The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a
children's picture book designed, illustrated and written by
Eric Carle, first published by the World Publishing Company in 1969, later published by
Penguin Putnam. It features a
caterpillar who eats its way through a wide variety of foodstuffs before
pupating and emerging as a
butterfly. The winner of many
children's literature awards and a major graphic design award, it has sold 30 million copies worldwide. It has been described as having sold the equivalent of a copy per minute since its publication. It has been described as "one of the greatest childhood classics of all time." It was voted the number two children's picture book in a 2012 survey of
School Library Journal readers.