Download high-resolution image Look inside
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

50th Anniversary Golden Edition

Author Eric Carle
Illustrated by Eric Carle
Afterword by Dolly Parton
Look inside
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00
THE ICONIC #1 BESTSELLER • The all-time classic picture book starring world’s favorite caterpillar! This beautifully crafted fiftieth-anniversary edition features an afterword by Dolly Parton and a history of the book from the publisher.

“Gorgeously illustrated, brilliantly innovative.”—The New York Times Book Review

In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.
One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and—pop!—out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.


So begins the journey of Eric Carle’s most beloved storybook character. Follow along as one of nature’s loveliest marvels eats his way through an amazing variety of foods as he prepares to transform into a beautiful butterfly! Children will love the strikingly bold, colorful pictures against a simple text in large, clear type.

To celebrate fifty years of warming the hearts of little ones everywhere, this stunning anniversary edition includes Eric Carle’s classic story originally published in 1969, along with a sweet note from the author himself, an afterword by Dolly Parton, and a history of the book’s legacy. This anniversary edition is perfect for sharing with anyone who can’t get enough of the world’s favorite caterpillar!
© Penguin Random House
Born in the United States, Eric Carle was taken as a six-year-old child by his parents back to their native country, Germany. Later, he studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste (Academy of Applied Arts) in Stuttgart, and returned to New York in his early twenties as a graphic designer and artist. His many picture books are now known and loved by children around the world.
 
In 2002, Eric and his late wife, Barbara, opened The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Amherst, Massachusetts, where the works of distinguished picture book artists, nationally and internationally acclaimed, are exhibited in three spacious galleries.

Eric Carle passed away in 2021, at the age of 91. View titles by Eric Carle

Watch a video

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Read Aloud Picture Book | Brightly Storytime

About

THE ICONIC #1 BESTSELLER • The all-time classic picture book starring world’s favorite caterpillar! This beautifully crafted fiftieth-anniversary edition features an afterword by Dolly Parton and a history of the book from the publisher.

“Gorgeously illustrated, brilliantly innovative.”—The New York Times Book Review

In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.
One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and—pop!—out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.


So begins the journey of Eric Carle’s most beloved storybook character. Follow along as one of nature’s loveliest marvels eats his way through an amazing variety of foods as he prepares to transform into a beautiful butterfly! Children will love the strikingly bold, colorful pictures against a simple text in large, clear type.

To celebrate fifty years of warming the hearts of little ones everywhere, this stunning anniversary edition includes Eric Carle’s classic story originally published in 1969, along with a sweet note from the author himself, an afterword by Dolly Parton, and a history of the book’s legacy. This anniversary edition is perfect for sharing with anyone who can’t get enough of the world’s favorite caterpillar!

Author

© Penguin Random House
Born in the United States, Eric Carle was taken as a six-year-old child by his parents back to their native country, Germany. Later, he studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste (Academy of Applied Arts) in Stuttgart, and returned to New York in his early twenties as a graphic designer and artist. His many picture books are now known and loved by children around the world.
 
In 2002, Eric and his late wife, Barbara, opened The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Amherst, Massachusetts, where the works of distinguished picture book artists, nationally and internationally acclaimed, are exhibited in three spacious galleries.

Eric Carle passed away in 2021, at the age of 91. View titles by Eric Carle

Media

Watch a video

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Read Aloud Picture Book | Brightly Storytime

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more