Clara Caterpillar by Pamela Duncan Edwards

Clara Caterpillar 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.
• 
  Wilder

  Loooots of "C"s in this. Beware if you're trying to read this out loud.
• 
  Rani

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

  Sweet. 2/5 stars.
• 
  Gracie Johnson

  "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."
• 
  Lindsey

  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

  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

  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

  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.

  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.
• 
  Marc Lucke

  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

  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.
• 
  Asho

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

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

  cute story, filled with lots of C words!
• 
  Greta

  I love the alliteration! Quite clever.
• 
  Kara

  Good message, but kind of boring.
• 
  Heather Ledet

  Alliteration of "C" throughout book.
• 
  Michelle Carter

  beautiful illustrations and a great book when introducing the letter "C". Great books about friends and being different.
• 
  Cassi

  shows the life cycle of a caterpillar! ALOT OF "C" WORDS! (this would be a good book for pre-k or kindergarten for starting on the letter c.
• 
  Lita

  This is a cute book that uses a lot of alliteration of the letter "C". It includes the life cycle of a caterpillar and it has a hidden theme: Looks aren't everything."