The new Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, is a tribute to the artistry of children's book illustration and a testament to the generous spirit of its founders and main benefactors, Eric Carle and his wife Barbara. Eric Carle is world-known for his boldly illustrated, cleverly designed picture books for children. His stories are infused with his love of nature and childhood. With the goal of "giving back" to the children of all ages who have loved Carle's books, the Museum's mission, as stated in a press release, "is to introduce a wide audience to the beauty, meaning and value of picture book art--fostering a love of both visual arts and written language." The Museum attempts to satisfy the needs of children to touch and hold the paintings by providing a cache of Carle's picture books, along with those of other exhibiting artists, in each of its three galleries. The Museum strives to have picture book art recognized as fine art on its own merits. Non-picture book art, borrowed from other collections, is displayed side by side with picture book art.