The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Penguin, 2019. ISBN: 9780141338484. Board book.
(Age: 0-5) Highly recommended. This big board book of a favourite
that has stood the test of years will delight another generation of
children. First published in 1969, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
has delighted children and adults over the years and having it in a
sturdy, hard wearing large format will make it even more attractive
for the very young child.
The very hungry caterpillar starts out as a tiny little egg on a
leaf. Then the sun comes up and out pops a tiny and very hungry
caterpillar who proceeds to munch through different fruits for each
day of the week. On Saturday he eats through so many inappropriate
foods that he has a stomach-ache and then must eat a lovely green
leaf to recover. Ultimately, he makes a cocoon for himself before he
turns into a beautiful butterfly.
My 11-month-old grandson loves this book and is happy to hear it
again and again. The holes that the little caterpillar makes
intrigue him and he enjoys putting his fingers in them while looking
at the bright pictures. The eyes on the caterpillar are another
feature that fascinate, and he likes that the board pages are strong
enough for him to turn over himself. And of course there is a lot of
subtle learning going on as the caterpillar eats: the names of days
of the week, the names of different pieces of fruit, their colours
and counting up to five, as well as a warning that overeating can
give you a stomach ache. And of course, there is the whole life
cycle of the butterfly, leading to lots of investigation of
caterpillars especially in Spring when they are often in the garden.
A perfect gift for a new baby and a wonderful book to have in any
library. There are others in the hungry caterpillar series, too
including: Where
is the very hungry caterpillar?, The
very hungry caterpillar's hide and seek, and The
very hungry caterpillar's birthday party. And to
celebrate the 80th anniversary of Puffin, throughout the month of
September 2020, you'll be able to score your very own Puffin water
bottle for FREE! All you have to do is visit your local bookstore
and purchase two Puffin books of your choice to receive your water
bottle - at participating bookstores while stocks last.
Pat Pledger