01.31.08

I love when a book I have read is made in to a movie. It is so fun to see which actor or actress is cast as the different characters, how the setting unfolds, and what score compliments the picture. To me, it is how a book comes to life. For my boys, their favorite book recently came to life as well. I bet any mom reading this can guess the book just by the first line, "In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf." Yup! It is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. And my boys are now jubilant owners of their very own Very Hungry Caterpillar plush toy.

When I first showed the caterpillar to my older son, he was almost confused. He has literally read this book over 500 times in his short life, and all of a sudden, THE ACTUAL VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR was sitting next to him! Kind of like how I would feel if Julia Roberts was in my kitchen. After getting over his confusion, he reached for the book, and read it with his new caterpillar friend, telling it all the things he ate, on which day, and what he became (a butterfly, of course!). Watching my son, I realized this was his version of a book coming to life.

Written in 1969 by Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is probably his best-known work. This book is adored by millions of children worldwide, as it has been translated in to more than 45 languages. Though this is Eric's most famous book, he has written and illustrated more than 70 books, including Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? And Do You Want to Be My Friend?

In addition to The Very Hungry Caterpillar, many of Eric's books have come to life with a wonderful collection of plush toys, including Brown Bear and the Grouchy Ladybug. Now that I have discovered how fun it is for children to touch and feel their favorite story characters, I will never give another copy of one of Eric Carle's books without also including the real-life plush toy. It is just like the movie!