The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author:  Eric Carle

Genre: Picture Book, Fiction

Grade Level: Preschool and up

Published Date:  1981

Theme: Sequential, Days of the Week

Summary: The very hungry caterpillar is munching through the pages in this adorable tissue paper illustrated book.  As the caterpillar goes through the days of the week, each day has a numbered treat for him.  At the end we find out exactly why the caterpillar was so hungry.  He turns into a beautiful butterfly and the butterfly consists of all of the colors of the food he ate.

Pre-Reading Activity: Study the lifecycle of a butterfly.  

Post-Reading Activity: Talk about the different numbers and foods in the book.  You can have groups of 2 draw a food that they enjoy and make a classroom book.  For example, The Very Hungry Second Graders.  I would also have my students write a story about a butterfly and use this outline for a draft.

Reflection: I love this story and I love the other books by Eric Carle.  This story is so cute and even after I have red this story hundreds of times I just recently noticed that the butterfly at the end of the book is the color of all of the foods that the caterpillar ate throughout the book.

About the Author

Eric Carle

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 more than 50 languages and sold over 33 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 110 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Interesting Things I Found:

 My cousin did this for her son's first birthday and she handed out these invitations...