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The Very Hungry Caterpillar is an international bestseller that is considered to be a timeless childhood classic. Designed by Eric Carle in his signature collage fashion, this book aims to entertain toddlers and introduce them to simple educational themes. Summary Of The Book The picture book tells the story of a famished caterpillar who is born with a never-ending appetite. The book starts right when the green little caterpillar hatches out of the egg and enters this world. It proceeds with him eating fruits, cheese, pie, sausage, salami and many other food varieties throughout the book until a point where he is nauseated. Once he is cured by eating a leaf, he sets off to weave a cocoon and slowly becomes a beautiful butterfly. The author uses a few weeks of this caterpillar's life to teach children some basic aspects of everyday learning like counting numbers, days in a week, and different types of food. The book graphically explores the stages of a butterfly's life while depicting the funny, unreasonable diet of a caterpillar. Carle also throws in fascinating bits on the order of Lepidoptera, making the book informative as well as appealing. The distinctive pictures and the embossed designs are the book's most attractive features. The pages that are made of die-cut paper vary in size and shape to give the book a unique feel. These pages even have holes in them as an indication of the caterpillar eating through it. The colorful artwork and eye-catching illustrations are carefully crafted to stimulate children's visual instincts. This board book version is considerably large in size and is ideal for schools, homes and libraries. First released in 1969, The Very Hungry Caterpillar was an instant hit and won a great deal of awards in the genre of children's literature. In 1970, it received the American Institute Of Graphic Arts Award for its spectacular design. It has sold more than 30 million copies all over the world and has been translated into about 40 languages. A wide range of tools, toys and games have been created in correspondence to the book and the famous caterpillar has featured in TV shows and commercials. About Eric Carle Eric Carle is an American children's book writer and illustrator. Some of his other works include Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, All Around Us, The Grouchy Ladybug, and Little Cloud. Carle was born in the year 1929 to German parents. Though his birth place was New York, his family returned to Germany when he was 6. After being educated in Stuttgart, Eric returned to the USA in 1952 and joined The New York Times as a graphic designer. After years of experience, he was made the art director of an advertising firm. He was also briefly deployed to Germany by the American Army during the Korean war. His career as an illustrator and designer of children's books began in 1967, with his first independent work and a bestseller, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? He has been the recipient of several awards including the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award.