The Very Hungry Caterpillar  (English, Hardcover, Carle Eric)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a popular children's educational picture book published in a mini-board book format and was created by Eric Carle.

Summary Of The Book

This delightful book narrates the story of a newborn baby caterpillar who is perpetually hungry. He begins eating fruits, increasing his consumption every day. After the fifth day, the caterpillar begins to sample other varieties of food such as chocolate cake, pickles, salami, cupcakes, and a lollipop, to name a few.

However, the caterpillar becomes greedy and eats too much and gets sick. Not soon after, he decides to spin a cocoon around himself and he lives within it for two weeks. After a fortnight, the caterpillar emerges from the cocoon. Only, it is no longer a caterpillar! It has blossomed into a beautiful and vibrant butterfly with large and brightly coloured wings. Colourful collage illustrations make for a fun learning process as the book guides the reader through the different life stages of a butterfly, and its underlying message of the importance of healthy food.

This beloved classic has been the recipient of several awards such as the American Institute of Graphic Arts Award in 1970, the Nakamori Reader's Prize in Japan in 1975, and others. The Very Hungry Caterpillar was hailed as one of the Ten Best Picture Books of the Year by The New York Times in 1969 and also featured on the Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children list by the National Education Association. It has been translated into over forty languages, and has won over millions of readers all over the world with its colourful and engaging collage illustrations with over 30 million copies sold.

About Eric Carle

Eric Carle, born in 1929, is an American author, illustrator and graphic designer, popular for his contributions to children’s fiction.

He has authored Pancakes, Pancakes!, Rooster’s Off to See the World, Have You Seen My Cat?, The Mixed-Up Chameleon, The Very Busy Spider and Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.

Born in Syracuse, New York, Carle and his family relocated to Stuttgart, when he was six. He finally moved back to America in 1952, when he landed a job as a graphic designer for The New York Times, and later progressed to becoming the art director of an advertising agency. His unique and distinctive collage artwork is applied to themes centering around nature and its flora and fauna. He is married to Barbara Morrison and they have two children, a son and a daughter. He is also the founder of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a children’s book museum.