Great Book for Preschool Kids!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
When my boys were little, I took them to the library every week. They could pick the number of books to match their age. For example, at 4 years Caleb selected 4 books while Eli being age 2 got 2 books.
After hearing The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle at preschool, Eli selected 2 copies of the book at the library. I suggested that he might want to get two different books rather than 2 of the same, but he was adamant as only a 2 year old can be. I reasoned that another child might want to check out the second copy. No go. We went home with 2 copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
The book is really simple. It opens with a little egg on a leaf in a tree. When the sun comes out the next day, a caterpillar pops out of the egg. All week the caterpillar eats and eats. After he gets nice and fat, he turns into a butterfly. Even though I gave the whole plot, it doesn't really matter. Even when you know the ending, it's still fun to read the book over and over.
Although the concept may not sound earth shattering, it is more complex than the basic plot line. The book covers a lot of preschool information in a short space. Obviously, your child learns the cycle of the butterfly. In addition, the days of the week are listed in order as the caterpillar eats from Monday through Sunday. Numbers are covered as the caterpillar goes from a one apple Monday to five oranges on Friday and then a mix of fun foods on Sunday. The daily fruit pictures are colorful so add the idea of colors, and the final group of foods introduces new food items like "one slice of salami." Eli wanted to see salami at the grocery after reading the book, so he learned a new word and new food.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a fun way to learn. Eli enjoyed looking for the egg on the leaf, counting the fruits and naming the colors, listing out the foods on the Sunday page, and he always got excited when we flipped the final page to the colorful butterfly.
The artwork in the book is very simple but bright and appealing. The pictures are watercolor with obvious brush strokes showing the shading. Eli loved getting paper out and making the caterpillar and the fruits. He could copy the strokes to get the 3-D effect of shading. For instance, he could connect circles to make a caterpillar and then use darker green to make the circles look round.
Some kid books are a real drag to read. There were a few I wanted to hide I must confess. This was not one of them. The book is short and interesting. It is very interact ional. We read the 2 library copies over and over, and I decided to buy a copy for Eli.
Since it was obvious that this would be a favorite book, I went with the board copy. Board back is thicker with easy-to-turn pages. The size is about 5 by 7 inches which is perfect for little hands. After 7 years and lots of use, this book is still in great shape. I have been tempted to give it to my sister for her baby, but I think I'll just buy a new copy for baby Hannah. This is one I want to put away for Eli to share with his own kids someday.
If you have young kids or if you need to buy a gift for someone with preschool kids, then this would be my top pick. It runs about $8 new, but you can sometimes find used copies at half.com. No matter what you pay, you get a good deal. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is fun and educational, and it only takes a few minutes to read. This is perfect for ages 1 to 5.
