Crunch, Munch - Another Very Hungry Caterpillar (The Crunching, Munching Caterpillar - Sheridan Cain)

Member Name: t4mof

Product:	The Crunching, Munching Caterpillar - Sheridan Cain
Date:	14/02/06 (502 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots of discussion points

Disadvantages: Always going to be compared to the Very Hungry Caterpillar

We first came across The Crunching Munching Caterpillar in the library a few months ago and immediately Jacob was drawn to the big yellow caterpillar’s face smiling back at him from the cover of the book. It became such a firm favourite that when the 3 weeks borrowing time was up, Jacob couldn’t bear to part with the book and we had to renew it for a further 3 weeks. Of course, it wasn’t long before we decided to buy our own copy of the book and we used his World Book Day token to get £1 off the cover price of £4.99 at Tesco.

So, what did Jacob find so special about this book? I think the first thing that is noticeable is the top right hand corner of the book has been munched away. Looks like the caterpillar hasn’t only been munching leaves but has also made a start on the book! This makes the book stand out from the others and there is a talking point before the first page is even opened.

The illustrations in the book are bright and simple, making it appeal to young children and there isn’t too much writing on each page to distract from the pictures. The words “crunch” and “munch” appear next to each leaf that the caterpillar makes his way through, so similarities between the two words can be pointed out as can the fact that they rhyme. Perfect for beginning readers.

The Crunching Munching Caterpillar tells the story of a caterpillar who can’t stop eating his way through a blackberry bush. During his feast he is visited by a bumblebee, a sparrow and finally a butterfly. As each one lands beside him, he is amazed at the way they can fly and wishes desperately to be able to fly as well. The bumblebee and the sparrow are quite mean in their responses to his wish, telling him that he has legs, not wings and he is too fat to fly. The butterfly is obviously a bit more experienced in these matters and just tells him he should sleep.

There is good use of suspense – as much as possible for a children’s book anyway. On the page before each visitor arrives, they can be seen in the background flying in the air. At this point the last line on the page ends with the caterpillar just about to do something when… and the page has to be turned to find out what happens next. Of course, this opens up the possibility for using the pictures to predict what will happen next. Young children should be able to spot the bumblebee, sparrow and butterfly in the sky coming to see the caterpillar and guess that they will be speaking to him on the next page.

After the butterfly tells the caterpillar to have his long sleep, he keeps himself warm in a leaf and falls asleep for the whole winter. We then follow his dreams while he sleeps and the font for this changes into squiggly “dreamlike” font. Again, children might be able to predict what the caterpillar is going to dream about. This is also a good section for reinforcing some of the language used earlier in the book as the caterpillar dreams he is “a dandelion clock” and that he is “floating on the breeze”. Both phrases were used by the sparrow when he was telling the caterpillar he was too fat to fly.

Soon the warm sun wakes the caterpillar up but he is not hungry anymore. Instead he feels the urge to stretch after his long sleep. Good use of the font is used here as well as the word “stretched” is written in a stretched way. And without giving the ending away, something very special has happened to caterpillar while he has been asleep. Again some children might like to guess before turning onto the final page, others might like to find out.

It’s a simple story with bright illustrations to bring everything to life for children. There’s plenty to discuss on each page, the language is easy to understand but does introduce less common words such as “the light began to dim” rather than “it was getting dark” and there is a surprise at the end. What more could you ask for from a children’s book?

It makes a perfect bedtime story and takes between five and ten minutes to read depending on how much you discuss while reading the book. Of course there will be comparisons with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which essentially tells the same story and although that book is an obvious classic, The Crunching Munching Caterpillar is still a very satisfying read and a good alternative to the “caterpillar changes into butterfly” plot.

As a read aloud story, I would say this book is suitable for babies, who would find the colours of the illustrations stimulating, up to about the age of 5. After that they might like to try and read the story for themselves.

Amazon have several formats of the book available, including the board book which was released March 2005 aimed at babies, and a pop-up book which was released in July 2005. Prices are generally around the RRP of £4.99 on Amazon but it can be found cheaper on Amazon Marketplace and can probably be found in all the usual bookstores.

Summary: An alternative "caterpillar changes into a butterfly" story.