The Very Hungry Caterpillar: mini book [Hardcover]

Eric Carle (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 6, 1986 | Age Range: 1 - 6 years | Lexile Measure: 460L (What's this?)

This mini hardcover edition of Eric Carle's classic story begins one sunny Sunday, when the caterpillar was hatched out of a tiny egg. He was very hungry. On Monday, he ate through one apple; on Tuesday, he ate through three plums--and still he was hungry. Strikingly bold, colorful pictures and a simple text in large, clear type tell the story of a hungry little caterpillar's progress through an amazing variety and quantity of foods. Full at last, he made a cocoon around himself and went to sleep, to wake up a few weeks later wonderfully transformed into a butterfly!

Brilliantly innovative designer and artist Eric Carle has dramatized the story of one of Nature's commonest yet loveliest marvels, the metamorphosis of the butterfly, in a picture book to delight as well as instruct the very youngest reader or listener. Cleverly die-cut pages show what the caterpillar ate on successive days, graphically introducing sets of up to 10 objects and also the names of the days of the week in rotation, as well as telling the central story of the transformation of the caterpillar. The final, double-page picture of the butterfly is a joyous explosion of color, a vibrant affirmation of the wonder and beauty of Nature.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With its lovely, humorous illustrations and wonderful narrative about a hungry caterpillar growing up to be a beautiful butterfly, Eric Carle's story touches anyone who still has some growing to do. Along with reassuring repetition--"He was still hungry ..."--the book includes some wonderful interactive moments: what youngster can resist sticking a finger through that hole in the page as his ravenous friend makes his way through various delicacies?

From Publishers Weekly

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar comes the first-ever pop-up edition of this book. When the familiar, tiny caterpillar pops out of his egg, a dial lets readers help him chug across Carle's earthy color palette. Next, the caterpillar eats his way through a week's worth of pop-up fruit, as well as a full-page display of sweet and savory treats, (resulting in a stomach-ache), before his eventual transition into a butterfly. The pop-ups, particularly a half-cylinder tree trunk that sprouts from the center of the spread and a large accordionlike cocoon, are well executed and engaging. While the prominent use of white space lends a sparser feel than in the picture book, the shimmering wings of the pop-up butterfly dazzle on the final spread. Ages 3–up. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Age Range: 1 - 6 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Philomel; Min edition (March 6, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399213015
• ISBN-13: 978-0399213014
• Product Dimensions: 3.9 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (743 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,056 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Bugs & Spiders
  • #28 in Books > Children's Books > Classics
  • #45 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction

More About the Author

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for young children.


Eric was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, and moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old. After graduating from art school, he returned to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories, and found work as a graphic designer.


After seeing an advertisement designed by Eric, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask him to illustrate a story he had written. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, with its distinctive collage style, was the result of their collaboration. This favorite was the beginning of Eric Carle's true career. Soon Eric was writing his own stories, developing a close bond with Ann Beneduce, the founder of Philomel Books, who would be his editor for nearly 40 years. In 1969 they published the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Since this beginning, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote.


The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions. He says "I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born.
Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun."


Eric Carle has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter. He and his wife Barbara divide their time between Massachusetts and Florida.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

172 of 177 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect spring reading! June 29, 2000

By Ann M. Huebner

Format:Hardcover

This is one of my all-time favorite children's books. One sunny day, a caterpillar pops out of an egg. He is very hungry and begins searching for food. Now, many of Eric Carle's books have gimmicks--the tactile web in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER and the chirping in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, for example. The gimmick in this book is that the caterpillar eats holes through all the food, holes that are actually punched into the pages of the book. It's a good gimmick, actually. Also, many of Carle's books teach conventions--telling time in THE VERY GROUCHY LADYBUG and animal sounds in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, for example. This one teaches the days of the week. On Monday, the caterpillar eats this, on Tuesday he eats that, and so forth. Very cute. Eventually, he becomes a fat caterpillar. He then spins himself a cocoon, where he rests for two weeks. And when he emerges...well, you can guess the results. It's a wonderful story. Best of all, the text is very simple as are the illustrations, so the book will appeal to toddlers as well as the pre-K and kindergarten crowd. In fact, it may appeal more to toddlers, because the story is so very simple. I know I read it as a kindergartener. I loved the holes but found the story rather boring. I read it to my two-year-old this spring, however, and he went nuts over it. The days of the week were lost on him, but he was fascinated by the caterpillar turning into a butterfly--he had no idea! Can't tell you how many times we read it. We also re-enacted it, crawling on the floor and eating, spinning ourselves into cocoons, and popping out with fluttery wings. In fact, he was so taken with the caterpillar-to-butterfly phenomenon that I ordered some caterpillars (I used "Insect Lore"--they are on-line--but I'm sure there are lots of other places to get them). We read THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR at each stage of their development and then right before we released them as butterflies. It was the highlight of our spring.

100 of 106 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun, witty, classic tale. July 10, 2000

By "charlie4"

Format:Board book

We have this book in a small and large size together with anEric Carle videotape that has the story. A young caterpillar is bornand begins to eat his way through the world and through many foods that you child will be able to identify. These foods are eaten on each of the seven days of the week, an added bonus, as your child begins to learn that Sunday is a different day that Monday. The caterpillar gets very fat. He builds a cocoon and then emerges a large beautiful butterfly. My 3 year old does not tire of this story. He learns about nature, food and the days of the week in one absolutely stunningly illustrated book. You can't get much better than this for young children. If you have young children, or if you are looking for a gift for a 4 year old and younger child, this book is highly, highly recommended. Enjoy.

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Charming � Eat Your Way Through An Afternoon! September 27, 2003

By Maximillian Ben Hanan

Format:Paperback

Story Synopsis:
- A caterpillar eats his way through different foods until he is full and weaves a cocoon transforming into a beautiful butterfly. Charming colorful illustrations of foods along with the fat caterpillar and catchy little holes in the foods where the caterpillar "had his snack" make this book a hit with young children.

Review:
- Eric Carle's classic, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" has charmed millions over the years with it's simple memorable story, striking illustrations and the gimmicky holes on each of its' pages. To date, more than 12 million copies of this book have been sold in its original, full-sized edition, and mini editions. This beloved tale of science and gluttony has also been translated into 20 languages and counting. Die-cut pages (each page has a hole where the "caterpillar" ate through the food item) illustrate what the caterpillar ate on successive days. Strikingly bold, colorful pictures and a simple text in large, clear type tell the story of a hungry little caterpillar's culinary progress through an amazing variety and quantity of foods. Full at last, he weaves a cocoon around himself and goes to sleep, to emerge a few weeks later as a wonderfully transformed and beautiful butterfly! The final, double-page picture of the butterfly is a joyous explosion of color, a vibrant affirmation of the wonder and beauty of Nature. This story is a hit every time. Carle's bright colors and clever die-cut artwork never cease to entertain even the youngest child, and there is surely nothing in nature closer to magic than the emergence of a butterfly. This is a beautiful, educational and fun book.

Literary Features For Young Readers:
- Simple words appropriate to pre-readers, younger children and ELLs (English Language Learners).
- The predictability of the words and their tie-in with the illustrations makes the book easy for pre-readers to understand.
- The rhythm of the prose makes the book memorable and fun book to read for little people.
- Strikingly bold, colorful pictures tell the story of the hungry little caterpillar in complement with the simple words.
- Eric Carle's art gimmick (i.e. the die-cut holes through the food illustrations on each page) gives small children (and the occasional adult like me!) an extra bit of fun and enjoyment
- The moral lessons of the story are simple and universal: "Don't judge a person by the way they look" and "real beauty is more than skin-deep."

Teaching Tie-ins:
- Counting skills (Foods accumulate progressively)
- The days of the week.
- Nutrition (The best food for the caterpillar is the leaf, not the candy, cake, etc. or why we can't eat chocolate and candy all day long)
- Intro to science and biology:
It is a fun book with its' "holes" that have been eaten through the pages, and become a preschoolers introduction to science/biology when the little caterpillar turns into a beautiful butterfly.
- Shapes (foods)

Possible Projects:
- Food or nutrition mobiles and other related projects.
- Art collages in the style or Eric Carle using torn tissue and other media.
- Simple life cycle science projects (posters are life cycle mobiles)
- Caterpillar art activity: creating caterpillars out of an egg cartoons.
- As a preschool and kindergarten teacher, I had classes perform simple plays for young children based upon this book.
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I highly recommend this charming little book for younger children and ELLs (English Language Learners).

Review by: Maximillian Ben Hanan