‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a children’s book written by Eric Carle, first published by the World Publishing Company in 1969. The winner of many awards, it has sold 30 million copies. It is highly popular and has been praised for its use of easy-to-read words which makes it good for teaching young children to read. The book contains 225 words and large, colourful illustrations. It follows a caterpillar as it munches its way through a variety of edibles such as ice cream, salami, watermelon, one slice of Swiss cheese, and a lollipop before it finally pupates and emerges as a beautiful butterfly. The story teaches counting to 5, the names of the days of the week, and about different types of food. The caterpillar’s diet is a fictional fantasy but the story does introduce the magic of the metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar to butterfly. It is widely regarded as one of the best childrens books ever written.’ Information Source: Wikipedia
This book is a favourite with young children and an excellent resource for teaching the days of the week, the order of the days, simple number words and counting to 10. I used this story to introduce the days of the week and their order, but they learnt so much more. We read the story, looked at the words and came up with tricks to help us remember them. We sang the days of the week to the ‘Adam’s Family’, played our card game and then illustrated each day matching Eric Carle’s illustrations. (see picture)
Just a quick post – There are so many great activities on the web that are based on this book. It’s worth taking the time to have a look. I found a lovely sequencing activity that I plan to use.
Cheers Nina
Nina Davis: Teaching & Learning in Australia 