"The Very Hungry Caterpillar " by: Eric Carle was written in 1969. Many people have read this children's book or have been read this as a child. The colorful illustrations capture the attention of the entire page with their bright colors, intricate curves and aesthetically pleasing tissue paper layering affect. Children are enveloped by the story through these illustrations. The lesson of the story is said to have multiple meanings, but what meaning does a child take away from the story? The illustrations seem to aid the reader from an observers perspective. The reader watches the caterpillar be born into a world of constantly feeling hungry for more and more food until it eventually becomes a fat caterpillar and builds its cocoon. The reader observes the caterpillar eat holes through colorful fruits and veggies. The pictures show many different kinds of food from candy to hot dogs. The food all looks delicious and truly look indulgent. As the caterpillar gets larger from all the food, the reader sort of feels the weight accumulating with a need to take a break. The caterpillar starts to build its cocoon, and soon the illustrations are of the caterpillar exhibiting all of the fascinating colors that the illustrations of the food previously possessed. The brilliant colors Eric Carle uses to draw the reader in eventually makes a second appearance at the end bringing the colorful adventure to an end. So how do these illustrations tie in to the moral of the story? From a child's perspective, the excitement of being new to the world and having a hunger for new things is gathered from the illustrations because they evoke emotion or some type of reaction from the readers Psyche. Then once the caterpillar has gotten its fill of new things, it addresses the idea that new colors and "wings" sprout afterwords. Moral of the story: life after death? new experiences make a new "you" ? Or the extremists consider there to be some type of Marxist subliminal message behind the text.
