by Jill Philby

Just over 50 years ago, a very hungry little caterpillar burst out of an egg and ate his way through all sorts of food on the way to transforming into a beautiful butterfly!  Author/illustrator Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” has been a perennial favorite among both children and adults. Now a stage production, the caterpillar and his friend, Brown Bear, will be visiting Ames’ Stephens Auditorium on Monday, February 12, 2024 at 6:30pm.

To celebrate Eric Carle and his caterpillar, Ames Public Library will be giving away one Family Pack of four tickets to see “The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show” at each of the following storytimes:

• Monday, Jan. 29: Toddler Storytime at 10:30am
• Tuesday, Jan. 30: Family Storytime at 10:30am
• Wednesday, Jan. 31: Toddler Storytime at 10:30am
• Thursday, Feb. 1: Family Storytime at 10:30am
• Friday, Feb. 2: Storybook Science at 10:30am

First published in 1969, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” was considered innovative with its tactile design full of holes and varying page sizes, but that was just the beginning for Carle.  Choosing a book by Carle meant the reader might hear a single cricket in “The Very Quiet Cricket” or watch a firefly blink out a message of hope in “The Very Lonely Firefly.”  Or maybe climb a very tall ladder to help bring the moon to earth like in “Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me.”  Created in collaboration with Bill Martin, Jr., “From Head to Toe” asks children to see how people and animals are very much alike, while “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” asks children to look around and notice what might be watching them!

No one can deny the textural beauty in Carle’s artwork, but where Carle truly excelled was in his ability to connect with his readers.  In each book, Carle invites children to join him in new discoveries about nature, art, and themselves in the hope of giving each child the confidence to see that they also can grow to be beautiful butterflies!