Inch by Inch

by Leo Lionni

Can a song be measured?

Meet a winning, winsome inchworm, proud of his ability to measure anything under the sun, from a robin's tail to a toucan's beak. When a hungry nightingale threatens to eat him for breakfast unless he can measure her song, the inchworm calls on his craft and skill to creatively solve the dilemma.

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Birds, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated more than 40 highly acclaimed children's books. He received the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was a four-time Caldecott Honor Winner--for Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Leo Lionni died in October of 1999 at his home in Tuscany, Italy, at the age of 89.

Leo Lionni has gained international renown for his paintings, graphic designs, illustrations, and sculpture, as well as for his books for children. He was born in Holland in 1910 of Dutch parents, and although his education did not include formal art courses (in fact, he has a doctorate in economics from the University of Genoa), he spent much of his free time as a child in Amsterdam's museums, teaching himself to draw.

Lionni's business training gradually receded into the background as his interest in art and design grew. Having settled in Milan soon after his marriage in 1931, he started off by writing about European architecture for a local magazine. It was there that he met the contacts who were to give him a start as a professional graphic designer. When he moved to America in 1939, Lionni was hired by a Philadelphia advertising agency as art director. Later he became design director for the Olivetti Corporation of America, and then art director for Fortune magazine. At the same time, his reputation as an artist flourished as he began to exhibit his paintings and drawings in galleries from New York to Japan.

Lionni launched his career as an author/illustrator of books for children in 1959. Originally developed from a story he had improvised for his grandchildren during a dull train ride, Little Blue and Little Yellow was the first of what is now a long list of children's picture books, including four Caldecott Honor Books.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leo Lionni reminds me quite a bit of Eric Carle. He has simple drawings with simple stories that are entertaining and hit the right note. This was made as a Collage with colored pencils and crayons.

Birds are trying to eat an inch worm, but when they find out he can measure things, they want to be measured. So, he measures tails and necks and legs and beaks. He then has to plan his escape. It’s a cute story. The artwork is nice. Very young children and above will enjoy this little tale.

The nephew wanted to see the inch worm get eaten. He was a little disappointed, but then he respected the crafty inch worm for being smart. The niece thought this was a story for younger kids and it is a bit young for her. She gave it 2 stars and the nephew gave it 3 stars.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the illustrations in this story about a caterpillar that loves to measure. He measures several things and then the story stops quite abruptly. I thought we might learn why he loved to measure or find some facts in the back about the measurements of creatures in the book but there wasn't any.

Read on open library.

[Kerri Harshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book to help students begin their adventure into measuring! In the book, a little inch worm uses his ability to measure different animals before to convince the other animals no to eat him. This is a great book to use with younger students. I gave my students a piece of yarn to measure things around the room, and they loved it! I will be sure to keep this book in my classroom library.

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever!

[Ambsੈ✩‧₊˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m starting to collect kids book ✨for the future ✨ and this is a childhood classic that I remember. I hope I can get my hands on it one day ☝🏽

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story and it works for math as well. You can measure a lot of things with an inch!

We all liked this and read it a few times a year.

[Cathie (ClassyLibrarian) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic!!

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, yeah? Measure this, pal!

A bird finds an inchworm and is about to eat him, but the inchworm says, "Don't eat me! I'm an inchworm! I'm useful! I measure things!" So the bird says, "Measure my tail!" "Huh! Now I know how long my tail is!" And then kidnaps him to take to a bunch of other birds to have various parts of their bodies measured. Then one day, a nightingale says, "Measure my song!" And the inchworm is like, "I don't even know how to accomplish that." And the nightingale is like, "Measure my song or I'll eat you." And the inchworm is like, "Uh... you sing... I will... measure." And then while the nightingale sings, he just keeps measuring, off into the distance, to get away from the nightingale.

I think what the book is trying to say is, "If you have a useful ability, people will respect you for it," but with the combination of the birds repeatedly threatening to eat the inchworm if he doesn't comply, and the inchworm's skill being limited to measurement, which seems like it would be completely useless to a bird (and in fact to most things) (and also that inchworms don't actually measure things because they're not intelligent but whatever) it basically turns into, "People will threaten to kill you if you don't do what they say." And while that may be true in certain circumstances, I certainly hope it's not true in my child's daily life. There's a message and kind of a moral here that both break down due to presentation in an anthropomorphic universe. You start wondering why exactly the birds are eating something as intelligent as they are, and whether that wouldn't be cruel, and you get into questions that you really weren't planning to get into while reading your toddler a board book. At that point, I just go, "No thanks." Not a bad book, but not really a great book.

Message: People will threaten to kill you if you don't entertain them.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's a clever little inchworm.
Good job, buddy!

Ages: 3 - 7

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Holli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightingale: How long is my song?
Inch Worm: (from other side of the planet) I'm not sure yet, keep singing and I'll let you know!

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

An inch worm measures things for birds in order to avoid being eaten.

The illustrations are paper collage.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is simply astonishing and the story itself a treasure. An enjoyable experience.

[Alexis Keable · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inch by Inch is a picture book that’s pages show mostly pictures with small text written in the corners. It shares a story of an inch worm and how he can measure things. The inch worm is almost eaten at the beginning of the story but is able to show the bird how useful he can be and measures the bird’s tale. After some time passes another bird says they are going to eat him unless he measures their song. Unsure of what to do the inch worm devises a plan of how he can measure and ensure his safety. With the text so small I imagine this book is meant to be read to children or have them focus on the pictures and disregard the words.

The theme of this book is that everyone has a unique talent.

This is a great starter to an activity where students measure items. The inch worm is about to measure animals and with rules the students could then identify objects around the classroom, measure them, and say how many inches an item is or how many inch worms it would take to match the length.

[Hana Doran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells a story of an inch worm who is threatened first by a hungry robin. Rather than being eaten, the inchworm bargains with the robin and tells him that he is useful and that he will measure his tale. The robin sees the usefulness of the worm and takes him to other birds to measure their beaks or legs. Finally, the inchworm gets to a nightingale who asks him to measure his song or else he will eat him. Unsure as to how to do this, the inchworm still agrees and inches along a path as the bird sing. He continues to inch away until he is out of sight and escapes from danger.

This book was adorable and the illustration reminded me a lot of the books by Eric Carl. I'm sure children would love to read through this story and find out how the inchworm escapes from a seemingly impossible task of measuring a song. Cute book!

[Robert Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

**** Caldecott Honor (1961) ****

Sometimes, the best things in life are the simplest. This is a great example. Simple but pretty pictures tell the simple story of a simple little inch worm who shows how using your wits can save your bacon.

To keep from being eaten, an inchworm measures a robin's tail, a flamingo's neck, a toucan's beak, a heron's legs, and a nightingale's song.

[Tara Corcilius · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars for such a sweet book!
The illustrations are simple, yet incredibly unique! The use of texture is truly amazing!
Lionni's use of humor in this story leads to a very witty moral and interesting story overall. This story could be used to teach children about measurement, nature, and even about thinking "outside of the box" to be successful.
Great story, with beautiful illustrations!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preciosas ilustraciones que acompañan a una, si bien breve, divertida historia de la oruga-que-mide. Sí, una oruga que puede medir de todo... ¿Hasta el canto del ruiseñor? Pues hay que leer para descubrirlo.
Recomendado para leer con los pequeños de la casa.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cleverness of the inchworm in the tale is really one for the books!

[Cassie Davis]

Great way to talk to my students about measurement! I remember getting this book read to me in Elementary School.

[Jonathan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would use this book to introduce measuring to young children or just have fun singing it to them and they sing along 👍🏿

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute illustrations! I will get this book for Madison again when she can open the flaps.

[L.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations, 5; storyline, 2? I’m not sure why this has so many great reviews.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

1961 Caldecott Honor

Lovely math extensions.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A recurring favorite that we initially got for a preschool alphabet curriculum (specifically, for I.) A clever inchworm avoids becoming breakfast by measuring various birds.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The inchworm is clever, but somehow I kept expecting more, as Lionni's other stories are often more resonantly wise, with more universal &/or metaphorical morals. And why did the birds all want to get measured? Is there an allegory of vanity or of pride of status here? Maybe that's it... maybe the inchworm's escape refers also to someone somehow breaking the rules, dropping out of the rat race, or something like that....

But of course the art is entrancing as always, and I can't bear to give the book less than four stars.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed by the end, as music can be measured, I was hoping for a clever play on words or the inch worm measuring the distance from which the song could be heard. Oh well.

[Esme Escoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations. Inchworm is clever, amusing, creative and moves with tactic.

[Alecia Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading the Caldecott Medal winning book Inch by Inch, by Leo Lionni, because of its unique illustrations and fun story! I loved that the illustrations took on a whimsical quality while still remaining realistic and that the text gave human qualities to the inch worm and the various birds it depicted. These qualities, along with the simple storyline and small amount of easy to understand text, make this book perfect for its target audience of children ages 4-8. Kids will be able to easily understand the inch worm’s ability to measure each of the birds he encounters and his eventual escape from the nightingale who threatens to eat the worm if he cannot measure the bird’s song! The illustrations in this book, which were created using a combination of collage, colored pencil and crayon, are whimsical yet realistic in their depiction of the worm and his measurement of the different birds he encounters! Lionni utilizes a combination of natural hues, like brown, green, red, and yellow, to create realistic, yet somewhat cartoon-like, representations of the outdoor area and animals that his book describes, which are then placed against a stark white background. The illustrations themselves almost seem to be drawing on the style of impressionism, although there are also some classical elements that I detect that provide this book with a sense of realism. This allows the readers focus to be drawn to the full-color illustrations on each page that directly represent the text. While each set of pages does contain at least some text, the text is always found at either the bottom or top of the page within the white background and never pulls the focus away from the illustrations. The covers of the book are also notable because they depict one continuous and cohesive image of the inch worm among what appears to be tall grass, an image which is again utilized on the interior title page of the book and is reminiscent of the book’s final illustration within the story itself. This book is a perfect candidate for both classroom use and home use because of its accurate animal illustrations and easy to understand text! Personally, I can imagine using this text as a read aloud story at home or for a classroom unit on nature as it presents perfect examples of various animals for younger kids to identify and learn about while also remaining easy to understand for new readers!

[Morgan Hatcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally really like the Caldecott honor book Inch by Inch written by Leo Lionni. I remember reading this book as a child at home and at school. This book tells a story about a little inch worm and the trials it has to go through. I think children really like this book because it is a quick read but has a fun and motivational story behind it. I think it is appropriate for it's intended age group because it has typical vocabulary while also introducing new words and ideas such as "nightingale, heron, and pheasant". This book allows students to learn about many different types of birds and get an idea of what they look like through the illustrations on each page. While the illustrations on each page are simple, they are very beneficial to readers and allow them to understand the birds and other animals the book talks about. The artistic medium used in the story is colored pencil drawing. The book has a variety of colors which allow students to stay interested in the story. The artistic style that best describes the illustrations in Inch by Inch is impressionism. The illustrations have bright colors and blurred line that give the realistic pictures a less realistic feel. Each page has a single image that starts in the middle of the page and goes across the gutter of the page. The picture of the flamingo as well as the heron are drawn larger than the page to show the true size of the birds. I would use this story in the classroom to show children the different types of birds. It would be a very beneficial book to read during a science unit about wildlife. Children love this book because it has bright colors and fun illustrations that help them maintain interest. They also can connect and relate to the inchworm in the story because all children go through trials and must overcome them.

[Kaitlyn Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about an inch worm. Before a bird eats him, the inchworm says he can measure the bird, so it would be more beneficial to keep him around than eat him. After he measures the bird, the bird then takes the inchworm to measure other birds. A nightingale ordered the inchworm to measure its song, but the inchworm cannot measure sound. However, before the nightingale ate him, the inchworm came up with a solution. It measured and measured and measured until it was out of sight.

There are two major themes in this book. One is to be aware that there is always a solution to any problem. Another is that size does not matter.

I gave this book a five star rating. This book is a lot of fun to read. The pictures are all very captivating and interactive because the reader tries to find the inchworm on every page. It also has a good meaning behind it in that there is always a solution, even in the stickiest of situations. It really was just a good, cute book!

I thought this book was a lot of fun. I laughed at the end of it because I thought it was so funny. The pictures were also very cool to look at. Each animal had a different kind of pattern to them, so it really kept me engaged in what was going on. I also thought the inchworm was a cute character. It was so much tinier than everything it was measuring, but it kept doing what it had to do to survive.

I absolutely would recommend this book. I think it is good for kids of all ages. The ending was so funny to me, and I think children would also find it funny. It is very interactive because the inchworm is in a different spot on each page, so readers try to look and find it. It also shows the inchworm’s true perseverance and determination. It encourages students to never give up and find a solution to the problem they are facing.