''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' is a 1969 children’s picture book designed, illustrated, and written by

Eric Carle Eric Carle (June 25, 1929 – May 23, 2021) was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book '' The Very Hungry Caterpillar'', first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sol ...

. The book features a hungry caterpillar that eats a variety of foods before pupating and emerging as a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

. It has won many children’s literature awards and major graphic design awards. It has sold upwards of 50 million copies worldwide, selling roughly a copy per thirty seconds since its publication. The book has been lauded as “one of the greatest childhood classics of all time.” Its ‘eaten’ holes and

collage Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

artwork were innovative for its time. The book includes counting, days of the week, food, and a butterfly’s life cycle, which contribute to juvenile education. Carle’s original work has been the basis for various

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prop ...

products.

Synopsis

On an early Sunday morning, “a tiny and very hungry

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

” hatches from his egg. Then, he searches for something to eat. For the following five days, Monday through Friday, the very hungry caterpillar eats through an increasing quantity of delicious

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

: one

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...

on Monday, two

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosacea ...

s on Tuesday, three

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found ...

s on Wednesday, four

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

on Thursday, and five oranges on Friday. Each day, however, the caterpillar is still hungry. On Saturday, he feasts, eating a piece of

chocolate cake Chocolate cake or chocolate gâteau (from ) is a cake flavored with melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or both. History Chocolate cake is made with chocolate. It can also include other ingredients. These include fudge, vanilla creme, and other ...

, a strawberry ice cream cone, a pickle, a slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of

salami Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 ...

, a

lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are ava ...

, a piece of

cherry pie Cherry pie is a pie baked with a cherry filling. Traditionally, cherry pie is made with sour cherries rather than sweet cherries. Morello cherries are one of the most common kinds of cherry used, but other varieties such as the black cherry may ...

, a

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

, a

cupcake A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Hiberno-English: bun) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, frosting and other cake decorations such as frui ...

and a slice of

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...

. That night, he gets a stomach ache from the unhealthy overeating. To recover from Saturday’s stomach ache, the very hungry caterpillar eats one green leaf on Sunday (a week has passed), and then feels much better. He is no longer little and hungry; he is now a big and fat caterpillar. He builds a cocoon around himself. He stays inside of it for two weeks, after which he nibbles a hole and pushes his way out. Finally, he develops into a large, beautiful, multi-colored

. As a butterfly, the cycle begins again. Carle’s story mimics a caterpillar’s actual life cycle: eating, growing, spinning, and finally metamorphosing into a butterfly.

Development

''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' is Carle's third book. Carle was inspired by a hole punch; one day he was hole punching a stack of paper, thought of a

bookworm Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...

, and created the story ''A Week with Willi the Worm''. ''A Week with Willi the Worm'' featured a bookworm named Willi. Ann Beneduce, Carle's editor, advised that a green worm would not make a likable

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

. Beneduce suggested a caterpillar to which Carle responded “butterfly”; hence, the idea for the book was cemented. The differently shaped pages with holes representing the caterpillar's trail through foodstuffs were a challenge, but Carle was familiar with "differently shaped pages" from books that he read as a child in Germany.

Publication

The book was originally published by the

World Publishing Company The World Publishing Company was an American publishing company. The company published genre fiction, trade paperbacks, children's literature, nonfiction books, textbooks, Bibles, and dictionaries, After the World Publishing Company,

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

became the book’s publisher. In 2019, Penguin bought the title from Carle. Since its production, ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' has sold roughly one copy every thirty seconds. The book has been translated more than 60 languages, including Arabic, Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, and Hebrew.

Reception

Awards

The book has won numerous awards including the

American Institute of Graphic Arts The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Its members practice all forms of communication design, including graphic design, typography, interaction design, user experience, branding and identity ...

Award in 1970, the Best Children’s Books of England 1970, the Selection du Grand Prix des Treize in France in 1972, and the

Nakamori Reader's Prize Nakamori (written: ) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese singer and actress *, Japanese writer *, Japanese swimmer *, Japanese footballer and manager *, Japanese politician {{surname Japanese-language surn ...

in Japan in 1975. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' also cited it as one of the “Ten Best Picture Books of the Year” in 1969. Furthermore, the book placed at number 199 in the Big Read, a 2003 poll conducted by the BBC to determine the United Kingdom's best loved books. It was one of a few picture books to place on the list. Based on a 2007 online poll, the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stud ...

listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". Five years later, ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with ...

s''urvey of readers named ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' as the second-best children’s book. More recently in 2020, ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' was number ten on the list of "Top Check Outs of All Time" by the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

. It also won the best children’s classic accolade at the Sainsbury Children’s Book Awards in 2019. Carle said that this award was a “perfect way” to celebrate the book’s 50th anniversary.

Endorsements

''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' introduces

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

life stage concepts depicting

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

from a ‘hungry caterpillar’ to a ‘beautiful butterfly'; the

Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of Londo ...

endorsed the book due to the scientific accuracy of this transformation.

Issues and bans

The book was removed from libraries in Herefordshire, England in an effort to promote healthy eating. In 2021, researchers from

Edith Cowan University Edith Cowan University (ECU) is a public university in Western Australia. It is named in honour of the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament, Edith Cowan, and is the only Australian university named after a woman. Gaining unive ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

criticised a number of books, including ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'', for not being culturally diverse, and finding that teachers were over-relying on classic titles which reflected dominant culture and outdated viewpoints and lifestyles. In an article for the ''Australian Journal of Teacher Education'', the researchers expressed concern about classic books which only contained animal characters, finding that animal stories decrease the likelihood of children from minority backgrounds seeing characters representative of themselves. They recommended classic titles be placed alongside more contemporary texts which better represent a more modern culturally-diverse society. The findings were criticised by media commentators such as Kel Richards and Erin Molan.

Educational usage and influence

This book includes educational themes including counting, the days of the week, foods, and a butterfly’s life stages. However, the book does not appear as didactic; rather, it presents information discreetly without children realizing it. It has been used by elementary school teachers, librarians, and parents as a teaching aid, with activities developed which use the book. Furthermore, the pictures allow for understanding without reading.Roney, R. C. "Back to the Basics with Storytelling." The Reading Teacher 42.7 (1989): 520-3. JSTOR. Web. In the story, the caterpillar builds a cocoon, and a

emerges. In reality, a caterpillar that makes a cocoon emerges as a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

, while a butterfly will emerge from a

chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

Predictability

The book contains “familiar sequences” or patterns when referencing days of the week and numbers.Rhodes, Lynn K. "I can Read! Predictable Books as Resources for Reading and Writing Instruction." The Reading Teacher 34.5 (1981): 511-8. JSTOR. Web. These patterns help young readers read naturally and reflect their own personal knowledge about the world. Furthermore, these patterns encourage word recognition strategies while reading, rather than beforehand. Therefore, predictability helps establish understanding within context. The book’s predictability also allows for oral cloze exercises, exercises where an adult reader can omit a day of the week or number and the child can insert it.Wiseman, Donna L. "Helping Children Take Early Steps Toward Reading and Writing." The Reading Teacher 37.4 (1984): 340-4. JSTOR. Web. These exercises help children gain confidence in predicting language and enforcing pre-existing knowledge.

Common core

New elementary

common core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the c ...

standards emphasize more informational texts in primary education; books like ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' mend the divide between informational texts and elementary engagement.Neuman, Susan B., and Roskos, Kathleen. "Helping Children Become More Knowledgeable through Text." The Reading Teacher 66.3 (2012): 207-10. JSTOR. Web. The book is captivating for young learners, while also providing lessons on counting, days of the week, and metamorphosis.

Storytelling/Classroom activities

''The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s'' format allows for expansion into a classroom activity. Children can engage in creative practice and storytelling by inserting their own foods and drawings into each day of the week. Using the book’s format children can incorporate their own interests; thus, they are telling their own stories. Sharing their renditions with peers, students again engage with storytelling.

Secondary school usage

''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' has met

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. ...

in secondary classrooms in an effort to prompt academic and sophisticated discussion of picture books.Neal, Judith C., and Moore, Kay. ""The Very Hungry Caterpillar" Meets "Beowulf" in Secondary Classrooms." Journal of Reading 35.4 (1991): 290-6. JSTOR. Web. Main reasons for integration include the universal themes of picture books and providing visual aids for comprehension. ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' has themes that extend past young children and its integration with

helps engage secondary aged students.

Healthy eating

This book has been instrumental in fighting childhood obesity. The

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians, headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. It maintains its Department of Federal Affairs office in Washington, D.C. Background The Academy was found ...

, the

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georg ...

, philanthropic groups, and anti-obesity campaigns utilize this book to teach children about healthy eating. In 2011, the

sent out special copies of the book, with associated learning tools, to health providers, for a campaign to healthy eating in the U.S. Carle supports the usage of his book to promote healthy eating.

Cultural influence

This book was used by former first lady

Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously w ...

as part of her campaign to promote literacy. In 1999, the pizza restaurant

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and desse ...

asked 50 U.S. governors to name their favorite books from childhood. The then-governor of Texas, George W. Bush, named ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'', despite having been of college age at the time of its publication. In 2009,

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

celebrated the book's 40th anniversary by rendering the

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

on its main search page in the style used in the book.

UK/US releases

VHS

''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' was adapted for UK television on September 1, 1993. Then on October 17, 1994, it was released as a VHS video distributed by

PolyGram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

Video. After which, it was re-released on June 16, 1997, distributed by Channel 5 Video, a sub-label of PolyGram. On March 18, 2002, it was re-released by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

as part of an anthology called The World of Eric Carle that included ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' along with four other Eric Carle stories. This anthology utilized a classical music–influenced soundtrack by Wallace & Gromit composer

Julian Nott Julian Franklin Keith Nott (born 23 August 1960) is a British composer and conductor, mostly of animated films. He is known for his work on ''Wallace and Gromit'' and ''Peppa Pig''. Biography Nott was born in Marylebone, London, and was edu ...

. Narration on the UK releases were performed by Roger McGough and Juliet Stevenson; this version was briefly released in the US by Scholastic. Then on August 5, 1995

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

released a US dub version with narration by

Brian Cummings Brian Douglas Cummings (born March 4, 1948) is an American voice actor, known for his work in radio and television commercials, television and motion picture promos, cartoons and as the announcer on '' The All-New Let's Make a Deal'' from 1984 to ...

and

Linda Gary Linda Gary (born Linda Gary Dewoskin, November 4, 1944 – October 5, 1995) was an American actress. Career Live-action appearances Gary worked as a voice-over artist in animation and also appeared in two live-action films, 1977's ''Joyride T ...

. After Disney’s adaptation, the film and TV rights were sold for £1 million.

DVD

''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' was released on DVD on April 24, 2006, as a part of an anthology called The World of Eric Carle; it was presented by the

Illuminated Film Company The Illuminated Film Company is a British animation company founded in 1993 by Iain Harvey. It has produced the series '' Little Princess'' (2006-2022) and the ITV children's surreal comedy series ''The Rubbish World of Dave Spud'' (2019–pres ...

and broadcast by Ventura Distribution. The anthology, including ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar'' and four other stories, was also released on DVD in the US by Disney. The DVD was also adapted into a 10-track CD, titled ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories.''

Ancillary products

There have been multiple unique book editions, with personalized features. Games, pop-up books, a book/card game combination via

University Games A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, and an educational video game- ''The Very Hungry Caterpillar's ABCs'' – released by CYBIRD Co. Ltd. for

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

in 2010.

References and notes

External links

Teacher's resource page at Carle website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Very Hungry Caterpillar, The 1969 children's books 1993 television films 1993 films American picture books Animated anthology films Picture books by Eric Carle Fictional butterflies and moths World Publishing Company books