Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

MARTIN, Jr..

Item Number: 20003

New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1967.

First edition, later printing. Small quarto, original illustrated boards. Signed by both Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

On a train ride in 1966, the title phrase Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? popped into Bill Martin Jr.'s head. Later, he spotted an illustration of a red lobster in a magazine and contacted the creator, Eric Carle, to ask if he would illustrate his poem. So began Eric Carle's career as a children's book illustrator--along with a life-long collaborative friendship with Bill Martin Jr. Since then, Brown Bear and the three companion titles, Polar Bear, Panda Bear, and Baby Bear, have gone on to sell millions of copies worldwide.