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Flora and Tiger: 19 Very Short Stories from My Life
My father loved animals, it is from him that I inherited that love for all kinds of creatures. My father liked to draw, it is from him that I inherited the joy of picture making. My father was a story teller, it is from him that I learned to tell a story.
Eric Carle known for his outstanding picture books, among them The Very Hungry Caterpillar , has now turned his talent to writing these short stories. Flora and Tiger is an exuberant and touching collection of personal vignettes dedicated to his gentle father, from his earliest years in America, through his boyhood in the shadow of war in Germany, to the present as an adult living and working in the United States.
Eric Carle writes of his Oma (German grandmother) and the hen who might have been a rooster, his cousin Fritz and the turtle who loved a cat, his friend Sol and his kidnapped black cat, and his Uncle Adam and his tamed ravens, and many others.
"These stories have three things in common," Eric Carle writes, "animals and insects, my family and friends. and me." Writing with wit and charm, full of love for the people around him, in these stories, Eric Carle welcomes readers, young and old, into his world.
Eric Carle known for his outstanding picture books, among them The Very Hungry Caterpillar , has now turned his talent to writing these short stories. Flora and Tiger is an exuberant and touching collection of personal vignettes dedicated to his gentle father, from his earliest years in America, through his boyhood in the shadow of war in Germany, to the present as an adult living and working in the United States.
Eric Carle writes of his Oma (German grandmother) and the hen who might have been a rooster, his cousin Fritz and the turtle who loved a cat, his friend Sol and his kidnapped black cat, and his Uncle Adam and his tamed ravens, and many others.
"These stories have three things in common," Eric Carle writes, "animals and insects, my family and friends. and me." Writing with wit and charm, full of love for the people around him, in these stories, Eric Carle welcomes readers, young and old, into his world.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published September 22, 1997
1 person is currently reading
118 people want to read
About the author
Eric Carle
746 books2,449 followersEric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle 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 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. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded 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. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 11, 2019
Acclaimed children’s author and illustrator Eric Carle writes early in this book that he often used to receive letters from kids asking if he’d written any “real” or “older” books—that is, nonfiction ones. He hadn’t, actually, and with this book he seeks to remedy that. Oddly, though, Flora and Tiger, his sharply observed and rather quirky collection of vignettes--most of which feature animals, insects, and members of his family, isn’t really ideally suited to children at all, but to the adults who have shared Carle’s picture books with kids. Let me explain. In one story, a pet cat is carried off by an owl; the cat meows piteously, but no one can save it, gripped as it is in the owl's talons as the bird flies overhead. In another story, a pet turtle, Flora, disappears when she’s due to be deposited in peat moss for her annual winter hibernation in the cellar. The following spring, grandfather’s shovel hits what the old man believes is a rock in the garden. It’s Flora—she’s frozen, and, sadly, no longer alive. Such stories might be distressing to some young children. Adolescents might be better equipped to take the harder details in stride; Carle’s small gems, his luminous “moments of being”, might serve as good writing models for older kids' own short memoir pieces.
Carle—who was born in the US in 1929 to German immigrant parents, but who spent most of his childhood and youth in Germany (where his homesick parents returned)—obviously grew up in different, far more difficult times than many of us. For one thing, he experienced the Second World War first hand. In one story, he tells of a beloved canary escaping through the sitting room window. Seemingly magically, a blue parakeet flies in almost as if to replace the missing songbird, only to be killed in a bombing raid shortly after. Rabbits, which many children nowadays regard as companion animals, were raised for food during a war when everyone was always hungry.
Carle’s stories are dedicated to his father, written in “love and gratitude” for all the man passed on to him: intense affection for and knowledge of all kinds of creatures (much of the latter gained during long walks the two took together in the countryside); the joy of picture-making; and the power of storytelling. Carle explains that his father had been drafted into the German army on the first day of the war. The two were separated from each other for eight years. Carle’s father was held for years in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. He returned “a changed and broken man” when Eric was an 18-year-old art student.
Although some of Carle's stories might not be suitable for young children, I, an adult reader, enjoyed his calm and finely written pieces very much. Though economically told, they provide the reader with a sense of the personalities of close family members and the tensions between these people. Carle also conveys a lot of factual information about insects, birds, and reptiles, and he charms us with memories of family pets. Not all of the stories are from childhood, and the tales are not chronologically arranged. As a result, each unlinked story provides its own distinct little flash of surprise. One of the more delightful of Carle’s adult memories concerns a pet cat who liked to play fetch with a string bean tossed to her during dinner preparation. The little feline would signal when she was tuckered out by depositing the bean in one of Eric’s shoes around which she’d then curl her furry body.
Carle—who was born in the US in 1929 to German immigrant parents, but who spent most of his childhood and youth in Germany (where his homesick parents returned)—obviously grew up in different, far more difficult times than many of us. For one thing, he experienced the Second World War first hand. In one story, he tells of a beloved canary escaping through the sitting room window. Seemingly magically, a blue parakeet flies in almost as if to replace the missing songbird, only to be killed in a bombing raid shortly after. Rabbits, which many children nowadays regard as companion animals, were raised for food during a war when everyone was always hungry.
Carle’s stories are dedicated to his father, written in “love and gratitude” for all the man passed on to him: intense affection for and knowledge of all kinds of creatures (much of the latter gained during long walks the two took together in the countryside); the joy of picture-making; and the power of storytelling. Carle explains that his father had been drafted into the German army on the first day of the war. The two were separated from each other for eight years. Carle’s father was held for years in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp. He returned “a changed and broken man” when Eric was an 18-year-old art student.
Although some of Carle's stories might not be suitable for young children, I, an adult reader, enjoyed his calm and finely written pieces very much. Though economically told, they provide the reader with a sense of the personalities of close family members and the tensions between these people. Carle also conveys a lot of factual information about insects, birds, and reptiles, and he charms us with memories of family pets. Not all of the stories are from childhood, and the tales are not chronologically arranged. As a result, each unlinked story provides its own distinct little flash of surprise. One of the more delightful of Carle’s adult memories concerns a pet cat who liked to play fetch with a string bean tossed to her during dinner preparation. The little feline would signal when she was tuckered out by depositing the bean in one of Eric’s shoes around which she’d then curl her furry body.
May 31, 2021
I've had this for years and hadn't read it, but serendipitously rediscovered it while shifting some books last weekend. So of course I picked it up this weekend after the news of Carle's death last week. This book provides a few tiny glimpses (2-3 pages each) into Carle's life at various ages, some in Germany and some in the U.S. They are more stories about animals that Carle encountered, rather than stories directly about himself, but they still give a little insight into his life. The stories are of course accompanied by small animal illustrations in his signature collage style. A lovely way to spend some time remembering an author who filled my childhood with such charming stories and vivid illustrations.
December 9, 2011
An odd little book. Carle's first book for ""older readers"". An autobiography of sorts in 19 short stories, most are two pages long, the occasional one 3 pages. Some are from his childhood in Germany, some from his adulthood in America. They seem randomly collected, and randomly organised. Most are about animals doing odd things, rather than events from his life per se, although the stories do convery something of his life. My favourite story was Fifi and the String Bean. A simple little tale of his cat Fifi and how she liked to play fetch with beans and then hide them in his shoe. My cat Max used to play fetch when he was young, so this one appealed to me most. To be honest I didn't see the point to a lot of the stories, and I wondered if Carle hadn't been so famous would this have been published? I'm not sure. It is an quick and interesting read though if you're interested in Carle and his work.
March 22, 2018
Unless a child is super interested in Eric Carle or super interested in natural stories about animals this isn't gonna be interesting. I enjoyed it, though. Cute stories about cats, so maybe cat lovers would like it.
March 17, 2019
Fun shorts, cute illustrations, and Fifi and the String Bean, which totally made my morning.
January 22, 2021
Children's NF- Biography
May 27, 2021
Interesting stories from Eric Carle's life.
August 19, 2021
If you love Eric Carle, then as an adult you gotta read these short stories all about his life and childhood.
August 31, 2021
This delightful hybrid - not quite a memoir, not quite a picture book but somehow both, was a joy to read. As ever, Carle's illustrations are unique, simple, delicious.
December 10, 2023
Omg I loved reading this book for older readers! Carle shares very short snippets of animal encounters through his life ♥️♥️♥️
October 26, 2025
Darling little stories and fabulous illustration techniques. A Master!
December 5, 2012
Flora and Tiger is an autobiography about children's author and illustrator, Eric Carle. The autobiography isn't like a typical one where it presents the life span of a particular person from birth to the present. Eric's autobiography is in the format of 19 short stories. Each story is about a couple pages long, easy to read, and very sporadic, meaning they are in no particular order. The stories come from Carle's memories of his life in Germany as a child and his life in America as an adult. Family, friends, animals, and insects are the main components in his stories. However some stories are about animals doing the most random things while some are more directly about his life. The stories were whimsical, playful, witty, and fun. The illustrations were minimal but definitely eye-catching. Carle dedicated these personal vignettes to his father and although this is a children's picture book, I could see both younger and older reading these short stories.
December 5, 2012
Flora and Tiger : 19 Very Short Stories from My Life by Eric Carle is an autobiography that was written about Eric Carle himself. The main idea of the book was placing together short stories from Eric Carle’s life about his time in Germany and later the United States. These stories always somehow, in someway, linked together about a specific animal. The book talks about how Eric Carle got interested in drawing and writing; his father did both. He does a great job describing people in his life by comparing them to a certain animal and telling just how this animal/symbol of the animal applies to that specific person. I would recommend this book for virtually any age but most specifically both boys and girls between the ages of six to seventeen years old. This book although may seem a little bit on the childish side has a great overall idea that can be enjoyed by many. This book has great illustrations that were also done by none other than himself, Eric Carle.
May 6, 2013
This book of "19 very short stories from" the life of Eric Carle is a gem. Normally a children's book author and illustrator, this book is appropriate for older children and adults. Each story is a separate memory from his life and they are presented in no particular order. The reader will enjoy the book most if he/she reads a single story at a time as the stories do not flow one into the other . They will remind you of your childhood when you watched the ants march down the sidewalk and the clouds drift over your head. Hopefully they will also remind you to slow down and enjoy the beauty and wonder of nature and the things around you.
October 29, 2013
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.8
Summary: In this autobiography, Eric Carle takes the reader to his early childhood escapades in Germany and the United States. The book includes several anecdotes of his life and how he came up with all of the beloved characters in his numerous books.
Lesson Integration: The teacher can read this book to explore an autobiography and how Eric Carle writes it in a unique way. Students can then write a brief autobiography about themselves and present it to the class.
Summary: In this autobiography, Eric Carle takes the reader to his early childhood escapades in Germany and the United States. The book includes several anecdotes of his life and how he came up with all of the beloved characters in his numerous books.
Lesson Integration: The teacher can read this book to explore an autobiography and how Eric Carle writes it in a unique way. Students can then write a brief autobiography about themselves and present it to the class.
September 23, 2013
Read by: Mary
Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle
Genre: Autobiography
Interest Level: 3-6
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.8
Lexile Measure®: 1050L
Flora and Tiger is all about Eric Carle life, from early life to his career. He writes about who and what his influences were to helping him become a writer and artist. The book is split into short stories, where some are about the important people of his life, and others are about places.
Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle
Genre: Autobiography
Interest Level: 3-6
Grade Level Equivalent: 4.8
Lexile Measure®: 1050L
Flora and Tiger is all about Eric Carle life, from early life to his career. He writes about who and what his influences were to helping him become a writer and artist. The book is split into short stories, where some are about the important people of his life, and others are about places.
October 30, 2013
Interest Level Grades 3 - 5
Grade level Equivalent: 4.8
Lexile Measure®: 1050
The story of Eric Carle about his childhood and his move to the United States. Carle relates his life to Animals just like he has written many books about animals. This is a good book because many children grow up reading Eric Carle books so now they can get to know the author himself.
Grade level Equivalent: 4.8
Lexile Measure®: 1050
The story of Eric Carle about his childhood and his move to the United States. Carle relates his life to Animals just like he has written many books about animals. This is a good book because many children grow up reading Eric Carle books so now they can get to know the author himself.
April 27, 2016
I'm not sure little children would enjoy these stories but they are lovely little tales of an unusual childhood. Half are from when he lived in Germany and half from America. Small illustrations but lovely
September 12, 2008
Interesting autobiographical sketches from the fiercely talented Eric Carle.
May 9, 2013
Interesting take on an autobiography-
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews