As The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric Carle dies – 4 important lessons we learned from the children’s book
The writer was aged 91.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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.