Clara Caterpillar

by Pamela Duncan Edwards, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Clara is a cute cabbage Caterpillar. But to Catisha, who is catty and crimson, Clara is only a common caterpillar with no hope of becoming a colorful butterfly. Sure enough, Clara comes out cream colored. And during an encounter with a hungry crow, Clara proves that being colorful and conspicuous doesn't compare with being common, content, and courageous. Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole's comic and compelling alliterative collaboration is captivating!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Storytime, Kids, Friendship

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Pamela Duncan Edwards is a British-born children's author living in the United States. She has written over forty picture books published in both the U.S. and the U.K., known for their playful language and engaging storytelling.

Reviews

[Shealee Dupree]

Summary:
Who knew caterpillars make so many decisions while going through their life cycle processes? Clara the Caterpillar starts from the very beginning by deciding to hatch. Once deciding to break out of her egg, Clara and Cornelius spark a wonderful friendship. Cornelius may be excited for his new friendship, but Catisha is not so accepting. Clara does not let this stop her from making the most of her life. We travel with the caterpillars as they transition into butterflies. Before the end of the story, Clara has yet another decision to make. Will she rescue Catisha from a crow? Or, will she lose her courage? Read this inspiring book to find out!
Evaluation:
This book combines a multitude of lessons into one! Not only is this a cute picture book, it is educational. Readers will learn some vocabulary about caterpillars and parts of their life cycle. They'll learn about friendships, as well as facing criticism. This book would have a great home in a younger-grade elementary classroom. The frequent alliteration would require some practice before reading aloud; however, there are many places for dramatization and emphasis! Throughout the story, there are many places to pause for discussion and enhance reader engagement.
Teaching tip:
If you're looking for an amazing figurative language model text for alliteration, this is it! The hard /c/ sound is present from the very first page until the book is closed. The hard /c/ focus opened the way for many high-order vocabulary words to be intertwined. Some of these include: "considerable" (2001, p. 3), "colossal caterpillars" (2001, p. 10), "conceited" (2001, p. 12), "chrysalises" (2001, p. 14) and "camouflage" (2001, p. 26). As a read-aloud, the teacher could challenge students to make a tally mark on a piece of paper each time they hear a word beginning with the hard /c/ sound. This can lead to further student of alliteration with beginning sounds. The teacher should be sure to pause at vocabulary words that may be tricky for students. While this may not be part of the given standard, they will introduce students to words they'll need in the future. Along with the educational aspect, the teacher should draw attention to the way friends interact with others, friendly and not.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laid on a piece of cabbage, Clara is a shy, plain caterpillar. While she befriends friendly Cornelius, it is catty Catisha who makes her feel down for being a plain bug. Once Clara and her other caterpillars transform into butterflies, Catisha still reminds Clara that she's a boring cream-color Cabbage White. But when a hungry crow comes looking for a tasty butterfly snack, Clara shows the group she is more than just an average cream butterfly. As she confronts the crow, Clara proves herself to be courageous as well as cunning to outsmart the crow.

What a nostalgic trip it was to read Clara Caterpillar after almost two decades since its initial release! Would you believe it was sheer luck that I only remembered the title after a random browse? Edwards creatively creates a sweet story of courage while adding an alliterative appeal to the narrative, with lots of words beginning with C. And Cole's illustrations presents an accurate design of his caterpillar protagonists with exquisite details in both the characters and background. It was a pleasant trip to reread Clara Caterpillar, and presenting a moral that outer beauty cannot match the content & courageous strength that Clara showed for her friends. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in alliteration and caterpillars!

[Audrey Ibarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clara Caterpillar
“Clara is a cute cabbage Caterpillar. But to Carissa, who is catty and crimson, Clara is only a common caterpillar with no hope of becoming a colorful butterfly. Sure enough, Clara comes out cream colored. And during an encounter with a hungry crow, Clara proves that being colorful and conspicuous doesn’t compare with being common, content, and courageous. Pamela Duncan Edwards and Henry Cole’s comic and compelling alliterative collaboration is captivating!”

I rated this book with 5 stars. I chose this book because it talks about and shows an example of being made fun of and bullied. Then also shows how Clara still helped Carissa out even though she had been bullied by her so she could save her life from a crow. It shows how humble, caring, and self-less one person can be even in the midst of being unliked by someone. I think this book is good for all ages and teaches an important lesson.

[Alexandra Hegge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is all about words that start with C. It also teaches valuable lessons about not being judgmental and being kind to those that aren't kind to you. It sacrifices being easy to read by using harder to read words as long as they start with the letter C.

[Rani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cream colored clara was not a spectacular butterfly. Try to beat her presence of mind!

[Lee Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet. 2/5 stars.

[Gracie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"She was really nice. Just because you think you are smarter and prettier and all that stuff didn't mean she better. She learned from Clara that it is good to be nice. Clara is really pretty too."

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unsure how to pronounce chrysalis. Some alliteration throughout.

[KhiN’Millie Friesen · Rating 4 out of 5]

That butterfly was cream and they made fun of her. But then she helped them. It is ok to be different than everybody else. - Khi 3

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, it just seems rather lame to me. And the constant alliteration is exhausting. And the science is silly.

[Vanessa Maeda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Main Characters: Clara, Catisha, Cornelius, and Crow
Setting: Anywhere outside
POV:

Summary:

Clara is the plainest caterpillar there can be. Clara does not mind because cabbage caterpillars are cute but then the crimson –colored Catisha caterpillar thinks Clara is dull. As Clara and Cornelius make their chrysalis, the crimson-colored caterpillar Catisha says that she will only become a common cabbage butterfly. Even though to Catisha, Clara is boring and plain, her traits actually help save Catisha from a crow. If it was not for her cream color, Clara would not be able to hide and camouflage in the camellias. Catisha is brilliant bright red and is ultimately a sitting duck for the hungry crow.

This picture book is great for kindergarten up through third grade. Students can learn about the process and formation of a butterfly. Also, the text is a lesson in alliteration.In all, it is a cute book about hidden talents and not judging someone about their appearance.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mediocre book that teaches a very important lesson; everyone is special in their own way. Clara is a cabbage caterpillar, nothing extravagant and very common, while catisha, is a very pretty, rare caterpillar that will become a beautiful butterfly. After the caterpillars turn into butterflies, Clara is just a plain white. Catisha makes fun of her until a crow is after them and Clara is able to camouflage herself in some flowers. In the end, all of the caterpillars realize that although Clara is plain white, she has amazing abilities and is very special, Catisha even realizes this. I would use this book to help teach not to make fun of anyone and that everyone is special in their own way.

[Lorrie L. Birchall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice story to teach alliteration. Clara comes out of her egg case a common cabbage caterpillar. Then cracking out of her cozy chrysalis, Clara is just a common cream colored butterfly. She's not colorfully captivating like Catisha, the crimson colored butterfly. But when a crow tries to catch the colorful Catisha, courageous Clara distracts him from capturing her. Cleverly, Clara camouflages in cream camellias to completely confuse the crow. Catisha finally concedes that being cream colored is cool. You may get a bit tongue-tied, but kids will certainly understand the concept of alliteration.

[Tirzah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clara is a common cabbage caterpillar with a heart of gold. She makes friends with Cornelius but is scoffed at by Catisha, a brilliant red caterpillar who will one day be a beautiful red butterfly. Without giving the story away, Clara uses her cleverness and "commonness" to help Catisha. This story has cute illustrations and the simple message of being yourself and being kind.

Great for: PreK-2nd Grade

Teaches: life cycle of caterpillars/butterflies, letter 'C,' 'C' vocabulary, being yourself, friendship

[Ina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good story about a plain caterpillar who turns into a plain butterfly - who turns into a respected hero. There is a great potential to use fun voices for the eager boy caterpillar in the story and the catty and egotistical Catisha who looks down on Clara and makes mean comments every chance she gets. There are many "c" words used in the story, so it is a good resource for teaching phonemic awareness.

[Sandra Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is full of super cute, and colorful illustrations, with a storyline that make this book a great tool for teaching alliterations. Plus I loved the message Clara is not going to turn out to be a beautiful colorful butterfly, but what she provides to the story saves the day- it is a great reminder that we should focus on what we have, and being a good person. I would recommend this for second grade and up.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute, common caterpillar/butterfly proves herself to a conceited colorful butterfly. 5/30/12

Used in story time. I just love the language and the alliteration in this story. One to definitely increase most younger children's vocabulary. 5/15/13

Blown away again by the language and all the words starting with c.

[Marc Lucke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been a staple bedtime tale for all three of our kids. With gorgeous art and clear, clever, carefully-crafted prose, Clara Caterpillar immediately became one of my favourite childrens' books ever. Despite the alliterative conceit, the writing remains delightfully self-aware without veering into twee preciousness. Highly recommended!

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allitrated with c's galore, this book shares the story of Clara who is cute to all but Catisha, a showy and more colorful caterpillar. Moral of the story that looks aren't everything is gently shared.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Clara the caterpillar isn't going to be a colorful butterfly like Catisha, Cornelius and the other caterpillars, but her cream color lets her camouflage herself and hide from the crow on a camellia. The densely alliterative text is awkward to read aloud, and causes this book to drag. Ages 3-6.

[Asho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this story's lesson was a bit treacly, but I did enjoy the alliteration, which led to some cleverly conceived calls for caterpillars (see what I did there?!). This would be a great one for talking about the letter C and C sounds.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book on many different levels. I like the pictures, the story is a great story of "Being the best you can be and forget what the critics say" and the "C" alliterations is fun without being over done or obnoxious!

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son loves this book. He is too young to want to listen to the entire story verbatim, but the pictures are easy to use to tell the story to him. He loves the "creepy birdy" and the fact that the butterflies get away from it.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book focuses on letter C words and fictional caterpillar-butterfly drama. The heavy use of c-words makes the flow of the text awkward to read aloud, but it is can be utilized to introduce and discuss the meaning of words like "chrysalis," "colossal," "conceited," "camouflage" and so many more.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Camouflage saves the day in this story in which the author cleverly uses as many words starting with the letter "c" as she can.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book to read aloud because of all the c's:
"Don't be cruel, Catisha," Cornelius scolded. "Cabbage caterpillars are cute."

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute story, filled with lots of C words!

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the alliteration! Quite clever.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good message, but kind of boring.

[Heather Ledet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alliteration of "C" throughout book.