Caterpillar Dance

From Barnes & Noble

A clan of caterpillars are becoming beautiful butterflies -- and helping kids learn to count -- in this buoyant read based on the format of Ten Little Ladybugs and Good Night, Sweet Butterflies! From one to five, these different-colored critters climb together on a leaf bed and "wiggle-wiggle, jiggle free" to become butterflies: Kids can see the yellow caterpillar become a yellow butterfly with a turn of the page, while one by one the purple, green, blue, and red caterpillars follow suit. Children will enjoy touching the fuzzy textures and watching the smiley-faced bugs change form as they practice counting the shiny butterflies and caterpillars on each page for a simple lesson. With Scott McBee's jovial artwork adding an amusing touch -- the insects' expressions are particularly fun -- this read helps make number and adding concepts a breezy good time.

Children's Literature

This is a board book that packs a lot into its pages—there is a counting lesson, an introduction to colors and an explanation of the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. The die-cut cover reveals five fuzzy caterpillars in five different colors. The text is consistent "Wiggle-wiggle, jiggle free./ Green [yellow, purple, blue red] caterpillar, what will you be?" Each one turns into a brightly-colored butterfly. The concluding spread has all five bright, shiny butterflies flitting across the pages. For those who also like tactile reinforcement you can touch the fuzzy caterpillars. 2004, Cartwheel Books/Scholastic, Ages 3 to 5.
—Marilyn Courtot

School Library Journal

PreS-In this confusing book, five caterpillars, each with a nondescript body and different colored head, transform directly from the caterpillar stage to the butterfly stage. The text, which repeats itself for each of the five insects, is very brief: "Wiggle-wiggle, jiggle free./Yellow caterpillar, what will you be?/A big yellow butterfly/just for me!" The caterpillars are shown on the right-hand side, and when readers turn the page, they discover an appropriately colored foil butterfly. On the final spread, all five brilliantly hued creatures dance in the sky. The sturdy, plastic-coated pages and the repetitive language suggest that this book is for toddlers. However, the author has tried to incorporate color identification, counting, and an inaccurate introduction to metamorphosis into one story, a mix of concepts that may be beyond the scope of the intended audience. Stick with Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Philomel, 1981) or Jack Kent's The Caterpillar and the Polliwog (S & S, 1982).-Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.