Customer Reviews

The Very Hungry Caterpillar (English and Arabic Edition)

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3 star:		(1)
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Just for a little background info on me, I have a BA in English as well as psychology. I worked as a children's library assistant for my first four years out of college. I'm also a mommy to a precious 2 year old daughter, Claire. Claire loves her books, and she adores the hungry little caterpillar. She's at the stage now where she just finds it so funny. It's one we read again and again. I don't think you can miss by getting this for your own child.

Eric Carle wrote and illustrated a wonderful story of a little caterpillar that munches through leaves, apples, hot dogs, cakes and more. With each bite the caterpillar grows, then spinning a cocoon and finally emerging into a beautiful, colorful butterfly. I remember the laughter and giggles when reading this delightful story to my girls. They loved the bright colors and learned about healthy foods vs. not so healthy. They also learned that if you eat too much you may feel a little sick. I particularly liked how it taught children that eating a health leaf made the caterpillar feel better again. My girls learned about the days of the week and how a caterpillar goes from a tiny little egg into a beautiful bright butterfly. The highlight for the girls were sticking their fingers through the fun holes in the board book with each passing day. This book is a definite must have for any little one!

Carle, E. (1969). The very hungry caterpillar. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Synopsis: Oh the length a caterpillar will go for a delicious meal! You will wonder just how far this hungry little creature will go to find a satisfying meal to fill his belly. Carle is a timeless author that continues writing stories that capture and enchant the minds of young children with this tale of a little caterpillar searching to find a fulfilling meal. This caterpillar's story has a beautiful ending.

Evaluation: This story presents the early learning concepts of counting and the days of the week. The only discrepancy is that in the end the caterpillar builds himself a cocoon. Moths build cocoons, while butterflies build chrysalises. Carle's story provides children with easy to understand language that they are sure to repeat over and over. Young children are mesmerized by Carle's unconventional use of smaller pages. Little fingers cannot help but explore the tiny holes created throughout the book by the hungry little caterpillar. Eric Carle's vividly painted tissue paper collages continue to draw children into the imaginary worlds he creates. These simple painted collages are uncluttered on a crisp white background and keep children's attention spans. The counting patterns assist children with the one to one correspondence needed for early math skills. As well, children can't help learning the days of the week with this fascinating tale. As youngsters begin to learn to count and recite the days of the week, this story offers children the opportunity to use repeated readings to fully grasp these concepts. In addition the counting and days of the week patterns provide children with some predictability.

For a child under 3 the illustrations are too abstract. For example the egg on a leaf looks like nothing! A young child needs clearer, more vivid illustrations. My baby (1 year) loves the pictures in her other books but so far, this book is good only for chewing! With the exception of the Saturday diet (icecream, cake, salami etc). I'm hopeful that when she gets older she'll enjoy the book more.