The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle, World Publishing Company (US), Hamish Hamilton (UK), Published June 3, 1969, ISBN – 0-399-22690-7 (US) 

Welcome to my first ever book review! This week I will be reviewing The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a timeless classic by a very talented author and Illustrator.

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. His best-known work, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into 62 languages and sold over 46 million copies. Since the Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have sold around the world – (Biographical Notes for Eric Carle, retrieved 11/01/18 from http://www.eric-carle.com/bio.html)

The story is about (you guessed it!) a very hungry caterpillar. He hatches from an egg and on Sunday begins to look for something to eat. The story recounts what he ate every day of the week and uses repetitive language throughout. On Monday he ate through one apple, but he was still hungry. On Tuesday, he ate through 2 pears, but he was still hungry. On Wednesday……3 plums……On Thursday……4 strawberries……On Friday…….5 oranges.

On Saturday, the story changes. He ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, on slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon. The story then states that he had a stomach ate that night.

The following day is Sunday again, and the caterpillar ate through a green leaf which made him feel better. Then the audience is told that he is no longer a tiny caterpillar, but a big, fat caterpillar. He builds a cocoon and stays inside it for more than 2 weeks. Then he nibbles a hole in the cocoon and comes out as a beautiful butterfly.

 This is my favourite children’s book because it involves so many learning opportunities for children. It includes literacy, mathematical, scientific and nutrition concepts.

For example, it introduces the days of the week, there are names for five different types of fruit as well as junk food. The mathematical aspect involves counting (e.g. 1 apple, 2 pears etc). In addition there are a memory aspect (you could ask the child to recall which foods are mentioned), the life cycle of a butterfly (science) and the importance of eating healthy food vs junk food (nutrition).

This is a great book for parents to read to their children because it is concise and to the point. It can promote discussions about healthy eating and the consequences of unhealthy eating (i.e. you feel/get sick). It is also a great book for educators as there is so much scope for extending children’s learning.

In conclusion, this is a fun book for children to listen to and read over and over again. And parents can be reassured that a seemingly nonsensical book is in fact educational.

If you do not already own this book, you can get it from Amazon by clicking on the link below.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Very-Hungry-Caterpillar-Eric-Carle/dp/0140569324/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515724379&sr=1-1&keywords=the+very+hungry+caterpillar

Tune in next week for my review on Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K Rowling!

Mel