This greedy caterpillar needs to get to Weight Watchers... (The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle)

Member Name: sambam000

Product:	The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Date:	20/06/09 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A classic. Wonderful illustrations/details.

Disadvantages: None.

Aaah, the Very Hungry Caterpillar! Surely a classic story for many of us, considering it's been on the go for 40 years now!

I had actually forgotten about this book until fairly recently. It seems the caterpillar is undergoing a major revival - with no end of shops stocking the book, along with caterpillar soft toys, mugs, stationary, jigsaw puzzles etc etc!

I decided that I had to buy a copy for my son. Well, it was one of my favourites as a small child, so even if he isn't interested, I figured I'd have another look myself!

I bought the board book version, which is a smallish book, but sturdy & glossy which means it'll stand up a fair amount of abuse by little hands! The pages feature clever die-cut holes in order to demonstrate the hungry caterpillar eating his way through no end of food.

The story is about a caterpillar who eats more & more food each day (until he ends up with a tummy-ache!), getting bigger & bigger until he weaves a cocoon around himself & then emerges as a beautiful butterfly.

The wonder of this book are the simple, colourful, almost-childlike illustrations - these coupled with the die-cut pages make the book a real novelty for old & young alike. The story itself is very simple & teaches children different colours & foods (perhaps the story could be re-written to include the caterpillar getting his 5 a day?!), although I'm not sure many children will understand the concept of metamorphosis...!

The book is available in several sizes/finishes (i.e. board, paperback, giant). The board book is RRP £5.99, but can usually be found half-price on Amazon.co.uk.

(Also published on ciao under the same username).

Summary: Classic book that will please for generations to come.