"The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

    “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is a very famous children’s book by Eric Carle.  A classic among toddlers, pre-kindergartners, kindergarten children and parents alike, ”The Very Hungry Caterpillar” tells the story of the cycle of life for a caterpillar.  From the moment the caterpillar hatches from its egg, its entire life is spent searching and eating in preparation for its metamorphosis.  The book captures this week long journey of the caterpillar.   The pictures are beautiful and the story simple, educational, and entertaining.   I recently found a video on youtube which brings this lovable story to life.  The narration and the illustrations are wonderful and the film truly captures the magic of Eric Carle’s story.  Unfortunately the video poster blocks the embedding so I could not show it here.  However, I highly reccommend that you venture over to Youtube and look it up under the label:  "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".  The poster is Autismismylife.    

      What makes this story such a great book to have in a classroom and home is the fact that it is not only simple enough for a young child to read, but also educational.  ”The Very Hungry Caterpillar” teaches and indentifies the days of the week as well as basic number counting from 1 to 6 as the caterpillar eats 1 thing on Monday, two things on Tuesday and etc.  through Saturday when he eats a combination of 6 things.  (On Sunday he eats just one item because he isn’t hungry any longer.)  The story, of course, also teaches the life cycle of of a caterpillar from its initial egg stage and hatching as a caterpillar, to its short week long quest for enough food to sustain itself inside its chrysalis, to the actual forming of its pupus (chrysalis) and then on to the final stage of butterfly.    

     If you have not read this story to your little one, I highly recommend that you read it together soon.  In the meantime, enjoy the video version of this wonderful classic over at youtube.