The Very Hungry Caterpillar (The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle)

Member Name: princesslaura

Product:	The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Date:	03/04/09 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a great story

Disadvantages: illustrations aren't really my style

This charming book by American author Eric Carle was first published in 1969 [it is celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year], and is still well-loved today. It has sold over 25 million copies and tells the story of a tiny caterpillar which hatches from it's egg and goes on a bit of an eating binge before building himself a cocoon to rest his poor, sore tummy in, and finally, emerging as a butterfly.

This is a small hardback book which contains holes through many of the pages showing the journey of the caterpillar as he eats his way through various foods.

I was never a great fan of this book as a child, and I am still not keen on Eric Carle's illustrations. My children love the story and I have grown to appreciate it more as an adult and am now a big fan. I particularly love the way that the book introduces numbers [the caterpillar eats one more item each day], days of the week [the caterpillar eats for a week before forming it's cocoon] and the change from caterpillar to butterfly. It really manages to convey a lot of useful information to little people. I also like the language used, which is often praised for being simple for young children to read along with.

My children particularly love the excitement of the beautiful butterfly which emerges on the final pages.

I would really recommend this as a brilliant addition to a child's library, my children have enjoyed it from when they were tiny babies and my 5 year old still likes to look at it. It's a lovely story which amuses and teaches a little along the way.

The RRP for this book is £5.99, but Amazon currently sell it for £2.99.

Summary: a great addition to a child's library