This year we celebrate two fantastic events around the award-winning classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. First, on June 24th was Eric Carle’s 80th birthday! Lori Calabrese, the fabulous Children’s Book Examiner, wrote the perfect article last week all about the celebration, complete with links on how to wish Mr. Carle a great birthday. Second, The Very Hungry Caterpillar celebrates 40 years since it was first published!
There are several The Very Hungry Caterpillar celebrations around the world this year. The wonderful Eric Carle website is full of everything you would want to know - with loads of fun things for kids to do, too!
Fun facts about Eric Carle and The Very Hungry Caterpillar:
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar has been translated into more than 47 languages and sold over 29 million copies, that’s one book every 30 seconds.
- Carle graduated from the prestigious art school, the Akademie der bildenden Künste, in Stuttgart.
- Carle’s first book was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
- Carle has published more than 70 children’s books, so far.
- Carle got the idea for The Very Hungry Caterpiller from a hole puncher.
- "One day I was punching holes with a hole puncher into a stack of paper, and I thought of a bookworm and so I created a story called "A Week with Willi the Worm". Then my editor suggested a caterpillar instead and I said "Butterfly!" That's how it began," he said.
- To celebrate the first day of spring 2009, Google changed it’s main page logo to a cool The Very Hungry Caterpillar logo. All the Google holiday-themed logos.
- The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art was created in 2002 by Mr. Carle and his wife, Bobbie, and is located in Amhearst MA. The museum showcases the work of several national and international picture book artists. Check out their fun site for lots of information and resources.
- Eric Carle products based on his books and art: Greeting cards, fabrics, stickers, games, dinnerware, activities, stationary, toys, plush, and many, many more products. The toy category includes bath toys, games, activities, plush, puppets, baby toys, blocks, puzzles, and more.
Ty’s Toy Box: (From the Eric Carle website)
An online shop for licensed Eric Carle merchandise including: books, stationery, plush, puppets, games, décor, and more. Shop for your favorite Eric Carle characters, such as Brown Bear, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Grouchy Lady Bug, and Panda Bear.
The perfect gift for a baby, toddler, or preschooler is a combination of classic children’s book paired with a toy. The connections made by the book with the toy increase the entire story experience. Also, the time shared by parent and child with the toy is priceless, and older siblings can also interact to make the experience an entire family affair.
Here are just a few of the many Eric Carle children’s toys available.
The World of Eric Carle Butterfly Pullstring Musical Crib Toy
This article also appeared on my National Children's Toys Examiner page. More information can be located there.
