The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Written and Illustrated by: Eric Carle
Published by: Philomel Books 1987
Grades: K-2
Genre: Picture Book, Classic, Math

Synopsis: This story tells about the transformation of a very hungry caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.  The caterpillar eats his way through numerous foods in large amounts including, candy, pie, apples, pears, cupcakes, etc. until he becomes full at last.  He then forms a cocoon around himself and falls asleep until he one day breaks through as a butterfly. 

Theme/Skill: Counting and Numbers, Life Cycles, Caterpillars, Butterflies, Story Sequencing.

About the Author: Eric Carle

Eric was born in 1929 in Syracuse, New York.  When he was six, he moved to Germany with his family where he became educated and graduated from Akademie der bildenden Kunste, a prestigious art school.  In 1952, he returned to America with his portfolio and settled in New York.  He found a job as a graphic designer for the New York Times.  He was asked one day by Bill Martin, Jr. to illustrate a book he had written.  As a result was the publication of the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  This started Carle’s career as an illustrator.  His most famous work is the Very Hungry Caterpillar published in 1969.  Since then he has illustrated more than seventy books.  Today Carle, has two grown children and divides his time with his wife in the Florida Keys and North Carolina. 

Source used: http://www.eric-carle.com/bio.html

Pre-Reading Activities:  Bring in a few caterpillars for the children to look at.  Ask questions such as: What is one thing you noticed about the caterpillars?  Where do you think you find caterpillars? What do caterpillars turn into?  On the board, go through the different stages of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.  Have a different student come up to the board to write out each different stage.  

Post-Reading Activities:  Group the students by having them count off by threes.  Have each group make either a caterpillar, cocoon, or butterfly.  The finished products will be hung from the ceiling as the class maps out the different stages of development.  Also keep the live caterpillars in the classroom to observe each day to watch it change and chart how long it stays in each stage. 

Lesson Ideas: http://www.dltk-teach.com/books/hungrycaterpillar/index.htm

Reflection:  I remember reading this book while I was little.  Now that I have read it to my preschool children, it seems to never get old with whichever generation reads it.  Both the preschool children and myself love the vibrant and colorful illustrations that fill each page.  Having a white background with large images that pop out of the pages draws your eye onto each page.  I love how there are holes through the food to show that a caterpillar has eaten through it.  The concept of the book is so simple yet helps children see how a caterpillar changes and helps them learn how to count the number of objects plus learn the days of the week.  Spectacular!

The Greedy Triangle

The Greedy Triangle
Written by: Marilyn Burns
Illustrated by: Gordon Silveria
Published by: Scholastic Inc. 1994
Grades: 1-3
Genre: Science Fiction, Math

Synopsis: This book tells the story of the greedy triangle.  After becoming bored with the triangle shape that he is, the shape shifter turns the triangle into other shapes.  This book tells the science of the types of shapes and incorporates magic behind the changing of the number of lines and angles it is made up of.   

Theme/Skill: Shape Knowledge, Change, Greed, Polygons, Geometry

About the Author: Marilyn Burns

Marilyn has taught children, led in-service workshops, written professional development publications for teachers and administrators, and has created staff development videotapes for more than 40 years.  She is the creator of Math Solutions Professional Development which is for Grades K-8 math instruction.  She continues to teach in the classroom to develop new testing ideas and materials to use.  She also is a published author and illustrator of children’s book including Spaghetti and Meatballs for All!, Greedy Triangle, About Teaching Mathematics: A K-8 Resource, and I Am Not a Short Adult. 

 Source used: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/paperbacks/marilynburns/bio.htm

Pre-Reading Activities:  Hand each student a paper triangle and have them write down what they think a triangle is.  Ask questions such as:  What is your definition of a triangle?  How many lines does a triangle have?  How many angles does a triangle have? Go over a bunch of different shapes with the class by teaching them the number of lines and angles that each shape has.  This can be done by using the overhead or an elmo.

Post-Reading Activities:  Have the students make their own shapes out of different materials in the classroom.  They also will draw an object that has this shape, like a tv, a house, etc. and label it what shape it is.  They will use 2 sentences to describe what makes it that shape.  After they decorate them, hang them up around the classroom for the students to make reference to. 
Lesson ideas: http://www.mwpenn.com/lesson-plans/greedy-triangle/

Reflection:  This book is good for children who are starting to learn the polygons.  It is very informative and gives a lot of information for children to try to grasp if they have not already learned the name of the shapes.  It does make it fun for kids since it will not seem like they are learning rather that they are reading a fun book.  I love how it describes the different shapes but just doesn't use a solid form of it but rather examples that you would see in everyday life.  This will help them identify other ones that surround them everyday that they just have not noticed before.