When Eric Carle died in May, aged 91, I was reminded of the timelessness of his wonderful book for young children - 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'.
I wondered why it has been adored by generations of children for over 50 years. Why it has sold more than 55 million copies since it was first published in 1969 and been translated into more than 70 languages.
I decided there were plenty of reasons:
We all know the simple story - a little caterpillar hatches on a leaf and sets off looking for food to eat.
First there's the colours of the book - they burst from the pages in glorious purples, yellows, reds, blues and greens. Next there's its interactivity - little children love turning the pages and poking their finger through the holes the caterpillar has left. Thirdly there are the subtle lessons - they learn colours, they learn counting, they learn fruits and they even learn about junk food. There's a little biology too when the caterpillar goes into the cocoon and comes out as a butterfly.
And, about that butterfly - it's a two page, full on, stunner!
