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The Definitive Guide to

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Name: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Rating: 5.50 (1 reviews)

Written and illustrated by Eric Carle

Published by Philomel

Prices as of Jun 16

Retail
$21.99
Bookshop
$18.69

used $-11.67

Amazon

$3.23

Publication Date
Oct 15, 1981
Pages
32

What's This Book About

Publisher Summary

Follows the progress of a hungry little caterpillar as he eats his way through a varied and very large quantity of food until, full at last, he forms a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep. Die-cut pages illustrate what the caterpillar ate on successive days.

What Kind of Book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Themes

caterpillars bugs and insects fruit food numbers butterflies first concepts butterflies, moths and caterpillars

Genres

fiction classics

Reviews

Readerly Mom

5.50

It's a classic for a reason! This was the first book my first baby showed a clear preference for - I think it's something about the bright colors and big shapes on a plain white background. Regardless, it's one we read, have read, and will read over and over again!

Ted Dewan

Critic

Full review

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the pillars of children's culture," says Ted Dewan. "It's almost like talking about how great the Beatles were. It's beyond reproach."

Publisher's Weekly

Critic

Full review

"While the prominent use of white space lends a sparser feel than in the picture book, the shimmering wings of the pop-up butterfly dazzle..."

Book Trust

Critic

Full review

Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar deserves its reputation as a much-loved classic. Full of bright and imaginative illustrations and ingenious cut-out details, it charts the progress of a very hungry caterpillar as he eats his way through the week. The pictures readily engage children's attention and involve them in the reading process, while helping them learn about numbers, days of the week and time. This is a fantastic book for pre-school children, who are sure to demand it time and time again.

Book Lists That Include This Book

I Love Dad with the Very Hungry Caterpillar

Books About caterpillars

Books About Best Children's Books by Age

Books About bugs and insects

The Creative Behind the Book

Author & Illustrator

Eric Carle

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for very young children. He is best known for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, From Head to Toe, and The Grouchy Ladybug. Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many bestsellers, most of which he also wrote. He has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter, and divides his time between the Florida Keys and the hills of North Carolina. Mr. Carle opened the celebrated Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Northampton, MA, to feature both his work and that of other esteemed children’s book artists.