A tiny egg, a very hungry caterpillar, one week of snacks and a stomachache, and a butterfly at the end.
Bright tissue paper collage, counting and the days of the week, in a story short enough to read twice at bedtime. The plot is thin and the holes can tear, but it earns its place on a toddler's shelf. Four and a half out of five.
Every guide comes as a video and a full written article. Pick the one you need: the review is spoiler-free, the ending explained is not.
Is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle worth buying? A spoiler-free review for parents and caregivers: the age range, the tissue paper collage art, board book vs hardcover, honest criticisms and my score.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar ending explained with light-hearted spoilers: the Saturday feast, the stomachache, the cocoon, the butterfly, what the book teaches and the questions kids ask.
A storytime guide for The Very Hungry Caterpillar: reading aloud tips, discussion questions, counting and days of the week games, an Eric Carle style tissue paper collage and butterfly science for kids.
Loved The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Six spoiler-free picture books to read next: Brown Bear, Dear Zoo, The Grouchy Ladybug, Goodnight Moon, Where's Spot and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) is Eric Carle’s picture book about a tiny caterpillar who eats his way through a week of fruit and one very large Saturday, then builds a cocoon and comes out a butterfly. It is known for its tissue paper collage art and the holes the caterpillar seems to eat through the pages.
Below you’ll find a spoiler-free review, the ending explained with light-hearted spoilers, six picture books to read next, and a storytime guide with activities and questions.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar came out in nineteen sixty nine, and the story is simple on purpose.
On a moonlit night, a tiny egg sits on a leaf. On Sunday morning, the sun comes up, and out pops a very hungry caterpillar. He goes looking for food.
On Monday he eats one apple. On Tuesday, two pears. Wednesday, three plums. Thursday, four strawberries. Friday, five oranges. And every day, he is still hungry.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar came out in nineteen sixty nine, and the story is simple on purpose.
Bright tissue paper collage, counting and the days of the week, in a story short enough to read twice at bedtime. The plot is thin and the holes can tear, but it earns its place on a toddler's shelf. Four and a half out of five. Read it if: you read with a child aged about one to five; you want a gentle way into counting and the days of the week; you need a baby shower or first birthday gift. Skip it if: your child already reads chapter books; you want a story with a lot of plot. Review: The Very Hungry Caterpillar →
Our ending explained covers the final chapters in full, with spoilers. The Very Hungry Caterpillar ending explained with light-hearted spoilers: the Saturday feast, the stomachache, the cocoon, the butterfly, what the book teaches and the questions kids ask. Ending explained: The Very Hungry Caterpillar →
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, Where's Spot? by Eric Hill, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. Books like it: The Very Hungry Caterpillar →
It works from around one year old in the board book edition, up to about five, when many children start reading it back to you. It is a counting and days of the week book as well as a story.
Eric Carle's book was first published in 1969. The edition reviewed here credits Philomel Books, with a board book edition from 1994.
With collage. He painted sheets of tissue paper, then cut and layered them into shapes, which gives the pictures their rich colors and textures.
The book says cocoon, but a butterfly actually forms a chrysalis. Moths are the insects that spin cocoons.
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