Saturday, April 6, 2013

22. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle











Bibliographic Citation:
Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York, NY: Philomel, 1981. 32 p. ISBN 978-0399208539.


Awards/Selection Lists:
National Education Association "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children", 2007
School Library Journal, "Top 100 Picture Books", 2012


Format Examined:
Hard cover

Annotation:
A little caterpillar is born, then eats holes through all sorts of food until he becomes a large caterpillar who spins a cocoon, and turns into a butterfly.

Personal Reaction:
This classic books uses Eric Carle's tissue paper collage to tell the story of a small green caterpillar who is born from a tiny egg. The reader experiences the caterpillar's path of eating holes through different types of food on different days, until, at the end of the week, he eats through so many different foods that he develops a stomachache. The caterpillar then spins a cocoon and takes a long rest. When the caterpillar finally emerges, he is a beautiful butterfly. The combination of all the parts of the story teaches counting skills, days of the week, food types, and the stages of the life cycle of the butterfly. 

Age Recommendation:
I would recommend this book for children 3-5 years of age.

Themes/Issues:
Colors, food, days of the week, life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly, counting

Early Literacy Skill Value:

Letter Knowledge
Letter knowledge is not a direct focus of this book.

Narrative Skills:
Children are encouraged to help tell the story through naming types of food, counting, naming days of the week, and predicting what will happen to the caterpillar. 

Phonological Awareness: 

Phonological awareness is not a direct focus of this book.

Print Awareness:

Each day that the caterpillar eats through different pieces of food is accompanied by supporting text that includes the day of the week and the number of pieces of food that the caterpillar eats. All of this works together to draw a child's attention to the connection between the illustrations and the words that make up the story. 

Print Motivation: 

This classic book has been a favorite of preschool children for many years. The colorful artwork and the text based on counting pieces of fruit as the caterpillar moves through the days of the week provides an interesting story to support a child learning about the life cycle of a caterpillar/butterfly. The illustrations encourage children to be excited about this book.


Vocabulary:
Children learn the names of the days of the week, types of fruit, and the names of each stage of a caterpillar's life leading up to becoming a butterfly.



Author/ Illustrator Website:
www.eric-carle.com


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