Humour

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author Eric Carle

Illustrator Eric Carle

  • Story

    A small egg is sitting on a leaf. One Sunday morning, the egg hatches and a very hungry caterpillar crawls out. The caterpillar eats apples, pears and plums, but he is still hungry. Eventually, he eats so much he gets a stomachache. He then builds himself a small cocoon and goes inside…

  • Why we chose it

    A hugely successful and much loved story. Children enjoy counting the healthy fruit he eats – and love the stomach ache inducing double page spread of rather more usual caterpillar food.  And it teaches the life cycle of a butterfly.

  • What a young reviewer said

    A beautifully illustrated book and a lovable story (Hope, age 14)

  • First published

    1969, The World Publishing Company, Cleveland and New York, USA