Beloved children’s author Eric Carle has a new book called Friends coming this Fall. Penguin Young Readers Group’s Philomel imprint will publish the picture book about “the love that binds people and the obstacles they will overcome in order to be together.”
Penguin Young Readers Group president Don Weisberg and Philomel publisher Michael Green negotiated the deal. Philomel plans to print 300,000 copies for the first U.S. printing. Carle explained the book in the release:
Friends dates back to 1952, when I was a 22 year greenhorn who arrived in New York City from Germany, speaking poor English and carrying a cardboard suitcase and a portfolio of my graphic designs. It was my good luck to meet Leo Lionni, then the Art Director of Fortune magazine, who became my mentor. Upon his recommendation I got my first job in the new world as a graphic designer with The New York Times. After that a loose and infrequent friendship with Leo developed that lasted until his death in 1999. Friends started out as a tribute to Leo Lionni, but the story somehow swerved into the story of another friendship, that of two small children. All friendships are somehow connected.