The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author: Eric Carle

Ages: Pre-K-2

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: A very hungry caterpillar is born and sets out on a journey to find food. Throughout the book he eats almost everything he can find, until he is so stuffed! He builds himself a cocoon and turns into a beautiful butterfly.

When I was in pre-school, my grandma gave me this book as a gift. It became my all time favorite book, and is definitely at the top of my list. I always wanted my mom to read me this story whenever I got a chance. I adored this book as a child and I still do. Here’s why. First of all, as a young reader I was always so excited to see what the caterpillar was going to eat next. The pages are set up so creatively that it looks like the caterpillar ate right through the book! And let’s not forget about the amazing illustrations that Eric Carle has done to go along with this delightful story.  Each page is full of vibrant colors and even though the illustrations are not elaborate it doesn’t really matter because of those colors. I love that I can recall having this book read to me on multiple occasions as a child and it is still one of my favorites to reread even as an adult.

This book can be read in pretty much any classroom. I feel that it would be most beneficial with younger children especially in science or even art. There is a simple science lesson about how butterflies come to be, as well as how to make pictures look so beautiful using paper collages. This is something that could definitely get students interested in art.