Genre
Counting books
Picture books for children
Stories in rhyme
Illustration
Big and bold
Colorful
Inventive
Subject
Animals
Butterflies
Caterpillars
Counting
Nature

I had forgotten about this book, as well, but I remember it from when I was younger. It is a simple counting story about caterpillars, where one turns into a butterfly at the end. It is a great choice for exposing young children to numbers, caterpillars, rhythm, and rhyme. Bill Martin Jr. always has a really great melodic sound to all of his books, which is part of the strong appeal for children. This book, along with many others by this author, is an excellent choice for an early reader's library. ( )

Great book to use for counting. Can be use to discuss the life cycle of caterpillars to butterflies. Good to read to ages 3-5. ( )

I really like this book and the educational opportunities it provides for young children. The illustrations are vibrant and colorful. The illustrations are labeled, so children can make a connection between pictures of animals, plants, and vegetables with their words. It is sometimes hard for children to recognize that words in a sentence correspond to pictures, but with direct labels, this concept is made easier for children. For example, if the word “toad” is in a sentence with many other words, children may not understand which word corresponds with the picture. In this book, the word “toad” is placed right next to the picture of a toad, making it clear that t-o-a-d spells the word “toad”. The use of written numbers in this text also provides a unique educational opportunity for readers. Most children in preschool or kindergarten understand the concept of numbers, but see them as symbols. Seeing numbers in sentences such as “The third little caterpillar climbed a cabbage head” help children understand that numbers can be expressed as symbols or words. This book also helps children understand the concept of ordinal numbers. This book includes repetitive language by saying, “The second little caterpillar”, “The third little caterpillar”, “The fourth little caterpillar”, etc. The predictable language helps children recognize high frequency words and boosts their self-esteem since they will be able to identify the repeated words on every page. At the end of the book, there are facts about the animals and their names, which means that this story can be used as a cross-curricular activity and teach science as well. I would recommend this book only to young readers, since it would not be very engaging for children in upper elementary grade levels. However, it is perfect for beginning readers and could help students learn in various ways. ( )

I had mixed feelings about this book. One of the reasons I enjoyed reading the story was because of the illustrations. The pictures were very abstract and the caterpillars were very detailed. They looked cute in the story. The illustrations enhanced the story. There was one word I wasn't familiar with which was 'bower' but I guessed it was type of flower, which I was able to figure out through the illustrations. Another reason I liked this story was because of the writing. The words were very simple and they rhymed to it was easy to follow along.There was also a glossary in the back on the book that showed the different butterflies that each caterpillar turned into. It also gave facts about the caterpillars which I found very helpful and engaging, since they were labeled. One thing that could have made the book better was more details in the actual story. The main idea of this book was to show the different flowers and plants that caterpillars eat and to show how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. ( )