Review of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," by Eric Carle

 Review of

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle ISBN 0399208534

Five out of five stars

A science lesson in simple text and great images

 A caterpillar is little more than an eating machine, its’ sole purpose is to eat enough to acquire enough bulk so that it can survive the metamorphic process of forming a cocoon and turning into a butterfly. That purpose is captured well by describing it as very hungry and when satiated, begin the process of converting into a butterfly.

 The author uses a minimum amount of text, in most cases it is a short sentence per two-page spread. It is the images that make this book, they are extremely colorful, with detail that is obvious, but could easily be overlooked. For example, there are faces on the sun and the moon. The last spread showing the beautiful butterfly is a work of art.

 When this book is read to young children, their eyes will naturally move to the images where their attention will remain focused for some time. This would be a fun book to read to a child just learning about the power and wonder of books.