5 Eric Carle books you must read besides The Very Hungry Caterpillar

While The Very Hungry Caterpillar might have been every child’s introduction to Eric Carle’s books around the world—according to the Guardian, it is UK’s most read children’s book, read on average nine times each child—there are other classics by the author that your child simply must read: The Grouchy Ladybug: “You’re not big enough” is a sentence nearly every child has heard umpteen number of times while growing up. The Very Clumsy Click Beetle: Eric Carle’s books have always held interactive elements, and this one is no different. While the story introduces children to animals, it also encourages them to think differently—so, there is a purple cat, a blue horse, a black sheep, besides a green frog, a red bird and a yellow duck. This was part of Time magazine’s top 10 children’s books of 2015 and is described as a story in which “nonsense and surrealism combine to spark creativity and imagination.” So, you find a half leopard and half tiger sort of a creature within the pages, and also a yellow bird with human feet, and a steam engine with white sheep coming out of the smokestack.