Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Masterpiece of children's literature, 13 April 2005
There can be few books for children that work on so many levels, and are so completely satisfying. I have been a children's librarian for over 30 years, and I can't think of anything to surpass it. The very simple story is just that the caterpillar eats his way through a variety of foods, becoming bigger all the time, until he turnes into a butterfly. The artwork is glorious, in Eric Carle's typical tissue-paper collage, with wonderful jewel-like colours. He has made many picture books, but this one is definitely the best. The pages vary in size, getting gradually larger with the caterpillar, and have holes in to show him chomping his way through the leaves, fruit, chocolate cake and ice cream, so it is interesting and tactile for little ones. It introduces counting (because he eats one plum, two oranges, three pieces of melon, etc), days of the week (one foodstuff per day!) and thus the passage of time, growth and change, the biology of caterpillars and butterflies, and, above all, it's great FUN!! My all-time favourite children's book is "Where the wild things are", but this would run it a close second.
There is no better book for under 7's. Buy it NOW, but buy the proper book, as opposed to the board book, or any other "messed-about version!
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book that needs no formal introduction, 28 Jan 2008
due to its popularity with nursery and primary school-children.
In a nutshell, it is about a newly hatched, tiny caterpillar who munches his way through a variety of foods, becoming bigger and bigger, until he isn't hungry anymore and is a big, fat caterpillar!
From the back cover:-
'A much-loved classic, `The Very Hungry Caterpillar' has won over millions of readers with its vivid and colourful collage illustrations and its deceptively simple, hopeful story.
With its die-cut pages and finger-sized holes to explore, this is a richly satisfying book for children.'
Large paperback with 28 high quality pages, in the popular 2-page spread format.
Bold, easy to follow text,repetitive in places.
Stunning illustrations, complete with holes to emphasise the hunger, introducing days of the week, fruits and a simple number game through what he eats when!
Example of text:-
'On Monday he ate through one apple.
But he was still hungry.
On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry.
On Wednesday he ate though three plums, but he was still hungry.
On Thursday he ate through four strawberries, but he was still hungry.......'
On Saturday, he eats so much he has a stomachache....but puts it right on Sunday, when he only nibbles through a nice green leaf!
Then he builds a cocoon and stays inside for over two weeks.............and an amazing thing happens!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Brilliance, 8 Oct 2004
Every generation has it's classics -- Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Clarke and now Carle!This gripping tale of a youthful caterpillar's trials to become a butterfly has so many parallels with our own growth, it's incredible.
Never before has one man taken something so simple as a leaf being eaten and given it such emotion "but the hungry caterpillar was still hungry".
I read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" first when I was just 3 months old; and now, at 43 I am still finding new levels of story within this novella. Buy it, you won't regret it.
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