Artistic Masterpiece: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Read It. Move It. Share It. 

With spring winding down and summer just around the corner, dance educator Maria Hanley and I are exploring the classic picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by legendary author and illustrator Eric Carle. It's part of our monthly collaboration in which I recommend a picture book for Maria to use in her creative movement classes and then we both share our experiences with the book. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which was published more than 40 years ago, is the first children's book I remember having as a child. When I think about other picture books and board books published around the same time, this one stands out so much in its creative design and universal appeal. 

I may be living in a cocoon of sorts (i.e., my own little world of children's books), but I can't imagine that anyone has not heard of this wonderful book, which tells the story of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly in such a delightful--and delicious--way. A true artistic masterpiece...at least in my book! 

Just in case I really am living in a cocoon (which is entirely possible) and you haven't heard of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, the best way to describe it is to simply "show" it to you. It just so happens that Barnes & Noble is featuring the book on its "Online Storytime" this month. Click here and you can see some of the collage art from the book and hear Eric Carle read the whole story. 

I also found a great video on YouTube of Eric Carle talking about the process of creating the book, the educational themes that run through the book, and the personal meaning that the book holds for him.

So why recommend this book for a creative movement class? That's a good question! I can't say the book is overflowing with movement words, but there are some good ones in there--like "looking" for food, "building" a house, and "pushing" out of a cocoon. Plus, the story is so simple that students could easily act it out using some of these words. I bet a lot of children would enjoy building a cocoon, and I know my favorite part would be turning into a butterfly. 

Oh, wait. Maybe my favorite part would be eating through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon. I just wouldn't want to get a stomachache like the hungry caterpillar does!

Students could also explore the way that a caterpillar moves in general--or how he moves when he's hungry versus how he moves when he's full. Or they could create their own dance on a subject other than caterpillars, but by using the educational themes of counting or days of the week that show up in the book. So many possibilities!

As usual, I'm very curious to see how Maria used the book with her young students. So let's crawl like a caterpillar over to Maria's Movers to see how her classes went! Then feel free to come back here and explore the extra links I've gathered below...

Getting to Know Eric Carle

The Official Eric Carle Website

Eric Carle's Blog

A Video Interview with Eric Carle (Reading Rockets)

Educational Tools

Eric Carle Author Study (Scholastic)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Teaching Plan (Scholastic)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Activity Plan (Scholastic)

More Fun Links

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Counting with the Very Hungry Caterpillar (App)

Read & Romp Roundup -- March 2012

Welcome to our third Read & Romp Roundup, which happens to be all about picture books. Because we don't have as many posts as usual this month, we'll have some extra room to expand on the posts and learn more about the bloggers who submitted them. Here we go!

Alexandra Morrill from Laughing Giraffe Books submitted a dream post for any librarian who wants to add some movement to story time or for any dance teacher who is looking for more children's literature to incorporate into class. The post is a list of 12 picture books that encourage movement, including classics like Giles Andreae's Giraffes Can't Dance and Eric Carle's From Head to Toe. There are also a few books on the list that are new to me, like Can You Make a Scary Face? by Jan Thomas.

With a background as a special education teacher and a reading specialist, Alexandra started Laughing Giraffe Books to help get themed book bundles into the hands of children who would love them. In addition to writing her blog, she offers more than 80 book bundles for children up to age eight, free shipping and gift wrapping, and a book of the month club. Four of her book bundles are movement-themed, each containing several books plus a special search-and-find game to go along with the collection. What a great idea!

Over at Maria's Movers, dance educator Maria Hanley is sharing her suggestions for using the picture book How to Be by Lisa Brown for creative movement. After trying the book out with several age groups, Maria found that it worked best with her five-year-olds, although it was also great for exploring new movement and non-movement words with her four-year-olds.

I've been so fortunate to have gotten to know Maria over the last year and am happy to call her my friend. She's an amazing dance educator who teaches tap, ballet, creative movement, and grown-up and me classes throughout New York City. She's also a contributor to the popular dance resource Dance Advantage, where she writes a monthly column called Kid Concepts.

And last but not least, Beth Stilborn from By Word of Beth shares a synopsis of and activities to go along with the picture book Dragon Dancing by Carole Schaefer and Pierr Morgan. Incorporating movement words in the text, the book tells the story of a group of young school children who make a dragon birthday costume and then create an imaginative dragon dance to go along with it. A great book for celebrating a birthday and also for introducing children to Chinese New Year!

I'm so glad I met Beth online a few months ago, and I enjoy reading her posts about reading, writing, the arts, and life. On her blog, she says "The arts, in all forms, add immeasurably to our lives, and I believe it is important to encourage and facilitate children's artistic and creative expression as early as possible, and in as many ways as possible." What a beautiful statement. I couldn't agree more!

How are you liking the roundups so far? Would you prefer short monthly roundups or slightly longer ones less often? I'm trying to figure out whether to continue to have a roundup every month or to switch to one every two months. I'd love to hear your thoughts!