My wife is a reading teacher. Because we have known each other since college, I have known who Eric Carle is for years. He is one of her favorite authors. Not only do I remember reading “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” when I was a young child, we’ve owned the book for years, and my wife has designed many activities for her students surrounding it.

If you aren’t familiar with the name Eric Carle, you might recognize his style. He uses torn colored tissue paper to illustrate his books. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is easily his most recognizable, but he’s written and illustrated many others.

The video version of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” isn’t new, just new to DVD. My wife actually owns the original VHS version of the film from her student teaching days. The new DVD doesn’t have anything more on it than the original VHS release, so unless you enjoy the user-friendliness of DVD, it’s not necessary to buy again.

Still, it’s a fine adaptation of Carle’s work, which is so stylistically comfortable in a picture book. Bringing the images to life without causing them to look cheap or unlike Carle’s original illustrations was a challenge. However, things come across very smoothly.

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” follows a small caterpillar that eats and eats and eats throughout the week, only to emerge as a beautiful butterfly. “Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me” tells the story of a little girl who bargains with the moon to come be with her. “The Very Quiet Cricket” tells the story of a cricket who learns to find his voice. “I See a Song” is a musical journey through the structure of a song.

My personal favorite is “The Mixed-Up Chameleon,” which follows a chameleon who visits a zoo and desires to be many other animals. By using his powers of mimicry, he takes on traits of each one until he no longer looks anything like his original self.

The DVD comes with a single game in which the very hungry caterpillar finds his food for the week.

Running only 32 minutes, this is a short DVD but rich with picture book magic. If you (or, more importantly, your children) are fans of Eric Carle’s books, this is a great way to bring them to life on the screen.



Specifications: Dolby Digital Stereo Sound. Fullscreen (1.33:1). English subtitles for the hearing impaired.