The Caterpillar and the Polliwog

by Jack Kent

A proud caterpillar and a curious polliwog become unlikely friends in this delightful picture book by beloved author, illustrator, and cartoonist Jack Kent!

Told with Jack Kent’s signature bright, bold, and expressive illustrations, little ones are sure to love this transformative tale about a caterpillar and a polliwog who can’t wait to grow up and turn into something else!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Science, Storytime, Friendship, Nature

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1982

About the author

John Wellington "Jack" Kent (1920 – 1985) was an American cartoonist and prolific author-illustrator of children's books. He is perhaps best known as the creator of the comic strip King Aroo. In addition to his own books, he illustrated more than twenty books by other authors.

Reviews

[Amanna Nawshin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to listen to the audiobook of 'the Caterpiller and the Pollywog' a lot. My daughter was a big fan of the audio story. That’s how I listened. We both loved it back then. Later on, I bought the book for her. Though she is still too young to read. But there is no restriction to having it in our possession. I somehow found this story so amazing. I would suggest this book to little readers who have started to read. This could be a perfect one for them. 

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

Even though this book dates from 1982, it's still a great story, a classic. Caterpillar boasts to polliwog that she's going to turn into something else, and is dismayed to hear polliwog say that he's going to turn into something else too--except he thinks it's going to be a fish. He watches as caterpillar spins her cocoon, and decides to wait to see what she changes into. However, while he waits, he begins to change too. What will they both finally look like? This story would pair well with Holly Keller's Farfallina and Marcel, about the friendship between a baby goose and a caterpillar. A beautiful story for spring. Recommended!!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all change - changing into that which is our nature - not the nature of someone else. Great lesson for small children.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fell in love with the story back when I used filmstrips. I still use the story for a bug/caterpillar or frog story time. 6/13/11

Used for my story time, even though it may be a little long. It got checked out after the program. 5/29/13

Used again for Story Time. It is a little long, unfortunately I read it first and then had an older girl come in late... 5/20/14

Yep, too long for my story time group, which is mostly 2's.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of a rather vain caterpillar who brags that she will one day be a butterfly. Her friend polliwog is told by a fish that he too will change. The excitement mounts as these two friends grow and change. Published in 1982, so illustrations and colors are old-timey, but they add to the charm of the story.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catherine and Abbie liked how the caterpillar said when she grows up she is going to change to something else. James likes how the polliwog thinks he is, too, but he turns into a frog. I liked how much the book interested them in the changes that baby animals make into their fully developed adult forms. They learned in a fun way. The illustrations have inspired full art sessions creating their own depictions of intricately designed butterflies, cocoons, and more.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful story about "transformation" or "metamorphosis" is a little wordy to use in a library pre-school story time. However, if the performer is familiar with the text it can easily be read aloud start to finish and keep every one's attention.

The caterpillar brags that when she grows up she will turn into something else. The pollywog wants to turn into something else, too. A passing fish assures him that he will, so he assumes he will become a butterfly just like the haughty caterpillar. She insists that she go first and he excitedly watches her day after day, not noticing the transformation that is happening to him.

I like having the group roll their hands as the caterpillar spins her cocoon. I enjoy inviting them to enjoy new vocabulary words by inviting them to repeat the word with me and then repeat it again.

[Lorena Magallanes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent is an adorably told story of a caterpillar and polliwog who create a friendship after bonding over a common factor. Both a caterpillar and polliwog transform into different animals when they reach a certain age. A caterpillar turns into a butterfly, and a polliwog into a frog. While the polliwog did not turn into a butterfly as he had expected, he still learned to accept himself as a frog!

The illustrations follow along with the story, in colors of dark greens, browns, reds, and yellows. The book includes double pages spreads, bleeding, and simple sequencing. Instead of having precise lines, these images look like sketches. with frayed and uneven edges giving the images character and a sense originality.

[Hannah Smith-Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable little book that describes a caterpillar who is very proud of the fact that she will become a butterfly. The polliwog is jealous of this fact and wants to watch the caterpillar transform. So they polliwog watches the butterfly come out of the cocoon and gets so excited that he bounces! He had been so focused on the butterfly, that he hadn't noticed that he had changed into a frog! This is a great book to teach the life cycle of a frog with. My practicum teacher used it to introduce a frog life cycle lesson. The students loved it and laughed when the polliwog wanted to be a butterfly. It's a great little book!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This adorable book is a winner. Informative with a very cute story and giggle-out-loud lines. I can't wait to share this one with my emerging reader. Caterpillar thinks she is special because she is going to turn into something else. The snail could care less and the turtle didn't much like wiggly things. The fun begins when she meets polliwog who agrees that is indeed a pretty neat thing. He is so busy watching caterpillar's metamorphosis that he doesn't notice his own. A very cute ending. Ribbit!

[Linh Tong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book teaches students to accept the differences in others and themselves. The polliwog wanted to be like the caterpillar to turn into a butterfly. Little did he know, that he will turn into something too but not a butterfly. He transformed into a frog. I can use this book to talk about metamorphosis. I can bring in an egg. The students will use their imagination to guess what the egg will turn into. They will then write a story about what the animal in the egg will look like, will eat, etc.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this one more than my 5 year old daughter did. She's really fascinated by metamorphosis at the moment and we had fun watching several frog species and a couple toads in amplexus after the last heavy rainstorm. In other words, tadpoles and polliwogs are on the brain right now as we've been watching them grow in the pond. This book is more picture book than educational book, but it was still fun to read.

I love the vintage illustrations. Just so much orange. If they had orange fabric in this shade with the caterpillar and polliwog on it, I would probably buy the whole bolt.

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember ever reading this book as a child, but something about the images definitely reminded me of my childhood. My 15 month-old liked this one, too. He took it out of my hands and turned the pages, and we spent a lot of time just pointing at the pictures and labeling things. The polliwog/frog is particularly cute.

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

A simple but GREAT classic! Kids love the anticipation that builds when reading this story aloud...They keep trying to "tell" the caterpillar and tadpole what is going to happen. So cute--I use this with a frog unit in library when the kids are studying lifecycles. So much fun!

[Karalynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an adorable picture book of a frog and a caterpillar going through metamorphosis at the same time. This story could be used to segue into a science lesson, as well as a discussion about people/animals change as they grow up.

[Angelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books is "Just Only John" by Jack Kent. It, as well as this book, had me smiling at the precious pictures and reading the clever conversations. This book will be a real favorite with our preschoolers!

[Kate Johnson]

Picture Book
A caterpillar and a polliwog are excited to become something else. As the polliwog watches and waits for the caterpillar to turn into a butterfly, the polliwog turns into a frog without noticing. Simple story, but not my favorite.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an oldie, but a goodie.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

sweet story about changes and growing up

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic classic

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3* art
3* story

A fun story, and Squirt enjoyed learning about how the creatures transform.

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scientific in describing how some animals transition from one form to another. Spiritual in the lessons regarding the self, comparisons to others and being present for ones own life.

[Kalynne]

Date: 07.01.24
Attendees 45
Theme: Frogs
Introduction and announcements: Well Hello Everybody….

Book one: There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake by Loren Long

Song/rhyme/game one: 5 Green and Speckled Frogs

Book two: I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty

Song/rhyme/game two: Move! By Super Simple Songs

Book three: The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent

Song/ rhyme/ game three: The Polliwog rhyme

Activity: https://i0.wp.com/huppiemama.com/wp-c...
Use green paper, and cut frog head shapes instead

[Olivia S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was initially put off by the amount of text on each page (this won't work for my family storytime crowd, I don't think), but this is a cute funny story. A caterpillar tells a polliwog that she's going to turn into something else when she gets older, and the polliwog finds out that he will too, he just doesn't know what. Since the caterpillar is turning into a butterfly, he assumes he will do the same. He is initially disappointed with his difference, but learns to appreciate his own beauty. Funny illustrations. 4+

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This fable about the human growth process features a haughty caterpillar and a humble polliwog who go through the most remarkable processes of transformation as they mature. Unfortunately, the frog turns out to be as vain and self-centered as the butterfly, obsessed with his own reflection like an amphibious Narcissus. Colorful illustrations dramatize the metamorphosis of humility into vanity and the author’s artless sexism.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children generally enjoy learning about animals and life cycles. It’s so interesting to think about the ways a frog or caterpillar can change. This book had a touch of humor and valuable lesson about how we can grow and change without even really realizing it ourselves.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A caterpillar and a polliwog are both excited about their upcoming transformations.

This book introduces the life cycles of butterflies and frogs to young readers. It also contains the moral not to brag about one’s own specialness.

[Adam Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book about metamorphosis. The caterpillar is a bit haughty, but does in fact become a beautiful butterfly. The polliwog who is interested in watching others and cheering for them, slowly changes himself, much to his surprise.

[Cecily V · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this smug lil caterpillar!

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Jack Kent