The Very Hungry Caterpillar Summary: Plot, Themes and Why Eric Carle's Book Endures
What the book is about
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a picture book by the American author and illustrator Eric Carle. It was first published in 1969. It follows a caterpillar from the moment he hatches as he eats his way through a week of food. The story is short and simple, and it also teaches. Numbers and the days of the week are built into the plot. This is one reason the book is so closely linked with early childhood education.
The story begins at night, with a little egg lying on a leaf. Early on Sunday morning, "a tiny and very hungry caterpillar" hatches and sets off at once to look for food. From Monday to Friday he eats a growing amount of fruit. It starts with one apple on Monday. Then come two pears on Tuesday, three plums on Wednesday, four strawberries on Thursday and five oranges on Friday. Each day the count goes up by one. Each day he is still hungry.
Saturday is different. The caterpillar works through a long and mixed spread. There is a piece of chocolate cake, an ice-cream cone, a pickle, a slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of salami, a lollipop, a piece of cherry pie, a sausage, a cupcake and a slice of watermelon. That night he has a stomach ache from eating too much.
The pages are part of the story. Carle's pictures are made from collage. Some pages have holes in them where the caterpillar has "eaten" his way through. This art style has been widely praised as "iconic".
The main characters
There is really only one. The caterpillar is the whole cast. He starts out tiny and is defined by a single trait: he is very hungry. Everything that happens in the book comes from that hunger. His world is a leaf, a run of days and a great deal of food.
This keeps the book easy to follow for young listeners. There is one figure to watch, one problem and one clear direction of travel.
The themes
Nature sits at the centre. In a few pages the book tracks an insect's life from an egg on a leaf to a hungry caterpillar. It gives children an early, gentle sense that living things grow and change.
Coming of age is the other big theme, in its simplest form. The caterpillar grows with every meal. Growing up here is physical and visible, so a child can see the change happen.
There is a quieter point about eating. The fruit days are orderly and counted. The Saturday feast is a jumble of sweets and snacks, and it ends in a stomach ache. The book does not lecture. The contrast is still plain enough for a young reader to notice.
The structure carries meaning too. Counting from one to five and moving through the days of the week give the story a steady rhythm. The pattern repeats, so a listener can start to guess what comes next. That is how the book teaches numbers and days without feeling like a lesson.
How it ends (spoilers)
Stop here if you want the ending to stay a surprise.
On Sunday the caterpillar eats one green leaf, and his stomach ache goes away. He is no longer tiny. He is now "a big, fat caterpillar". He builds a cocoon around himself and rests inside it. After two weeks he nibbles a hole, pushes his way out and emerges as a beautiful, multicoloured butterfly.
The ending gives the whole week of eating a purpose. All that hunger was leading somewhere. A small, plain creature becomes something bright and new, and this is where the book's hopeful, dreamlike quality comes from.
Who it suits
The book suits children who are starting to learn numbers and the days of the week. It works well read aloud, because the repeated pattern invites a child to join in. The holes in the pages make it something to touch as well as look at. Adults who care about illustration will also find a lot to admire in Carle's collage work.
Why it still matters
The numbers speak for themselves. Since 1969 the book has sold more than 55 million copies and has been translated into over 70 languages. Its publisher, Penguin Random House, says a copy is sold every 30 seconds. It has been called "one of the greatest childhood classics of all time".
Part of that lasting appeal is how much it does with so little. One character and one week give children a story, a counting game, a calendar and a first look at how living things change. The bold collage pictures and the bitten-through pages make it instantly recognisable. Few picture books are as easy to pick out at a glance.
More: More Eric Carle posters