The idea for the very colorful installation of papier m?ché objects from the children's book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle came about through a mistake.
The display, in the children's corner of the Hawthorne-Longfellow Library, boasts various objects eaten by a ravenous caterpillar in the book, as well as the caterpillar himself and the butterfly he becomes. It was inspired by the collection of papier m?ché animals at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick. But while the papier m?ché creatures at the Curtis Memorial Library are machine-made, all the pieces of the installation in H-L Library are handmade.
Last summer, a large papier m?ché horse was delivered to the H-L Library by mistake. The staff soon learned that the horse was intended for the collection of animals at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick.
After seeing the horse, Bowdoin Librarian Sherrie Bergman approached the Craft Center to get help in creating a similar display for the H-L Library's children's corner.
Over the summer Craft Center instructors Bonnie Faulkner and Lonie Ellis, as well as Bonnie Pardue, the information desk coordinator, decided on Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as a theme.
Faulkner and Ellis worked with first-year students Xin Sun and Whitney Grass to construct the creatures, which were finished in April. The papier m?ché forms are covered with torn tissue paper, like the effect of Carle's illustrations, and glossy glue to create a hard, shiny surface. A variety of other materials were utilized to enhance the objects' appearance. The Craft Center donated all materials to the project.
According to Pardue, the installation helps make the children's corner more inviting.
"I think it makes a special place for children to go," she said. "Before you couldn't tell the space was for children."
"The children's corner is very important because faculty, staff, and guests come in with children," Bergman said. "It is a good way to occupy them."
Although Bergman plans to move some of the objects to other spaces in the library, pieces of the exhibit will remain on display on a rotating schedule in the children's corner.
Currently all the objects, including the lead character (the very hungry caterpillar), a piece of watermelon, a slice of cherry pie, a sausage, and an apple are on display.