The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

It is an excellent book that deals with the life cycle of a butterfly. From an egg, it turns into a small caterpillar and begins to eat until it becomes a very fat and large caterpillar. After it has eaten, it is full, spins a cocoon around itself and hibernates before emerging as a colorful butterfly.

In addition to teaching the scientific concept of the life cycle of an insect, it also addresses the concept of counting and healthy/unhealthy foods.

The caterpillar feasts on unhealthy snacks like chocolate cake, ice cream, pickles, Swiss cheese, salami, a lollipop, some cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake, and a slice of watermelon. As a result of his feast, he had a stomach. Parents can focus on the need for healthy, moderate eating for children as a subtopic of reading this book.

Courtship and the days of the weeks are also covered in this book through the section

” Us monday, he ate through an apple. But he was still hungry.

Us Tuesday, him through two pears. But he was still hungry.

Kids can stick their fingers through the fruit holes on each page as the caterpillar devours the different fruits each day and counts. By encouraging children to count, they will slowly be able to associate the spoken number with quantity.

The story book I bought came with a stuffed caterpillar. I found it really useful as it was an additional resource that I could use to explain the story and make it more interactive.