For decades, families have been enchanted by the stories and illustrations of the late American author and illustrator Eric Carle. In 2022, his beloved children’s books will get a playful new treatment with tonies, the original and award-winning screen-free audio entertainment system designed especially for young children.
Carle was best known for bringing creatures great and small -- from very hungry little caterpillars to big brown curious bears -- to life in vivid color through his imaginative books for young readers. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of millions of children all over the world, selling over 50 million copies to date.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar will make its tonies debut in March 2022 as part of a full-catalog partnership with Penguin Random House and Joester Loria Group for The World of Eric Carle. A beautiful caterpillar Tonie figure, designed in Carle’s signature collage style, will house audiobook versions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, and The Very Quiet Cricket for little listeners to follow along. Additionally, tonies will produce three original songs inspired by each story. The late author’s voice will also be immortalized through a special previously recorded track of The Very Hungry Caterpillar read by Carle himself.
As the global brand licensing agency for The World of Eric Carle, JLG helped bring this new brand extension to life. The World of Eric Carle’s tonies debut was recently featured by License Global.