#9 in Picture books
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- 28
- Pages
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Our view
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is a picture book that teaches almost without seeming to. A caterpillar eats its way through a week of food and becomes a butterfly, and along the way a child meets counting and the names of the weekdays. The pictures carry the story for those who cannot yet read the words, which makes it a natural first book to share aloud.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a 1969 children's picture book by American author and illustrator Eric Carle. The plot follows a very hungry caterpillar that consumes a variety of foods before pupating and becoming a butterfly. It incorporates elements that contribute to early childhood education, including numbers and the days of the week.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.3 across 491 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 77% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Picture books average of 8.3. That is how 8.3 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.0 | 106 | 22% |
| Hardcover | 8.4 | 385 | 78% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Very Hungry Caterpillar for?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 28 pages — shorter than 100% of the ranked books in Picture books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Picture books — with scores between 8.1 and 8.4, closest to this book.
