As a tribute to the late author, Eric Carle (1929 - 2021), this week, I'll be reviewing 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', his most popular children's picture book. A subtle combination of counting, days of the week, distinguishing between healthy and junk foods, and growing up, intertwine as a fun and interactive story tale in this children's novel.
Age Rating: 2 - 7 yrs
Pleasure Rating: 9.3/10
I still remember reading this as a 4-year-old in preschool. My teacher had a little, plushy caterpillar and paper images of food. She described the numbers, days of the week and all the bad things that can happen to the hungry caterpillars of the world (a.k.a., children) when they eat to much. But not only does it teach basic values, numbers and the days of the week, it teaches some of life's biggest lesson such as adapting to your environment, self-control, discipline and the discomfort of growing up.
WHAT I LIKED
One of the main things I enjoyed is the illustrations. They're incredibly simple and helps young readers visualize the caterpillars journey and change from a caterpillar to butterfly. The words are simple and easy to understand and explain metamorphosis.
Along with being easy to understand, the book can also be used as teaching material for younger kids. It's a more interactive way of counting numbers, understanding days of the week, and good diet choices that are essential for their future. Often, the lessons can be boring and hard to understand for young children but this book introduces them in such a fun way.
Finally, the last one of my favorite points is the fact that it's just a good book. Young children will be willing to read this over and over again whether or not they learn the lessons embedded in the book. The hard copy of the book has all sorts of textures and materials inside the book that encourage and motivate young readers.
WHAT I DIDN'T
To be honest, there aren't many negative points for this book. Usual criteria won't suffice because this is a book for children about basic lessons in school. The negative points aren't much to dwell on.
All in all, I think it's a great book for children in LKG - 1st standard. It brings back many memories for me and I highly recommend it.
That's all from me,
"The Book Keeper"