The Very Hungry Caterpillar gallery

Here's the original The Very Hungry Caterpillar cover when the book was published by Puffin in 1969. But when he first wrote it, Eric Carle named the book A Week With Willi Worm... wonder if it would have become the UK's most read children's book – read on average nine times a year by each child in the UK – if that name had stuck. One things for sure Willi Worm wouldn't have changed into a beautiful butterfly! Photograph: Puffin

Author and illustrator Eric Carle with his children in the late 1960s, around the time when the Very Hungry Caterpillar was first published. Eric was living in New York when he created The Very Hungry Caterpillar and had been making holes in paper with a hole punch when he had the idea to do the same in a book.

Photo used with permission from the Eric Carle Studio.
Photograph: Eric Carle Studio/Eric Carle Studio

A more recent picture of Eric Carle in his studio, still cutting up paper and making a mess! Eric has now written and illustrated more than 70 books.

Photo used with permission from the Eric Carle Studio
Photograph: Motoko Inoue/Motoko Inoue

One of the beautiful spreads from the book: "One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and – pop! – out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar..." Photograph: Puffin

A survey to mark the 45th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar on what the caterpillar should eat if a new book was written included suggestions for bananas and broccoli. But here in this image we see what that naughty bug really did eat that fateful Saturday, and that was... one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon. That night he had a stomach ache! Photograph: Puffin

Here we see Eric Carle reading from The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but Eric's favourite book he has written is actually Do You Want to Be My Friend.

Used with permission from the Eric Carle Studio. Photograph: Eric Carle Studio

To celebrate the landmark anniversary, Puffin has released a special 45th anniversary edition of the bestselling story and it's sure to keep being read for many years to come (can't stick your fingers into holes on a Kindle can you?). Photograph: Puffin

A very lovely big caterpillar helping to launch The Giant Wiggle with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a charity event with Action for Children for the 45th anniversary of the book. Photograph: Puffin