- GHC Team
Stories behind iconic books : #1 The Very Hungry Caterpillar
In this section, we would try to bring out interesting, lesser-known details behind iconic stories and books for kids
"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is one of the most legendary kids books ever written with close to 50 million copies sold till date over the last 53 years since its first publication in 1969 and the book remains as popular as ever with a new copy being sold once every 30 seconds.
This Eric Carle classic has been a household book and among the most recommended book for toddlers across the world and has been translated in more than 62 languages.
Interestingly, the book was initially supposed to be titled "A Week with Willie Worm" before the editor Ann Beneduce decided to give the book its iconic name and switch away from Willie Worm
The book's die cuts were a unique challenge for the printers of the time to produce the book economically and the editor had to actually find a printer in Japan to product the book within the economic constraints at that time.
Michelle Martin is the Beverly Cleary Professor for Children and Youth Services at the University of Washington’s Information School—meaning that every day, she trains future teachers and school librarians in how to teach reading and literacy. She also publishes reviews of children’s books. In Martin’s field, if you don’t have a good grasp of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, “you are children’s-book illiterate,” she says with a laugh.
Sources : https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2019/03/very-hungry-caterpillar-50th-anniversary/585271/
