As The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric Carle dies – 4 important lessons we learned from the children’s book

The writer was aged 91.

Liz Connor
Thursday 27 May 2021 11:35 BST
'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' children's book by Eric Carle
'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' children's book by Eric Carle

Children’s writer Eric Carle who penned the best-selling book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, has died aged 91.

“In the light of the moon, holding on to a good star, a painter of rainbows is now travelling across the night sky,” a family statement said about the beloved author’s recent passing.

Carle’s most famous book needs little introduction – it has sold almost 50 million copies worldwide since its publication, and it continues to charm children and adults across the globe.

If you were a fan of the ravenous larva in your childhood, here are some enduring life lessons that we learnt from our favourite bedtime fable.

1. Don’t food shame yourself

In case you need a refresher, the book tells the story of a little caterpillar that eats a week’s worth of food in one day, gorging on chunks of swiss cheese, ice cream, salami and pickles.

In the process, we learnt something important about the difference between binge eating and occasional overeating: that it’s OK to let go and eat without fear, as the occasional large meal won’t damage your health in the long-term.

We all know that it’s really hard to eat healthy foods all day, every day, and treating yourself to an extra serving of dessert every now and again isn’t something to punish yourself about.

2. Change is inevitable

The sweet illustrations in Carle’s book capture three very different stages in the caterpillar’s life cycle, from his time as a wriggling larva to the moment he eventually emerges from his chrysalis as a beautiful butterfly.

Like most life changes, the process isn’t without its aches and pains – the caterpillar grows in size and gets a sore stomach before he realises it was all part of the growing process.

It’s a lovely metaphor about major life transformations – how they are rarely without their ups and downs and that you won’t always immediately know that change is a good thing until you have the benefit of hindsight.

3. Books with holes are infinitely better

On a very basic level, The Very Hungry Caterpillar taught us that there is a certain joy that comes from sticking a pinkie finger into pictures of juicy apples, sugary lollipops and sumptuous pieces of cake.

If you’re anything like us, other picture books sat neglected at bedtime because we loved the sensory excitement of poking and prodding the caterpillar’s exciting buffet of tasty foods.

4. Always follow your instincts

Life doesn’t come with instructions or a map, but the caterpillar trusts his gut feeling that eating all of the food with wanton abandon will benefit him later on.

Succumbing to his desires and listening to his inner voice allowed the caterpillar to eventually turn into the best version of himself, and every generation of readers can take something from Carle’s enduring message about following your intuition and trusting yourself.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in