores the rich visual traditions of fairies, mermaids, wizards, and other supernatural beings through beloved picture book illustrations. Featuring more than 30 works from classic and contemporary artists, including Alice Bolam Preston, Leo & Dianne Dillon, and Tony DiTerlizzi, the exhibition invites visitors to discover the artistry behind these fantastical characters and the storytelling power of illustration. Through original artworks, Sprites, Spells, and Splashes celebrates the enduring magic of picture book art and the way it brings the impossible to life.

Click!: Photographers Make Picture Books

January 17–June 7, 2026

Curated by Leonard Marcus

Visionary photographer-illustrators from Edward Steichen and William Wegman to Dare Wright, Mo Willems, Tana Hoban, Charles R. Smith Jr, and Walter Wick have long trained their camera eye with young people in mind. Their work reveals the hidden beauty of our everyday surroundings, makes the fantastic seem real in artfully choreographed collages and staged photos, and documents the amazing diversity of life on our planet. Eighty archival photo prints and a selection of rare children’s books from the 1890s onward put this vibrant, under-explored strand of children’s book art into eye-opening sharp focus.

Under the Cork Tree: The Story of Ferdinand

May 9–November 8, 2026

Curated by Jane Bayard Curley

Among the greatest of American picture books, The Story of Ferdinand turns ninety in 2026. In a single sitting in 1935, Munro Leaf dashed out a story for his friend Robert Lawson, choosing an exotic setting, Spain, and an unlikely hero, a bull who didn’t want to fight. The two friends produced a gem, a marriage of word and image that still enchants children and adults alike. Since 1936, Ferdinand has never been out of print, his story has been translated into more than 60 languages, and he has starred in several movies. The exhibition includes Lawson’s finished drawings, his book dummy and Leaf’s manuscript, and a cel from the Academy Award-winning Disney animated short (1938).

Current Exhibitions

Open + Shut: Celebrating the Art of Endpapers 

On view through November 9, 2025

Curated by Bruce Handy

Endpapers are the unsung glory of contemporary children’s publishing. Once a purely functional form—sturdy pages glued to the inside of a book’s cardboard covers—endpapers today are often full of wit, surprise, and deep emotion. As one of the first (and last!) visual elements readers encounter when interacting with a book, endpapers set the mood for the story inside. More than 50 works on view, ranging from classics such as Blueberries for Sal and The World of Pooh, to contemporary works by Yas Imamura, Eliza Kinkz, Paloma Valdivia, among others, show how endpapers can extend the main story, offer a conceptual take on a theme or action, or provide additional visual and narrative information.

The Art of Grace Lin: Meeting a Friend in an Unexpected Place

On view through January 4, 2026

Curated by Melissa Hung

This retrospective exhibition explores all aspects of author-artist Grace Lin’s creativity through more than 90 works from her prolific 26-year career in picture books, books for young readers, and chapter books. On view are works of original art, sketches, manuscripts, and videos from more than 22 acclaimed titles and other work from throughout her career. Born to Taiwanese immigrants in upstate New York, Lin expresses her heritage through storytelling. Much of her work features Asian and Asian American characters—something she longed to see in the books she read as a child. Today, Lin is a dedicated advocate for diversity in children’s literature who believes “a book can make all cultures universal.”

About The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Founded in 2002 by Eric and Barbara Carle, 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 300 picture book artists, including Eric Carle (author of 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.

For further information, please contact: Amanda Domizio, Amanda Domizio Communications, 347-229-2877 / amanda@domiziopr.com