Charlie the Caterpillar

by Dom DeLuise, Christopher Santoro (Illustrator)

When Charlie the caterpillar is born, everything looks bright and beautiful, and Charlie feels happy to be alive. He decides to set out and see the world.
As Charlie wanders, he meets one group of animals after another, playing together and having fun. At each encounter, Charlie innocently asks if he might join in, and each time he gets the same "No! Now giddadda here!" when Charlie asks why, he's told he's just an ugly caterpillar -- and not wanted. At first Charlie is mystified, then hurt, then finally begins to feel ugly.
As winter approaches, our friendless Charlie sighs and spins himself a cocoon. When spring arrives, the cocoon opens and out comes Charlie -- now a beautiful butterfly. Suddenly he's popular beyond his wildest dreams. Suddenly everyone wants him to be part of their group. But Charlie puts these fair-weather friends properly in their place in this heartwarming story about the meaning of true friendship.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Friendship, Childrens, Fiction, School, Self Esteem

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 1990

Reviews

[Brit Troyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let's play "how many butterfly books can we read in kindergarten in the spring".

[Darcine Bancino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story, I would enjoy reading this one to the grandkids!

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie the Caterpillar goes out meeting many other animals playing cards or tennis and asks to join in. Each time he is snubbed and told that he is ugly. Charlie spins himself a cocoon as winter approaches. When spring arrives, Charlie now has two beautiful butterfly wings. As Charlie flies around he sees the same animals that he had approached before but this time they ask him to join their games telling him how beautiful he is. Charlie instead snubs them. Charlie then hears crying and upon investigating finds a girl caterpillar who is crying because she is to ugly to play with. Charlie tells her that soon she will have beautiful wings as well and plays with her. This story does teach about the true meaning of friendship for Charlie see's the inner beauty of the girl caterpillar. I wish it would have addressed the teasing of the other animals in some way.

[Becky B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Charlie the caterpillar is walking along and sees three groups he'd like to play with, but each one tells him he is too ugly. Of course after Charlie turns into a beautiful butterfly each group begs him to join their games, but Charlie doesn't want to play with critters who are so shallow. He'd rather play with Katie, another ugly caterpillar.

While the message to not hang out with people who only like those who are "beautiful" is good, the way Charlie handles it later is borderline vindictive and seems to tell kids to give it back the way you got it instead of being kind regardless of others' actions. Not always the best advice. I know there are better picture books out there to deal with these issues. I think the problem is primarily an adult comedian writing outside of his primary target audience.

[Alyssa Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie the Caterpillar was one of my favorites when I was young. Reading it again now as an adult, I love it just as much. Charlie is a cute little caterpillar that is very sweet and kind and just wants to find some friends. As he crawls around and tries to find friends, he runs into some rabbits, mice, and monkeys, all of which will not let him play because they say that he is ugly. Poor Charlie then finds himself so sad that he curls up in a cacoon. When he awakens he bypasses the people that we mean to him before and hangs out with another little "ugly" caterpillar.

This book has great illustrations and an awesome story line that teaches a great lesson of self acceptance and bullying. The artwork has bright ,yet soft, colors and the writing contains repetition. This book is geared towards early readers and is a great pick for any child.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Charlie the Caterpillar" is a great story to read-aloud to children. You could use this story to show students that being a true friend means that you care about your friend no matter what they look like, or what they have. This would also be a great book to read-aloud when studying the stages of a caterpillar/butterfly.

[forthefamilyssake Hailey White · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book pretty much sums up the type of lessons I don't want my children to learn. With the exception of the butterfly befriending the caterpillar in the end, the book taught that you should get even with others "serves them right". I feel like that, coupled with the poor choice of slang words made for an awful children's book. No thanks.

[Joyce Himmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looks are not everything!

[Miranda Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie the caterpillar just wants to get out in the nice sunny day and play, but no one wants to play with him. Not the mice, not the bunnies, and not even the monkeys. They're all too busy to play with such an ugly caterpillar. So Charlie goes to be by himself and cries and cries until he decides to stay there and cozy up and fall asleep. When he wakes up, he becomes a big beautiful butterfly and everyone wants to play with him. But Charlie does not want to play anymore, he's too busy. Charlie finds a sad little caterpillar crying all alone because no one will play with her, but Charlie will.

[Chloe Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie the Caterpillar goes around to many different animals and asks if he can play with them. Sadly, all the animals deny him because they think he is too ugly to play with them. Finally, this gets to be too much for the caterpillar and he goes alone to rest. Suddenly, he forms a cocoon and becomes a beautiful butterfly!! All of the animals beg him to play with them, but the butterfly denies the animals and friends a caterpillar instead. This story inspires readers to love others regardless of their appearances and that no matter what others may think of you, it is always possible to overcome their judgement and achieve success. A great read!!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely started out with promise, but I didn't like how Charlie reacts to the animals who treated him badly...by rejecting them as they had rejected him. It would have been a much stronger story had he learned that kindness is a character trait you possess, not a reaction to others' behavior. That is certainly the lesson I want my kids to learn, rather than that of treating people in the manner they have treated you.

[Teresa Lavender · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew that Dom Deluise could write such a delightful children's story. This is a story of accepting others for who they are and not judging others by what some perceive as unattractive. Though the words used after Charlie's transformation seem a bit harsh, I believe this is a story that should be read and discussed for optimal lesson.

[Taylor Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about a caterpillar who meets many different groups of animals and how each one treats him before and after his transformation into a butterfly. This book has a wonderful message for students and is an inspiring story for students who may feel the way Charlie does. This book is recommended for ages 4-8.

[Linda Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book to go with a text study on caterpillars. It is also a good book for friendship and change, or for repetition and predicting. students from K-3 will enjoy this book as a read-aloud or reading it themselves. The illustrations are also very engaging.

[Sidney Carnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It is great for teachers when there is bullying going on within or outside of the classroom. This book shows that not everyone is the same and how someone feels if we say negative things towards them.

[Vickie McEntire · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Charlie the Caterpillar," by Dom De Luise is a fun book to read. There is a silly phrase repeated throughout that brings the voice of the author clearly to mind. A sweet story about feeling left out and finding a best friend. Go ahead and do the voices with this one!

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a sweet story. Charlie has no friends when he is an "ugly" caterpillar. When he wakes up a beautiful butterfly, all those who shunned him suddenly wants to be friends. Charlie tells them to "get outta here" as they told him in previous days. Really adorable illustrations, too!

[Cdiebold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another story my mom used to read me all the time. It teaches many valuable lessons kids can learn from. Easy and fun for very young kids.

[Jessica Pinnick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked this book. Might be really helpful at the beginning of the year when the kids need to find a friend.
The illustrations in thIs book really tell the story.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cute story. My son's favorite when he was a little boy. I can't put my finger on the reason why, but it has lovely illustrations and a lovely story.

[Aarvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aarvik gets this book as a gift for finishing 500 books before kindergarten series started by the Corvallis Benton County Library and is a beautiful read!

[Grandma M · Rating 3 out of 5]

So...maybe the get even storyline isn't the best, but the illustrations are nice and you do feel for poor ugly Charlie.

[Rizzykaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and weird.

[Penny Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book. Love the message and the artwork. I use this book in my classroom with my students, they always love it as well.

[Tears for Breakfast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie the Caterpillar is a tale about kindness and growth and treating people the way you'd want to be treated. Approximately a 10 minute read-aloud.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie the Caterpillar is an interesting take on the traditional Ugly Duckling tale. Charlie is a caterpillar who is born in the beginning of the book. We see him in his innocence as he grows, eats, and sets off with a desire to "see the world". In this moment he is "glad to be alive", but his spirits are quickly crushed as his repeated attempts to make friends with other animals are foiled on the grounds that he is an "ugly caterpillar". Thus, Charlie retreats into his coccoon and, after a winter, emerges a beautiful butterfly. However, Charlie's story is not over, though we do have the same scene as in the Ugly Duckling where all the animals fawn over his beauty. Charlie goes on, leaving the animals who base friendship on appearances, and finds a sad little caterpillar who has been rejected as he was. Charlie wipes her tears, and becomes her best friend. This heartwarming tale conveys a clear message without being overly didactic, and, overall, creates for a rather enjoyable experience.

It is interesting to study the intertextuality that this book has with the tale of the Ugly Duckling. Whereas both texts focus on the rejection of one being for being ugly and that being's gradual transformation into a thing of beauty, they convey rather different messages. The Ugly Duckling encourages us to believe that inside of us all, there is a beautiful swan that just needs time to get out. It is a story of hope and survival. Now, while "Charlie the Caterpillar" does carry those elements, we are brought to focus more on the theme of friendship. We see clearly that friendship should not be based on looks. Where the Ugly Duckling left it at accepting the praise offered him, Charlie decides to take a stand and not hang out with those who would judge from appearances. We see that in order to have a friend, we must be a friend, as illustrated through Charlie's actions towards the girl caterpilllar. To be honest, I was worried when Charlie started to reject the other animals' pleas for friendship. Perhaps it was because I thought that he was being mean in his rejection or because I felt unnerved by the deviation of the story from that of "The Ugly Duckling". However, I was set at ease when the author explained Charlies' purpose of not wanting superficial friends. If you want to teach your child about good friendships, this may be the book you are looking for..

And if teaching your child is your game, you may want to look into reading the book outloud with him or her. There are many elements which make this book a fun read-aloud. One is symmetry. The same basic scene is repeated six times throughout the book, with two subcategories. Charlie meets with monkies, hares, and mice in the book both before and after his transformation in to a butterfly, and each conversation follows the same format with Charlie encountering the animals and inquiring as to their activities followed by the subsequent rebuttal and Charlie's slow slinking to the other page. Repeated exact words such as the phrases "looked to the left...looked to the right" and "giddadda here" help with memorization. This format will allow for a reader to have fun with voices as well, focusing on the distinctions between each sitiuation and on Charlie's progression from being rather glad to being rather glum from the beginning of the book to the middle. Also, Dom Deluise repeatedly uses the onomatopoeia word "giddada" in the phrase "giddadda here!" which concludes each encounter. This is a signal that we should read the "get out of here" in an emphasized, characteristic way. It also provides a way for listening children to join in the fun. Given a few cues, the listeners should be able to tell when and how to shout out "giddadda here" during the reading. Whatever your style for reading out loud may be you will assuredly find it enjoyable applying it to this book.

[Xyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's never a bad idea to take a break from the heavy stuff and just enjoy a good picture book. I love caterpillars so when I saw this at a yard sale I snapped it up. Later I realized it was written by one of my favorite comedians, Dom De Luise. [For the younger set, Dom is the father of the actor who plays Mr. Russo on The Wizards of Waverly Place.] I could hear his voice while reading some of it.

The illustrations are great. Charlie is such a cute caterpillar. Looks like a wooly bear to me.

The theme of this story is one of self esteem. A play on Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling. In the first part of the book, Charlie goes inching along looking for some friends to play with, but they wouldn't because he was "an ugly caterpillar." Each time he left a group he felt bad about himself.

Then his cocooning instinct took over and he took a nap.

When he awoke he found he was a butterfly, but still very much the same Charlie as before.

As he tested his wings he passed the same groups that had rejected him. Their response was much different now. But Charlie flew on and found Katie. She is a new little caterpillar and she is crying because she can't find anyone to play with. Charlie becomes her friend and they are happy together.

The only thing keeping me from giving this story 5 stars is the fact that butterfly Charlie uses the same words to reject those clamoring to be his friends as when they initially rejected him then adds as he flies away, "serves them right."

[Phyleesha Daigle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie the Caterpillar is a great example of high quality children's literature. Starting with the storyline, Charlie is a young lonely caterpillar that is looking for some friends to play with, but each potential set of friends he comes across say he's too ugly to be their friend and "giddadda here!" It then goes on to the life cycle of the caterpillars and the illustrations show Charlie wrapping himself in a cocoon, hibernating (napping) in the tree, and later becoming a beautiful butterfly. After, he flies back by the sets of friends and they beg Charlie to play with them because he's soooo beautiful! Charlie says no he has to giddadda here! I think this repeating part, although it's not a real word, is really cute and as a child we remembered this book pretty well by how my mom would read that to us. Towards the end, Charlie finds another caterpillar, Katie, that was lonely and crying because no one would play with an ugly caterpillar. So Charlie learns that real friends care about what's on the inside and not what's on the outside and became best friends with Katie consoling her by telling her how she'll become a beautiful butterfly too. The lesson this book teaches is very important because it's much more than ABC's it's a moral lesson about valuing a person for who they are and choosing real friends for the right reasons.

[Megan Cureton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie the Caterpillar is an awesome book that describes the life and story of a lonely caterpillar that no one wants to play with. Some of the pages consist of the caterpillar asking some animals to play tennis, playing cards, and other activities and every time the animals come back and say no, you're ugly. This makes Charlie sad, so sad that he wraps himself in a cocoon and comes out a beautiful butterfly in the spring. Now that he is beautiful, all the animals that were once calling him ugly are begging to play with him and Charlie isn't having it. He notices a sad and lonely caterpillar one day and decides to be his friend because he knew what she was going through and could really connect with her and have a true friendship. This book really shows students that it is okay to be different and accept everyone for who they are. It also shows students how to put yourself in someone else's shoes and create friendships with different students. I also like this book because you could use it for introducing the stages of a butterfly if you are about to start talking and discussing butterflies in science class. I feel like the students will enjoy this book and they will stay intrigued the whole time. This book also had very nice and detailed illustrations on each page.

[Carla Peele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was basically a different angle on "The Ugly Duckling"--- only he was a caterpillar. And, you could practically HEAR Dom Deluise reading it to you, even as you read it aloud to your children, from the way it's written. It's cute, hilarious, touching all at once, and an even better moral than the original.

Charlie realizes that if the ones who originally spurned him only wanted him now because he was beautiful, then they were not "real" friends. Real friends want you for what is inside, and that's something important for all kids to know. And, Charlie proves himself to be a real friend by becoming best friends with another "ugly" caterpillar, Katie, and telling her the secret of what she is to become...