The Very Impatient Caterpillar (A Very Impatient Caterpillar Book)

by Ross Burach

Overview

This clever send-up of every child's biggest challenge—being patient!—is a STEM-friendly, laugh-out-loud comedy about metamorphosis.

"Will delight fans of Mo Willems's "Pigeon" series... absolutely charming." — School Library Journal * "Super-charged." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review"HEY! What are you guys doing?" "We're going to metamorphosize." "Meta-WHAT-now?" "Transform into butterflies." "Right. Right. I knew that... WAIT?! You're telling me I can become a BUTTERFLY?" "Yes." "With wings?" "Yes." "Wait for ME!!"​​​​​​​ Ross Burach's hilarious, tongue-in-cheek exploration of metamorphosis will make you flutter with glee, while also providing real facts about how caterpillars transform into butterflies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338289411
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/26/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	42,259
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD260L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

ROSS BURACH is the creator of the riotously funny Very Impatient Caterpillar series that includes The Very Impatient Caterpillar; The Little Butterfly That Could; Goodnight, Butterfly; and Make Way for Butterfly. All the books combine humor with curriculum-friendly science topics and relatable social-emotional themes. Ross's other acclaimed books include the picture book Truck Full of Ducks, the board books I Love My Tutu Too!, Potty All-Star, Hi-Five Farm!, and Hi-Five Animals!, named the best board book of the year by Parents magazine, and the Acorn early reader series Bumble and Bee. Ross lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. You can visit him online at rossburach.com.

Editorial Reviews

Awards and Distinctions for The Very Impatient Caterpillar: 2018/2019 Kid Lit TV morning Book Club Best Books of the School Year 2019 SLJ list of Picture Book Readalouds 2019 TODAY.com Best Gift for 3 year-olds 2019-2020 Florida Sunshine State Jr. Reader List 2020 North Carolina Children’s Book Award Masterlist 2020 Gryphon Award Honor 2020 Indiana Read Alouds Too Good to Miss Masterlist 2020 Read Aloud Indiana Book Award List 2020 Michigan Mitten Award Top Ten Title 2021 Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Masterlist 2021-22 Arkansas Diamond Primary Award Nominee 2021-22 South Carolina Book Award Masterlist: Picture Book Category 2022 South Carolina Book Awards Reading List "Will delight fans of Mo Willems's "Pigeon" series... absolutely charming." —School Library Journal * "Chunky characters, livid green and thickly outlined for easy group sharing, and speech-bubble dialogue make this a good choice for read aloud[s] with a histrionic bent... There's definitely some science lurking here among the laughs, and preschool and primary classrooms can jumpstart the life cycle units with this super-charged title." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review "Burach chronicles this miracle of nature in cartoon scenes as loud as the rapid patter... It won't be just adults chuckling at the interactions between the title character and its patiently pupating companions." —Kirkus Reviews "Burach's mixed-media digital artwork makes good use of the cartoon style to depict vibrantly colored caterpillars and the protagonist's overwrought emotions. Particularly humorous are the spot drawings showing the inside of the chrysalis, in which he rails against the measured pace of nature... a good choice for science edutainment." —Booklist​ ​​​​​​Praise for Truck Full of Ducks: "Burach will have readers quacking up, both with the frequent repetition of the title — 'Did you call for a truck full of ducks?' is a funny line no matter how often it's read or heard — and over the illustrations... Sight gags and side comments in the pictures add further yuks to this ducky delight." — Booklist "Children will delight in the extreme silliness of this story and will repeatedly pore over the detailed, colorful, and quirky illustrations." — School Library Journal ​​​​​​​ "Burach tells his story entirely through dialogue, packing it — and his exuberant, crayon-like digital illustrations — with visual jokes [and] an abundance of funny details to discover in each scene." — Publishers Weekly ​​​​​​​ "Silly details decorate every spread... Storytime audiences will quack up." — Kirkus Reviews ​​​​​​Praise for Billy Bloo Is Stuck in Goo, illustrated by Ross Burach: 2018 CBC Children's Choice Book Awards Finalist ​​​​​​​ "Begs to be read aloud... Gleeful, errant nonsense." — Kirkus Reviews ​​​​​​​ "Plenty to linger (and laugh) over." — Publishers Weekly ​​​​​​​ "Lots of giggles and goo, and weird characters too, in this rhyming cumulative storytime read-aloud, make this title a must-have for picture book collections." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

02/01/2019

PreS-Gr 1–When an inquisitive caterpillar sees a bunch of his friends climb up a tree, he questions their unusual behavior. They explain that it is time to "metamorphosize." Using dialogue, Burach concisely walks readers through the metamorphosis process, following a repeating question and answer formula. At each stage, the clueless caterpillar asks the others what is going on, pretends to have known all along with a "Right. Right," and then proceeds to demonstrate a total lack of patience. Unsurprisingly, his first attempt ends in failure, thus causing the impetus for an inner change, which brings about the outer one. Burach's dialogue is spot-on, and if told by an expressive storyteller, should produce a lot of laughter. His style will delight fans of Mo Willems's "Pigeon" series. Thanks to the humorous designs and the bold exclamatory text, the book would make an excellent candidate for read-alouds. VERDICT An absolutely charming and educational tale about metamorphosis and patience that is ideal for school and library storytimes.—Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.

School Library Journal

2018-09-17

Not every caterpillar gets the memo—or is, for that matter, temperamentally suited to spending two weeks immobilized in a chrysalis.

Seeing everyone headed up a tree ("We're going to metamorphosize." "Meta-WHAT-now?") a clueless caterpillar hurries to follow. Despite the promise of a dazzling transformation, every step in the natural process, from spinning a chrysalis on, is an occasion for histrionic dismay ("It's STILL Day 1?" "This is taking FOR-EV-ER!"). Gradually, though, the pop-eyed pupa's kvetching quiets, the moans and groans turn to meditation ("Be one with the chrysalis"), and two weeks later: "I did it! I'm a BUTTERFLY!" Burach chronicles this miracle of nature in cartoon scenes as loud as the rapid patter, culminating in a migratory flight of butterflies and a final "ARE WE THERE YET?!" that hints at a character transformation that's perhaps less complete than the physical one. It won't be just adults chuckling at the interactions between the title character and its patiently pupating companions; all the characters speak in dialogue balloons, the protagonist's green with purple text to match its chrysalis.

An object lesson in the value of patience as well as a droll introduction to meta-what-now. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews