Exhibitions, Programs, and Events at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Head over to Amherst, Massachusetts for a summer loaded with picture-book themed events at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.

IN THE GALLERY:
We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
February 7 – June 10, 2012
“We are the ship; all else the sea.”
Rube Foster, founder of the Negro National League
Learn about history through these thirty-three paintings, thirteen sketches and educational materials from the book, WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball, by Kadir Nelson, award-winning artist and author. Nelson spent seven years researching, writing, and creating handsome paintings to be included in the brilliantly illustrated book,WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball, which is dedicated to the preservation of the history of Negro Leagues.
For more information click here.
Tour Management by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, Kansas

Testing the Ice: A True Story About Jackie Robinson
December 3, 2011 – May 6, 2012
Testing the Ice by Sharon Robinson, an educational consultant for Major League Baseball and vice chairman of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and illustrated by the award-winning Kadir Nelson is a story about her father, baseball legend Jackie Robinson. On April 15, 1947, Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers and became the first African-American man to play in major league baseball. In 1962, he became the first African-American to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But this is not that story. Daughter Sharon Robinson’s story is about an incident that happened in her family after her father retired from baseball. For more information click here.
TESTING THE ICE: A TRUE STORY ABOUT JACKIE ROBINSON by Sharon Robinson, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Scholastic Inc./Scholastic Press. Illustrations copyright © 2009

The Art of Eric Carle: The Birth of a Book and a Museum
April 3 – September 2, 2012
2012 will mark two ten-year anniversaries for Eric Carle—the opening of the Museum and the publication of “Slowly, Slowly, Slowly,” said the Sloth. Come see how this peaceful animal sends a powerful lesson about life. For more information click here.
IN THE AUDITORIUM:
Northampton Community Music Center Family Concert Series with Elizabeth Mitchell
May 5, 2012 | 1:00 pm
$6 (cash only); no advanced ticket sales.
Elizabeth Mitchell, a Smithsonian Folkways Recordings artist, has been recording and performing music for children and families since 1998. “Together with her husband, Daniel Littleton, and their daughter, Storey, Mitchell has released some of the most uplifting kids’ music out there.” (NPR)youaremyflower.org

Double Victory: Negro League Baseball, the segregated Army, and the struggle to end segregation
May 6, 2012 | 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Gallery Tour and Talk
3:00 pm – Gallery Tour of WE ARE THE SHIP: The Story of Negro League Baseball with Doron Goldman, Baseball Historian.
Goldman will provide guests with historical perspective on the Negro League players and the seminal moments depicted so powerfully in Kadir Nelson’s portraits

Auditorium Talk with Ray Elliot, a veteran of the segregated Army Air Corps of WWII.
May 4, 2012 | 4:00 pm
Elliot, a speaker for the Veterans Education Project, will talk about participating in the “Double Victory” movement, a campaign in the black community during the war to defeat fascism overseas and discrimination at home. Introduction by Lee Hines, Jr., a Vietnam Air Force veteran, about ways black soldiers serving in Vietnam built on the work of the segregated Army Air Corps and the Tuskegee Airmen.
Sponsored by the Veterans Education Project. For more information Click here

Berkshire Theatre Festival Presents Way out West
May 19 – May 20, 2012 | 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm
$6.50 (Members $5.50); Museum Admission extra
Cozy up to the campfire, buckaroos, for inspired tall tales, cowboy chronicles, and Native American mythology on a hilarious journey back to the wild and wacky West.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Museum Admissions Desk or by calling (413) 658-1126
AT THE MUSEUM:
Talking About Words and Pictures with Award-Winning Author/Illustrator
Wendell Minor
May 6, 2012 | 12:00 pm
Doors open for this event at 11:30 am | Museum opens at 12:00 pm
Free; Museum Admission extra
Join us as we engage picture book artists and authors in conversation about their beginnings and their books.
Book signing to follow
IN THE READING LIBRARY:
Special Storytime with illustrator David Ercolini
May 19, 2012 | 2:00 pm
Free with Museum Admission
With a passion for picture books that began with his teaching art to young children, New York City-based illustrator David Ercolini visits The Carle. Join him for a reading and drawing presentation celebrating his latest children’s book Not Inside This House! by author Kevin Lewis.
Book signing to follow
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP:
Reading Pictures: Interpreting Picture Book Art with Children
May 23, 2012 | 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
$40 (Members $35)
(3 PDPs) Using the Whole Book Approach as our foundation, we will explore unique and varied ways that picture books create a sense of motion, time, perspective, and the imaginary, and in doing so develop children’s visual literacy. As we evaluate how the artwork of picture books can create meaning, we will discuss how to engage students interactively and critically with these books in a manner that will encourage them to interpret stories on their own terms, to find pleasure in looking at art, and to make connections between the books that they read and the world that they live in.
Instructor: Emily Prabhaker
Registration is required. Please click here for information on how to register.
2012 CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL:
Baseball Bonanza!
June 9, 2012 | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Free with Museum Admission
Join a host of authors and artists who have created some of your favorite baseball picture books for our 7th annual Children’s Book Festival in conjunction with the exhibition We Are The Ship: The History of Negro League Baseball, original paintings by award-winning artist Kadir Nelson.

The Museum will host members of the Negro League Baseball Players Association for a special program in the Auditorium. In addition, this event for art-, book-, and baseball-lovers of all ages will feature art activities, artist and author presentations and demonstrations, and book signings. Enjoy ballpark fare or bring your own picnic to enjoy in our apple orchard.