Since doing this, I have been preparing to teach my children about caterpillars in Chinese, and we will certainly be reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar (好餓的毛毛蟲). Eric Carle did an amazing job writing and illustrating this beautiful children’s book on nature transformation.
Today, I am very excited to share my Chinese printables (games, worksheets, coloring pages, etc.) for The Very Hungry Caterpillar with you.
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Table of Contents
“This early work by a premier author marked an exciting breakthrough in the traditional children’s book format. Carle uses clever cutout pages to depict a caterpillar eating his way through the calendar week. Caterpillar also brilliantly displays Carle’s ability to integrate a concept (days of the week), scientific information (the life cycle of a caterpillar), and an appealing story. (Ages 3-6)”
– by Judith Rovenger, Sesame Street Parents, July/August 1994
“The very hungry caterpillar literally eats his way through the pages of the book—and right into your child’s heart…”
–Mother’s Manual
*Quotes are from the official website of The Very Hungry Caterpillar*
A Plot Summary
One night, a little caterpillar hatched from an egg. He was very hungry, so he started eating all kinds of food and treats. Over the week, he gets fatter and fatter. Eventually, he spins a cocoon and turns into a beautiful butterfly.
Eric Carle used a very interesting and unique educational tool – each page has a hole in it to show where the caterpillar has “eaten” the food. This helps children learn about the days of the week, names of food, and a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly.
Grab Your Copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Click the images to get an English version in a variety of choices.
Accomplishments
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is Carle’s best-known work, and has been a popular children’s book since 1969. Here are a few of the many accomplishments and awards for Carle and his book:
- Translated into 62 languages and sold over 44 million copies.
- Silver Medal from the City of Milano, Italy, 1989
- The 1995 David McCord Children’s Literature Citation, Framingham State College + The Nobscot Reading Council of the International Reading Association, 1995
- Japan Picture Book Award, Presented by Mainichi Newspaper for Lifetime Achievement, 2000
- Honorary Degree from College of Our Lady the Elms, Chicopee, MA, 2001
- Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 2001
- Honorary Degree from Niagara University, Niagara, NY, 2002
- The NEA Foundation Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education, 2007
- The Original Art Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Illustrators, New York, NY,2010
- Honorary Degree from Smith College, Northampton, MA, 2014
Read more about Eric and his awards on his official website.
Activities to Go-along
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a perfect children book to fo with all different kinds of themes and activities.
Here are some ideas of crafts, printable, other activities (Science, playdough, STEM…), and videos.
Crafts
- 12 Easy Caterpillar Crafts for Toddlers from Crafts 4 Toddlers
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Printable Craft from Arty Crafts Kids
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Egg Carton Craft from In The Playroom
- 3D Paper Caterpillar Craft with Template from Easy Peasy and Fun
Printable
- Very Hungry Caterpillar Do-a-Dot Pack from Totschooling
- Free Printable Caterpillar Hat from Primary Playground
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Printable from As They Grow Up
- FREE Very Hungry Caterpillar Pack from Free Homeschool Deal
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Theme: Free Story Sequencing Cards Printable from Little Dots
Other Activities’ Ideas
- Rainbow Play Dough Color Matching Caterpillar from Fantastic Fun and Learning
- Caterpillar to Butterfly Science Activity with Balloons from The Educators’ Pin On It
- Storytime STEAM with The Very Hungry Caterpillar from Preschool STEM
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Storytelling Basket from The Imagination Tree
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar Threading from Here Come The Girls
- DIY Party Favours from Learn With Play at Home
Videos
Chinese Printable for The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Today, I would like to share TWO Sets of Chinese printable to go with this book:
- Hands-on Activities
- Worksheets
Goals
- Teach basic Chinese vocabulary for the days of the weeks, butterflies’ life cycle, and food from the book through games, coloring pages, hands-on activities, and worksheets.
Suggested Duration
- For preschoolers: 2-3 weeks.
- For kindergartners and up: 1 week.
8 versions
- Traditional Chinese
- Traditional Chinese with Jytuping (for learning Cantonese!)
- Traditional Chinese with Pinyin
- Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin
- Simplified Chinese
- Simplified Chinese with Pinyin
- English with Traditional Chinese
- English with Simplified Chinese
The Very hungry Caterpillar: Hands-On Activities
There are two games: Retelling Story and Today’s Menu, with instructions in the printables.
By playing these games, children will learn and apply the basic Chinese vocabulary from the book.
Some Photos of My Kids Learning with it
The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Worksheets
- Ordering a butterfly’s life cycle
- Matching games with handwriting practice
- Dot-to-dot game
- Chinese word coloring page
- Pattern
- Make a mini-Chinese book
I love all of these printable and the clipart. Aren’t they super cute? Which one is your favorite?
Some Photos of My Kids Learning with it
Working on the printable isn’t the only way to learn; there are many arts and crafts activities that you can do as well.
What are your kids’ favorite activities?
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and working with the printable.
If you have any suggestions for other Chinese books you would like to see featured in the future literature-based study, please let me know in the comment section below or email me.
Also, feel free to leave any comments or questions regarding this post too!
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- An Interview about My Homeschooling life in Hong Kong
- Homeschooling in Hong Kong: The Fortune Cookie Mom from Honey! I’m Homeschooling My Kids
- How to Create a Language-Rich Environment to Learn Chinese at Home
- Teaching Chinese with Theme-Based Approach: Chinese Theme Packs
- Literature-based Homeschool Curricula: Your Ultimate Resource List from As We Walk Along the Road
You are Not Doing it Alone
Join my Facebook support group to meet and get connections with parents and educators with the same goals.
身为职业妈妈的我,常常牺牲睡眠来自作教材。版主全方位学习的新年教材真让我省下不少宝贵的时间找资料。四岁的女儿对中文学习有点抗拒。我们善用版主提供的迷你故事书和生字卡来增强她对语文的认识。版主的中文单词棋盘游戏更让女儿投入学习, 因为她想赢嘛！版主的教材可让小孩边玩边学, 太棒了。
This is the second 5-Day Challenge that we have done with Fortune Cookie Mom. Both have been very beneficial to our family. I am a homeschool mom of three little kids. We are not Chinese and do not speak any Chinese. With the help of Fortune Cookie Mom, we are slowly learning! The challenges have given me fun activities to do at home with the kids. Each one has reignited my kid's interest in learning. It has been a fun experience for everybody!
Great Resources!
Thank you so much. I’m glad you and your kid like it.