“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle has been an all-time classic children’s story book since decades now and it definitely lives up to its reputation. This is the very first book that we got for Shaarav and I’m sure most of us have had a copy of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” for their kids at some point. Over the years we have enjoyed it immensely and I wouldn’t be exaggerating when I say that Shaarav has grown with it, like literally. By far, it has been the most read book in our household. Also the most splattered on, sat on and slept on book in our collection and is still as beautiful as new and continues to grace our book collection.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

What’s the story?

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is a brilliant story of a tiny, adorable, hungry caterpillar who eats his way through a week’s worth of lots of different food items on different days to grow big and fat and later turning into a beautiful butterfly. Basically, it’s an enduring story of the life-cycle of a butterfly through an egg, caterpillar, pupa and eventually transitioning into a butterfly. A tiny hungry caterpillar hatches out of a lone egg on a leaf on a moonlit Sunday night. Initially he eats on a variety of different fruits slowly escalating the number through Monday to Friday but still remains hungry. On Saturday he binge eats on junk food and develops a tummy ache which he settles on Sunday after he eats a green leaf. But, he discovers that neither he is hungry anymore nor is he tiny and small. With all that eating he becomes fat and big and nestles himself in a self-made cocoon for two weeks only to come out as a vibrant and beautiful butterfly.

What did we like about it?

What we love about “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is how the very commonest marvels of Mother Nature has been so beautifully dramatized and weaved into a delightful story that’s sure to enchant your little reader. The graphics and design of this book is just so so spectacular that it instantly catches your little one’s attention. With very bright and sprightly pictures the story illustrates the life-cycle of a caterpillar starting from hatching from an egg to turning into a handsome butterfly. With a simple and easy to follow story-line, the books also suggests early introduction of counting and days of the week, and can be read to little readers as early as 6 months of age.

We loved “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” so much that we went a step further to include the finger puppet book apart from the big board book version. These were the very first books that we added to our library. The finger puppet gives a little extra dramatization and adds life to the storytelling. Both our versions are made in solid board book construction making it reasonably toddler proof which have proven their longevity so far. You can buy the puppet version here. BUY IT HERE!!!

Book Details

Written by: Eric Carle

Illustrated by: Eric Carle

Published by: Penguin Books Ltd.

Genre: Nonfiction Picture Book

Book Type: Board Book

Recommended Age: 2 to 5

Number of pages: 24

Ratings: 10/10

What’s there for the child to learn?

Over the years we have grown fond of the Julia Donaldson style of rhythmically rhyming didactic story books. But, the best books still remain the ones which teach the kids without them knowing that they are actually learning. And “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” does just that. It teaches the kids days of the week, colours, numbers, fruits to start with without them being aware of it. But, most importantly, your child can also learn that junk food can give you a stomach ache and you should eat your greens too to keep yourself healthy. Also that you shouldn’t be picky or fussy, eat a variety of food and eat in moderation if you want to grow and become like a beautiful butterfly.

These books have forever been Shaarav’s favourites and even when he has added several other books to his collection he still comes up to me with this book every now and then. This was one such “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” day where as part of the bookish play we decided to have a storytelling session (read aloud) and do some book related activities. We talked about the different life stages of a butterfly. We also made our version of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and also the beautiful butterfly.

This post is a part of #BlogchatterA2Z challenge. Keep watching the space for our book recommendation for the alphabet W next and in case you missed our theme reveal for this year’s BlogchatterA2Z challenge you can check it out here. You could also check our book review with alphabet U for another great review and book related activities.

Love,

Mrs. Sunshine

If you liked our book review and book related activities and you wish to purchase this book, here’s our affiliate link to the book from Amazon. You could buy this book using our link at no additional cost to you, and at the same time add a small amount towards our efforts motivating us to bring more of such useful content and ideas. BUY IT HERE!!!