First Summer

by Eric Carle

There are so many ways to spend a sunny summer day. Join The Very Hungry Caterpillar and explore everything the season has to offer!

Celebrate summer with The Very Hungry Caterpillar and his friends in this exploration of the season. Young readers can learn all about seasonal sensory experiences, like listening to noisy bugs, feeling the warm sunshine, smelling the yummy scents of a cookout, and so much more!

Genres: Picture Books, Summer, Childrens

16 pages, Board book

Published May 3, 2022

About the author

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. who have made lasting contributions to the field. Carle was also a U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010.

Reviews

[Cassandra Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as some of Eric Carle's other outings, but it is fun to try to find the caterpillar on each page.

[Ashley Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book to read, especially in summertime which is when my daughter received this book from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library mail service.

[Ophelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’m studying up about summer! very interesting!

[Josephine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I smiled as I read several previous reviews of this quiet charming book and realized the appeal of any book is in the individual perspective. My granddaughter adores this book; it is on its way back to the library quite overdue and my daughter is ordering it for her. We read it quite often when I visited and it appealed precisely because it is a simple narrative of a carefree summer day. She loves the specific drawings of many of her favorite things…fruits, trees, butterflies and other insects, flowers and especially the lake. I remember reading the original book to kindergarten classes when it was first published and I actually enjoyed this one more.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda wish this was delivered as a boardbook from the Dolly program since my son is too into turning pages and being independant right now. Paper books can't survive his eager hands. I love seasonal books so I read it every now and then during the summer, but again, he's too enthusiastic for the format.

[Andrea (andreareadsalot) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read aloud to my 9 month old. It’s the very hungry caterpillar themed but the story wasn’t my favorite.

Facts about this book:
• Board book
• Colorful!
• Bugs and nature
• Story about things in summer

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was literally nothing about the hungry caterpillar lol. But it was brightly colored and fun for my daughter to look at as I read it to her. Besides, children's books don't really HAVE to make sense, right?

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this with my little ones. They loved the colorful pictures and pointing out all of the different food and objects and finding where the caterpillar was on each page.

We also enjoyed the rhyming words and they enjoyed me making the dramatic sounds for the onomatopoeia

[Kelly]

Decent rhymes, good summer illustrations.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming and colorful!

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The famous caterpillar is basically a background character in this book about the sights, sounds, and fun of summertime. A colorful and cute, if a bit dull, celebration of the season.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Join the Hungry Caterpillar as he shows you some summertime fun. You will need to look closely to see him n the double board illustrations. Part of a series on seasons by Carle.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple story of summer starring our favorite caterpillar.

[Melissa Swistek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kid you not, the caterpillar isn’t even mentioned once
In this book.

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

An opportunity to learn some summer-related vocabulary while looking at some pretty pictures.

[♛primadonna♛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐1/2

[Margot Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

We liked the beginning of this story, but wished it didn’t end with swimming. That seemed random. Otherwise, it would have been a lovely story to read during an outing to the park.

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has nothing to do with the caterpillar, but is a fun book with nice rhyme and meter.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super nostalgic!

[Carm · Rating 5 out of 5]

We got this through our Imagination Library subscription. It has been a really great summer read for our family.

[FELICIA JACKSON · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book

[Jessica Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

better for older toddlers, every other line does rhyme, pictures are appropriately detailed and words are a larger font

[Canette Arille · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars, but I like this book. Rhyming story for children. The very hungry caterpillar is happy that it's summer. The book welcomes summer with a very hungry caterpillar. Personally, I like this book and I can recommend it with a clear mind :)

[Joel · Rating 2 out of 5]

We usually love these Caterpillar books but this one was way too wordy with illustrations that weren't that exciting.

[Lindsay Lodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the pictures of the flowers, but I don't find Eric Carle's illustrations of people very appealing. There is no story in this book and nothing at all about the Very Hungry Caterpillar, just images of him.

[Jayla_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so colorful and cheery my toddler couldn’t keep her eyes off while I read it to her! She normally wants to take books and just look at the pictures but with this one she actually listened to me read it to her which I enjoyed as well. It kept her quiet and entertained while she listened so this is definitely a five star read for her and myself.

Update: 2025
We had a fun time reading this after the hungry caterpillar story. It’s really easy to read and keeps the interest going

[LydiLouWho · Rating 5 out of 5]

From our longtime friend Valerie!