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Stamping with the Very Hungry Caterpillar

We are so excited to join in the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the beloved Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This was one of my absolute favorite books as a child and was the first book I bought the day I found out I was pregnant with my first baby. Our friend Cassity is here to share a fun art activity perfect for celebrating this timeless classic.

This year marks the 45^th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar which was published in 1969. I thought it would be fun to do a little art project inspired by the book with my littles. My kids are pretty young (ages 2, 3 and 5), so I chose an extremely easy art project.

I love the dots that make up the illustrations in the title page of the book.

They are so colorful and fun! Because my kids work well with stamps, eraser stamps seemed like a no-brainer for this activity. The pencils offer perfect circles for stamping, plus they’re easy to hold. It doesn’t hurt that they’re long so there is ample distance between the paint and little hands.

I gathered some washable paint, white art paper, paper plates, pencils with unused erasers, our MessMatz and the book for inspiration. I recently purchased a couple of MessMatz – best invention ever! Knowing that the mess is contained eases my stress level – especially when small children and paint are involved.

First we read the book. I pointed out the way Eric Carle used and mixed colors in his illustrations. I demonstrated how to stamp with the pencil erasers since this was a new technique for us.