Book Description

Nine animals, nine shapes, and sixteen shades of color'everyone can have fun discovering them all by turning Color Zoo's full-color pages and watching a lion turn into a goat, an ox into a monkey, a tiger into a mouse. . . .

1990 Caldecott Honor Book
Notable Children's Books of 1989 (ALA)
1990 Fanfare Honor List (H) ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A Delight!
My 2 year old just discovered this darling book. He enjoys running his fingers over the cut out areas and talks to the animals as they appear. We haven't had any problem with the quality of the book. The pages are nice and thick and have held up to being drag around by my little guy- And I'll admit he can be tough on books! Color zoo has become a night time favorite. This one is a keeper!

Beautiful, Fun, & Educational
I loved this book (1) because it uses primary colors which my daughter adores (2) the animals are very imaginative (3) it teaches so many things (4) it's cardboard, almost impossible for my one year old to destroy.
The excerpts this site gives you doesn't do it any justice. It's very hard to see what it's really like. I suggest going to a bookstore and picking it up to flip through it so you really understand. I think it's brillant!

My daughter loves this book and I hate it!
I bought this book for my two year old daughter because she was learning her colors and shapes. I had bought other books from this author before and have been pleased. The concept of this book is excellent. As you flip each page the cut out shapes form a different (sometimes hard to recognize)animal. My daughter loved to call out the shapes and colors of each page. What I want to know is why they made this book out of such flimsy paper. This book lasted one week before it started losing pages. First the shapes started ripping at the edges and then we lost whole pages. This book is geared for small children but they made it so that it will stand up to only the most delicate adult. My daughter is not very aggressive, this is just a poorly made book. Usually I don't mind if a book becomes tattered through a lot of love but for a book to last one week is just ridiculous. The publishers should be ashamed of themselves! Save your money and aggravation and buy shape books made of sturdy paper or coardboard.

Colorful book that uses shapes in an ingenious way
My daughter (who is only one) loves to flip through this book and look at the different colors and shapes. Because each page has a shape cut out of it, this makes the pages easy for her to grasp and flip. Out of all of her board books, I find myself reaching for his one time and time again because it occupies her the longest. In contrast to some books that she will barely look at and others she will look at only with my direction, this book is one that she will find all on her own and quietly flip through the pages.

Even for me, I find the concept simple but mesmerizing. There is something fascinating about looking at the shape and seeing how the animal changes into a different animal as you flip the page. It makes you think about shapes and colors in a very abstract way.

I would definitely recommend this book as a foundational block in any young child's library. The book itself is sturdy and the colors are bold and vivid. It's a great concept that's been executed effectively.

high quality book
I like this book because the animals are simplified, almost abstract and at first my daughter(2)couldn't recognize them (she was used of more or less realistic illustrations). I think this is very important in recognazing and understanding the basic characterizations of all subjects. Each animal has on the opposite side the geometric shape that the animal is composed of. At first this is very difficult for a two year old (specially octagon and hexagon) but I must say she recognize almost all of them now (2 weeks later). For me english books with almost no text are interesting also because I can teach her foreign language. I really recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience more than just reading stories to children. ... Read more

Book Description

Bold bright graphics, a simple clean design, engaging rhyming text that appeals to young kids, and big pop-ups on each spread; this is the appeal of the Snappy series. Bugs jump right off the pages of this kid-friendly book. What better way to learn than with this happy, snappy pop-up! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Can't believe baby loves this book!
This book quickly became a favorite for my baby daughter. She's now 4 mos. old and the Snappy books have been favorites for nearly two months. She loves the bright colors and action.

I am so pleased to find that there are many more of these books available, as our local store only has two and we got one other as a gift. We will definitely be purchasing more of these books!

a super pop-up book!
I was really impressed with this line of pop up books!!! This book has bright cutely drawn bugs, and the pop-ups require no tabs to pull -- just open the page and the critters pop up! And I do have to say, the durability is about the best I've seen around! These books aren't totally indistructable, but the are very sturdy. This was the first pop-up book we bought for our son (16 mos old). We had thought, "give our son, a pop up book? you've got to be kidding". You're talking the the parent of a boy whose motto is, "If it's not coming, I just must not be pulling hard enough!" He just doesn't understand some things aren't meant to be pulled apart. But these books have survived very well. I still supervise him with them, the ones that did get ripped...just needed a little tape, and the pop-up still works.

Beautiful Pop-Ups
This is a great pop-up. The pictures are fantastic and my 3 yr old loves how the pop-ups move.

My daughter's favorite of the Snappy series
We own many books in the Snappy line of pop-up books. This one is my daughter's favorite (followed closely by the Dinosaur book). It's one of the only books where I have to say that I will read it "Just one more time". I think that insects, spiders and worms hold a special appeal for the very young.

It is well-loved, but does not have rips and tears like our lift-the-flap or pull-tab books. So far I haven't had to repair this book at all. The Snappy books are the only pop-up books we own that actually look "gently used".

The bugs are drawn in such a way that they are identifiable, even by a small child. The pop-up actions differ from page to page, making the illustrations seem fresh.

What I like best about this line of books is that the pop-up figures "work" without the use of pull tabs. Just opening the page causes the pop-up figures to rise from the page. This makes these books a little bit more durable than our pop-up books by other publishers.

Fun for ALL ages!
We own many of the Snappy book series and Snappy Bugs is our favorite! The illustrations and colors are engaging and the pop-ups are creative and whimsical. I enjoy it as much as my 2 1/2 year old and 7 month old do. We never tire of reading it together. My only caution for those who have never purchased a Snappy book would be to realize that these are books for young children and parents/caregivers to share together--the pop-ups can be pretty delicate and if you're not careful, your book will be destroyed in no time. I highly recommend this book for anyone with small children. ... Read more

Book Description

Bring your own Cheerios!

With this exciting companion to the best-selling The Cheerios® Play Book, children can delight once more in adding Cheerios to just the right places. Leopards get their spots, monkeys juggle, owls see -- and children will laugh out loud as a much-loved cereal again becomes part of Lee Wade's bold, bright art! As with the original Cheerios® Play Book, pages are recessed to help children successfully place the cereal pieces in the scenes.

MORE tasty, interactive fun that toddlers will love! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Great for pre-schoolers!
This is our favorite of the Cheerios books. The pictures are brightly colored, and all of the animals are simply drawn and easily identifiable. Aside from being fun to play with and eat, placing the Cheerios in the holes is also great for working on your child's fine motor skills.

Toddler Favorite!
What a great interactive book for toddlers! This book will help keep your toddlers attention because rather than just sitting and listening, they use cheerios to complete the illustrations on the pages. This is a very cute and entertaining book! ... Read more

Book Description

Poor Bananas Gorilla! He can't find his bananas anywhere!

Kids will delight in helping Bananas Gorilla find his lost bananas somewhere aboard this busy 8-foot-long freight train! Thanks to Richard Scarry's well-loved illustrations, lots of flaps to lift, and a movable crane, this hilarious pull-out book is sure to be a hit with children of all ages.

All aboard! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Funny, interactive book
I'm glad there are authors like Richard Scarry, who appreciate the great sense of humor children have. This book is beautifully and cleverly built, folding out into a long train (my two year old was "driving" it around the house yesterday) and containing lots of flaps to peek behind. There are many silly details (crocodiles crying their crocodile tears) and an exciting premise: will Bananas Gorilla ever find his bananas?!? My son looks at dejected Bananas and feels real empathy for him. This book has provided many hours of fun for us.

Fun -- though not exactly a "book"
This book doesn't have much text but folds out into a VERY long yet sturdy train, with the usual whimsical Richard Scarry illustrations, plus some open the flap surprises. It's fun, but ultimately it doesn't offer as much as, say, "What Do People Do All Day?" or "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go" or other classic Scarry books.

My son's favorite book!
This is my 13 month old son's favorite book. He has worn out the flaps and left teeth marks on his favorite pages. I am ordering a spare copy for him and 2 more for my nephews. The rhyming text and story are as much fun as all of the moving parts! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Shopoholic Mom to Triplets!
Okay, we have *almost* all of the "Touch and Feel" books and this is one of the favorites!! All 3 of my babies *LOVE* the teddy bear and love the lift the 'soft cotton curtain', etc. Loads of fun! Only downfall is these books just are long enough!!

Not the best
Many of the books in this series are better than this one. The selection of items and pictures is odd, and the mirror on the last page distorts baby's face like something out of a funhouse. Skip this one in the series.

Your toddler will sit still!
This series is great! This was the only thing to get my highly Kinetic child to sit still and read. The things to feel here are things that are in their own environment, and there is a wonderful 3-D component to it too. Personally I think these are heads and shoulders above the "pat the bunny" books, and so does my child. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Explains the concept of a new baby in mommy's tummy!
Very young children cannot grasp the concept of a baby being in their mommy's tummy. Well, wouldn't you have questions at that age too? They want to know why they can't take it out and play with it!

The book, "What's Inside?" by Jeanne AshBe, does a good job of answering a young child's questions. It first describes a few things that can be opened up, and what will be found inside. Then it describes things that can be opened up, but aren't meant to be opened. It also shows what you might find inside if you do try and open the item. Lastly, there are illustrations of a mommy's pregnant belly, showing how the baby is growing inside. The last image is that of a baby in the arms of it's older sibling. So, it's explained that the baby is inside, and comes out in due time :).

MyParenTime.com highly recommends this book -- it explains the concept of a baby being inside a tummy by first using simple ideas that even the youngest children can understand. There are "child-like" drawn illustrations and lift-the-flaps that are always enjoyable by children of all ages. Young children who are expecting a sibling are sure to enjoy this book!

What's Inside?
What's inside is a delightful pop up book for preschoolers or babies. My children thoroughly enjoyed seeing "What's inside" each page. This book gave them a peek inside many objects and allowed them to get a better understanding of pregancy and birth in terms they can understand.

It invoked laughter and questions. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Puppet Mouth ingenious fun
When I first got this book, I didn't really enjoy reading it to my 13 month old because the words are supposed to be a song and no tune is supplied. (The words don't rhyme so a tune would have been helpful.) Nonetheless, my daughter loved the puppet concept even then and now, at 21 months, she INSISTS that we read this book EVERY DAY. She wants the cow to kiss her with the cow lips, the donkey to bite her with the donkey mouth and the animals all to say their sounds with their mouths moving. There are a lot of clever interesting things to be described in the illustrations that you notice more and more as you read the book. So now, even though I don't find the words great, it is clear that the puppet and the illustrations are what my daughter cares about and this book is her absolute favourite (and she has a lot of books!)

Outstanding Must Have
We love this book. It has become an instant favorite. I bought it for my 9 month old while on vacation and she loved it from the beginning. We shared it with relatives while on our trip and everyone fell in love with this adorable & fun book. My nieces enjoyed reading it to my baby as they would take on the personality of each of the characters in the book. They had so much fun reading this book and creating interesting voices for each barnyard friend. I also shared the book with two libraians at a playgroup at the local library and they immediately took the information down and were going to order a copy for their story times. This book is a real hit. I am now adding it to the top of my list as books to buy for friends with babies. Thanks to the authors & artists. Definatley a MUST HAVE!!

Boogie Baby, Boogie!
When I saw this book I was intrigued... when I opened it, I was sold - what a hoot! As the other mother wrote, it's a shame they don't have a picture of the book, because seeing is believing. The "puppet" part of the book is a brown velour covered upper and lower lip - with a little red to accent the mouth and lips.

Each page is delightful - kids from my 4 month old to the neighbor children (2, 4, 8) all get a real kick out of seing the puppet lips move as you read the pages. The illustrations are colorful and comical. And everyone in the barnyard gets involved, from the donkey to a duck, cat, dog, pig, cow, mouse and even the farmer - everyone has a verse to sing in the barnyard boogie.

Thanks to the authors and publishers for a wonderful book - it's going to become a staple gift for my friends' children!

My preschoolers and my daycare LOVED this book!
I recently purchased this book for my 2 and 3-1/2 year olds. It immediately captivated them!! This book has a built in PUPPET!! The description on the site here says nothing of it...but it is a MUST KNOW!! The puppet is actually a soft upper and lower lip of a donkey. Your hand goes through the back of the book and you move the lips as you read the book aloud. The barnyard characters change as you turn the pages but the same mouth is there for you to move for each. I took this book to my two youngest children's daycare/preschool and was inundated with compliments and questions about where to get this book by the staff at the daycare...both teachers and director!
I am a mother of five with my oldest about to turn 16! I know a good thing when I find it and this book is a must have for any parent of a young one!! My older children found the book very amusing as well and they even took time to read and play with it as well which created a real reading circle in our home which is amazing in itself!! (I wear a referree's shirt most of the time! hehe)

Honestly, you will not be disappointed. I am back here today for the purpose of ordering a copy for the wonderful people and children at my children's daycare/preschool! ... Read more

Book Description

Jack loves to splish-splash through the rain. Pull the tabs to move his rubber boots in and out of the puddles and swing his umbrella up and down.When Teddy falls - plop! - into a puddle, Jack comes to the rescue. He soon has Teddy dry again - and perfect for a cuddle! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Adorable and engaging!
This is a great book to read to infants. The pull-tab system is much less vulnerable to rips than lift-the-flap, and the very simple story remains clever. A spin in the washing machine for Teddy is my favorite part. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

one of my daughter's favorite Maisy's books
Since my daughter's grandma introduced her first Maisy book to her when she was just one month old, Maisy has become her favorite book character. Thirteen months now, she has lots of books that she loves to read but Maisy books are her all-time favorites. When I went to the bookstore to buy books for her, I always want to see if there is any new Maisy book. Honestly speaking, I don't think every Maisy book is equally good. I saw this book a couple of months ago and liked it right away. My daughter loves it too. I like it that the book shows different objects on one page and then it shows on the other page the context--what Maisy is doing. This way, it teaches kids names of individual objects and also lets them understand these objects under certain circumstances.The flapbook format also gives kids surprise, which I think is always helpful. It's really both informative and entertaining. Another book "Where is Maisy going" is similar to this one and my daughter likes it too. ... Read more

Book Description

Look for additional Blue's Clues books -- board books, sticker books, and more! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

treasure
I went on a treasure hunt.And I found a crystal ball.
It was red, it was ruby,it was a slipper, it was dorothy's.
dorothy gale from the wizard of oz she follow's the yellow brick road.

Get Set to Draw!
A neat little board book. Basically, each page has 3 clues drawn on it, and you draw the answers to the clues. Not too much reading involved. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Your princess has to have this book!
My 3 year old loves this book. It has very pretty pix & nice, easy pull-ups. Not for little ones, like most pop-ups-they tear easily but worth the money for your princess. ... Read more

Book Description

On this form you can view
Animal ears and whiskers too.
Lots of animals to be found,
Shapes and colors ail around.
Look at beaks and snouts with me.
Make some more for us to see.

Reviews (3)

Colors and Shapes.
Using vibrant colors and die-cuts this book creates the visages of various farm animals. The book appeals to babies and young toddlers and introduces them to various shapes and colors. The die-cuts used to create the various animals are brilliantly conceived. The youngest children at the day care always liked flipping through this book; the color combination really catches one's attention.

Great starter book!
Toddlers love this book because of the vibrant colors. Very young children also enjoy turning pages in books so one-word pages are great. This book is also useful when teaching shapes and colors.

My baby's first book
I bought this book for my 3-month-old son. He enjoys looking at the bright colors. Every times I turn the pages for him, his whole body responses. He is dancing to it! ... Read more

Book Description

This little piggy went to the market.

This little piggy stayed home.

And this little piggy...

Wiggle the toes on each page and see each piggy pop up. This nursery rhyme favorite with a toe-tally new twist will have toddlers squealing with delight.

Reviews (7)

My 2 year old loves this book
What a fun book! It adds an extra storyline to the popular Piggy nursery rhyme. Everyone we've given this book to has loved it too. Though the book is pretty durable, when my daughter was younger, she did rip many of the pop-ups. That's okay -- we just bought another one now that she doesn't rip books anymore. : )

My son is Obsessed with this Book
My son absolutely loves this book and has since he was about 10 months (he is 19 months now). We didn't even realize when we first received it as a gift that the little toes moved (duh!). He did it on his own. He tries to grab the piggy that pops up before we pop the piggy back into hiding. I'm also buying a second one because he has "used" this book almost every day for the last 9 months and has beaten it up pretty bad. I can't wait for him to see the new copy -- he'll be so excited. Anyway, it is so unpredictable which books kids will love. I think this one has been the reliable favorite of my son.

This is a great toddler book
Nice and sturdy to take the rugged treatment of a toddler's hands. This book get passed around at play time and parties by all the kids - very popular. Great book

Awesome book
Great illustrations. Great color. Great action. Nice and short, but full of fun! Our son absolutely loves books and this book is one of his all-time favorites. Almost daily since he was 6 months old, he has been handing it to us to read to him. Today, I am buying a second copy of this book because my son (now 15 months) has mastered moving all the toes and I think he could benefit from a new copy -- one he can really make work. The moving piggies in our first copy of "This Little Piggy" are all bent up and do not slide easily anymore, and the last piggy (who goes wee, wee, wee, all the way home) has been glued back on 1/2 dozen times. We will also use this new copy to teach him why he should treat his books nicely :)

must-have
We've been enjoying this book since my daughter was six mths.(she's now 2 yrs!) This is the cutest rendition of this little piggy, a must! The illustrations are fantastic, bright and cheerful, paired with a book in the shape of a foot with little toes to wiggle, its a sure hit! ... Read more

Book Description

Pet the dog's silky fur! Turn the pages and touch some other favorite pets. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Touch and Feel: Pets
My son is 3 and loves touching all the pets skin and fur. He is always showing me this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Look for additional Blue's Clues books -- board books, sticker books, and more! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

ok
I'm not a big fan of these books, but my daughter really enjoyed this book, if not for the story, for the lift the flaps and my improvisation of the story. I don't think this will ever be a classic, nor a story that has any content. But it definitely has that 'Blue' appeal that infants and toddlers love.

Definitely a Toddler Book, Not a Baby Book
The artwork in this book is excellent! Just as good as the TV show. My 13-month-old son loves to look at the pictures in this book, and open the flaps, but tends to lose patience with the words. I think he might enjoy it more in 5 or 6 months, when he can identify shapes better.

A Must Have Book !
What a great book to add to a toddler's collection. This is a must have. Having fun, learning shapes and colors, and an easy read for a tired dad in the evening. Another 'must have' we've found are two in a series called WHAT IS ROUND? and WHAT IS SQUARE?....maybe even better because the images are real photographs and WOW talk about color. We pack ALL of these with us when we go anywhere. ... Read more

Book Description

Have fun and learn the names of the animals on Old MacDonald's farm with this musical waterproof book.Just press the red circle on the cover and sing along. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Finally, a musical toy that won¿t go on and on and on¿.
Old MacDonald has been one of my 3-year-old's favorite songs for as long as I can remember, and this waterproof book has turned into one of my best tricks for calming and entertaining her with a musical toy, while still preserving my sanity. The short book has one button in the front cover that, when pressed, will play Old McDonald through only one time, not a a five minute rendition that makes me want to stick cotton in my ears (unlike some of her other musical products...). I love the versatility of this book. More than a great tub toy, the lightweight book makes it one of my favorite toys to throw in my purse for trips to the bank or post office, when my daughter often gets itchy having to wait in line.

More than I expected'
I was so excited to see that Amazon is carrying this line of tub books. Four years ago I bought one of these books for my nephew, just as an inexpensive gift that I bought on a whim on the way over to his house. I never expected that it would last him through so many years of bathtime (it's also gotten its fair share of abuse from his baby sister for the last two years!). Who would have thought that such a reasonably priced toy would last this long? Four years and going strong!

Very high pitch and not durable
What a great idea, right? Learn about animals singing Old MacDonald while reading a nice, easily washable plastic book. It's a great idea for a kids' book. Sadly the finished product isn't good.

First, the book is very nice in small hands. The illustrations are very nice, simple animals. The assortment of animals: horse, pigs, duck, cat, turkey and goat, are unique enough that they won't likely duplicate other books.

However, like many of those trendy greeting cards of the 80's and 90's, the pitch of Old MacDonald is much too high to comfortably sing along. It doesn't even well suit children's high voices. The sound is predictably tweeky and cheap -- not that that bothers my two boys. Each press of the button plays Old MacDonald through one time only. To sing through the whole book, the button needs to be pressed six times.

Pressing the button to play the song was too hard for either of my boys until they were over two years old. This meant that any time they wanted to hear the song, they needed to find a willing adult to press it for them. If they wanted to sing through the whole book, the adult needed to stay there to press it all six times.

After only two to three cleanings, the book started to fall apart. The book never went into the bath. First the musical button imbedded in the front cover broke loose, making it frustrating for both adult and child to find. Next, the plastic pages started to separate; the foam inserts easily tore apart and littered the floor. All this took place in less than three years. None of our other plastic, bathtub books that were played with as frequently, show any signs of wear.

It's a cute idea, but it's not well done. ... Read more

Amazon.com

You can't keep a good pup down--at least not down off the counter, oraway from the storage closet, or out of trouble in general. Alexandra Day takesoff on another scamper with her cute rottweiler pup in Puppy Trouble, apop-up tear through an about-to-be-very-disheveled home.

Just as in past outings (like Good Dog, Carl and Carl Goes Shopping), thisrascally dog means well--he's just, well, a puppy. Kids will especiallyenjoy this Carl adventure for its copious push-and-pull-tab action, on sixdifferent spreads, from the living room to the bathroom to the kitchen. Many ofthe scenes are conventional pop-up tableaus: Carl popping out of his petcarrier, tugging on a tablecloth, and jumping off a counter. But a few show somegenuine ingenuity, like a spiraling roll of toilet paper (as if he needs helpfrom the cat), a rear-end-activated TV remote, and a convincing imitation of aFelix clock.

Day's sweet renderings and muted, traditional setting maintain Carl's mysteriousbut undeniable appeal, and the short lines of text ("Let go of kitty's pillow!";"Better not pull that!") provide wee ones with an excellent chance for buildingvocabulary. (Baby to preschool) --Paul Hughes ... Read more

Book Description

And don’t forget to stock up on the first book in this series, Inside Noah’s Ark, which has reprinted three times since its October 2002 publication and currently has 110,000 books in print! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Beautiful pictures and a great introduction to animals
I've just begun my four month-old's book collection, and this was one of the first books I purchased. The story is minimal, but the detail of the illustrations is wonderful. I notice a new animal every time I look at it!

My son stares in amazement at the pictures now and I'm sure he'll enjoy it more as he gets older. I think this book will really help him learn his animals; I can picture him when he's a toddler looking at the pictures and starting to point and name the animals.

My only comment is that, since the story is so minimal, the book needs a lot of parental contributions, especially to increase the Christian content.

Big Cardboard Ark
My little boy (2 years old) loves this book. He has for about a year and half. It has a wide variety of animals that are fun to look at. The pages are easy to turn because of the cut-out holes. I like the simple poem of Noah and God's blessing. I would say that for most books he will let me read it but this one, he woudl rather say the names of the animals and the sounds they make. ... Read more

Reviews (146)

A fun, witty, classic tale.
We have this book in a small and large size together with anEric Carle videotape that has the story. A young caterpillar is bornand begins to eat his way through the world and through many foods that you child will be able to identify. These foods are eaten on each of the seven days of the week, an added bonus, as your child begins to learn that Sunday is a different day that Monday. The caterpillar gets very fat. He builds a cocoon and then emerges a large beautiful butterfly. My 3 year old does not tire of this story. He learns about nature, food and the days of the week in one absolutely stunningly illustrated book. You can't get much better than this for young children. If you have young children, or if you are looking for a gift for a 4 year old and younger child, this book is highly, highly recommended. Enjoy.

Perfect spring reading!
This is one of my all-time favorite children's books. One sunny day, a caterpillar pops out of an egg. He is very hungry and begins searching for food. Now, many of Eric Carle's books have gimmicks--the tactile web in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER and the chirping in THE VERY QUIET CRICKET, for example. The gimmick in this book is that the caterpillar eats holes through all the food, holes that are actually punched into the pages of the book. It's a good gimmick, actually. Also, many of Carle's books teach conventions--telling time in THE VERY GROUCHY LADYBUG and animal sounds in THE VERY BUSY SPIDER, for example. This one teaches the days of the week. On Monday, the caterpillar eats this, on Tuesday he eats that, and so forth. Very cute. Eventually, he becomes a fat caterpillar. He then spins himself a cocoon, where he rests for two weeks. And when he emerges...well, you can guess the results. It's a wonderful story. Best of all, the text is very simple as are the illustrations, so the book will appeal to toddlers as well as the pre-K and kindergarten crowd. In fact, it may appeal more to toddlers, because the story is so very simple. I know I read it as a kindergartener. I loved the holes but found the story rather boring. I read it to my two-year-old this spring, however, and he went nuts over it. The days of the week were lost on him, but he was fascinated by the caterpillar turning into a butterfly--he had no idea! Can't tell you how many times we read it. We also re-enacted it, crawling on the floor and eating, spinning ourselves into cocoons, and popping out with fluttery wings. In fact, he was so taken with the caterpillar-to-butterfly phenomenon that I ordered some caterpillars (I used "Insect Lore"--they are on-line--but I'm sure there are lots of other places to get them). We read THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR at each stage of their development and then right before we released them as butterflies. It was the highlight of our spring.

Never understood the charm; still don't
This is not one of my all-time favorite books. It strikes me as tedious, boring, and silly. I would never have bought it for my one-year-old.

Unfortunately for me, a friend gave it to him for his birthday. Fortunately for him, though, Jack loves it. I rarely get out of it without at least three repetitions.

The pictures are kind of pretty, in a modern art sort of way.

A good book to give as a gift to someone else's child -- that way, you won't have to read it endlessly.

A Classic!
I loved this book as a child, and it is now one of my daughters favorite books. This is a MUST HAVE for all children.

Perennial favorite
While on occasion I can persuade the youngster to read Michael Holt's "Rise & Fall of the American Whig Party" with me, she seems to prefer the caterpillar. Who am I to argue? I would have been disappointed if someone hadn't given us this book when she was born, and it remains one of my guilty pleasures, I suppose. We got an extremely cute onesie to go along with the book as well. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (3)

A Gorgeous Book!!
Beautiful and Clever. We eagerly await Ms. Pinto's future efforts.

lovely!
This is the most charming alphabet book for young children that I have ever seen. The whimsical humour of the illustrations are fun for both parents and children. My 3-year old adores it, as do I!

a beautiful book
This book is very attractive in its look and feel (i.e., nice, high quality -- making it a great gift).

Every other page has a large, capital letter on it (e.g., "C") with the following page having a door the child opens to view an increasingly complex and zany picture. The first picture is of apples, the second of apples and bowls, the third of apples, bowls, and a cat, etc. The fun is in opening the doors and finding the objects (e.g., who's wearing the "M"oustache now?). ... Read more