1. Art
2. Board books
3. Butterflies
4. Caterpillars
5. Counting
6. Food
7. Indigenous languages
8. Insects
9. Metamorphosis
10. Nature
11. Teaching
12. Visual literacy

‘In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf’ and so begins one of the best-known and loved picture books ever created. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle was first published in 1969 and has been translated into over 60 languages. That number has now increased with the publication by the Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s editions in six Indigenous languages.

The story is simple. A caterpillar hatches, realises he is hungry and then proceeds to eat his way through a variety and ever-increasing amount of food. Along the way young readers are introduced to important concepts such as counting, the days of the week, food and healthy eating and an understanding of the life cycle of a butterfly.

When published the book’s clever design and layout were quite innovative and contributed greatly to the book’s appeal as did the colourful collage artwork, created using hand painted papers cut and layered to form the bright images. The use of familiar sequences or patterns such as numbers or days of the week in a lyrical and rhythmic way assisted young readers as did the repetition of the phrase, ‘But he was still hungry’. It is a book with great appeal and universality and its availability in six Indigenous languages creates an ideal opportunity to share a book that is both useful and creative and as popular today as it was 50 years ago.

1. Indigenous Literacy Foundation. ‘5 reasons why kids deserve access to books in First languages.’ https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/news-events/5-reasons-why-kids-deserve-access-to-books-in-first-languages
2. National Indigenous Times 7 October 2022. Callan Morse. ‘Much- loved children’s classic ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ translated into six First Nations languages.’ https://nit.com.au/07-10-2022/4030/much-loved-childrens-classic-the-very-hungry-caterpillar-translated-into-six-first-nations-languages
3. 96three FM Blog Georgia Free. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ and other kids classics, now in First Nations languages.’ https://www.96three.com.au/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-and-other-kids-classics-now-in-first-nations-languages/
4. Indigenous Literacy Foundation ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s first bite’ https://www.indigenousliteracyfoundation.org.au/the-very-hungry-caterpillars-first-bite.html.html
5. ABC Tropical North 3 June 2019. Sophie Meixner reports ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar turns 50 and gets its own Indigenous language translation.’ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-03/very-hungry-caterpillar-translated-into-yuwi-language/10924188
6. Eric Carle ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ https://eric-carle.com/eric-carle-book-gallery/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-1969/
7. ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ animated film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY