The very hungry caterpillar eats lunch by Eric Carle

Another offering in the Eric Carle Library, this book is a Colours book, designed to introduce colours to the very young with a strongly bound board book and the Very Hungry Caterpillar making its way through an array of brightly coloured fruit and vegetables.

Using Eric Carle’s words the book shows the caterpillar eating its way through red tomato soup and strawberries, orange baked beans and orange juice, yellow macaroni cheese and banana, purple onion, cabbage and aubergine, blue lollipops, brown bread sandwich and a cookie, pink hot dog and a piece of watermelon, a green salad, a black and white lunch with a white salad filled wrap and some blackberries and finally a multicoloured fruit salad.

Kids will love the board book, eagerly turning the pages to see what the caterpillar will eat next and what colour it is, recognising the fruit and vegetables shown. They will talk about which of them they have eaten, and try some of the unknown ones for themselves. Astute teachers or parents will have a few of them ready for the young readers to try.

A great introduction to colour as well as the array of fruit and vegetables there are to try, children will learn lots from this book.

Through the caterpillar, the idea of lunch as a small meal with lots of fruit and vegetable is reinforced, and the variety shown will be most acceptable to them.

Interestingly there are several readings on YouTube and the version read by the person from the USA shows differences that are intriguing. Not only are there spelling changes but also the names of some of the food offered have minor changes. The USA version also heralds a different type of food offered sometimes for lunch. For older readers this may offer a point of comparison to discuss.

Themes: Colours, Lunch, Fruit and vegetables, Humour, Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Fran Knight