The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a children’s classic that tells the story of a caterpillar as it grows into a beautiful butterfly. It also provides interactive fun to children by teaching them about the days of the week, counting, good nutrition and a lot more through its die-cut pages and attractive pictures.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a picture book that features a caterpillar who eats a variety of foods before emerging as a beautiful butterfly. It is the story of a baby caterpillar that has a never-ending appetite for food since his birth. He begins by eating a piece of fruit on the first day and gradually goes up to five pieces a day. He then decides to try out newer foods like Swiss cheese, salami, cherry pie, chocolate cake and so on. Not surprisingly, he soon nauseates himself by overeating. He spins a cocoon around him after recovering and finally emerges out of it as a beautiful butterfly with bright, large and gorgeous multi-coloured wings after two weeks.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar uses the author’s signature style of collage illustrations, pages that have “eaten” holes and simple text that introduces the reader to a butterfly’s life stages and also the concepts of counting, the days of the week and different kinds of food.
This book has been translated into more than 55 languages including French, Chinese, Russian and Swedish, and has sold over 30 million copies the world over. It has won a number of awards such as the Selection du Grand Prix des Treize, American Institute of Graphic Arts Award, and the Nakamori Reader's Prize. In the year 1969, The New York Times listed it as the Ten Best Picture Books of the Year. It was adapted for television by the Illuminated Film Company, UK and Disney, U.S.A. Its film rights sold for £1 million.
About The Author:
Eric Carle is an American writer, designer and illustrator of children’s books.
A few of his famous books are Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Eric Carle’s Treasury of Classic Stories for Children, The Grouchy Ladybug and 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo.
Carle's stories draw inspiration from nature and his books are not only entertaining but also teach the readers something about the world. While writing, he makes an effort to stimulate a child's intellectual growth.
Eric Carle was born in Syracuse, New York on June 25, 1929. He spent a part of his childhood in Stuttgart, Germany where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. He also attended the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. In 1952, he moved back to New York and worked for The New York Times as a graphic designer. He also served the U.S. Army for a while and worked for an advertising agency as its art director. Carle won the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his work in children’s literature. He has a son and daughter and currently divides his time between the Hills of North Carolina and Florida Keys.
