Very Hungry Caterpillar Costume Guide for Book Week

Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar is one of the most-loved children's books in Australian primary schools — first published in 1969 and still on every Foundation reading list more than 55 years later. That little green caterpillar shows up at every Book Week parade because the costume is recognisable from across the school hall, the book itself is short and easy to read aloud, and the colours photograph well.

If your child wants to be the Very Hungry Caterpillar for Book Week 2026, here's how to do it — whether you have 20 minutes or two weeks.

The 5-minute version (you already own this)

You can build a believable caterpillar from your existing kid wardrobe:

• Green top + green leggings or skirt — base layer
• Red beanie or red headband — the caterpillar's head
• Antennae — pipe cleaners twisted onto a headband, or borrow from a costume accessories box
• A "leaf" prop — a real big leaf from the garden or printed paper leaf, with bite marks cut into it

This works for preschool and Foundation parades where the brief is simply "dressed up as your favourite book character."

The 20-minute upgrade

Add 4 elements and you go from "kid in green" to "instantly recognisable Caterpillar":

1. Coloured spots on the green top — stick-on felt circles or fabric paint dots in red, blue, yellow
2. Yellow socks pulled high — adds the caterpillar's yellow body band
3. Red face paint cheeks — matches the storybook's signature cheek dots
4. A "food trail" belt — print or hand-draw cutouts of strawberry, plum, orange, slice of cake, pickle, sausage, slice of Swiss cheese (yes, all real items from the book), pin them to a belt and wear them like a sash

This is the version that wins photos at school parades because it tells the whole story in one outfit.

Ready-made — shop the look

Our top picks for a ready-made caterpillar costume: the deluxe Very Hungry Caterpillar costume (licensed, includes the iconic spotted body and head) and the Kids Storybook Caterpillar Costume (great value for Foundation through Year 2). Both ship from Melbourne.

For families who want a polished costume instead of DIY, our Girls' Storybook Costumes collection includes picture-book picks that work for the Very Hungry Caterpillar and for other Foundation-favourite illustrated classics.

For boys' versions of the same look, see boys' book week costumes — most caterpillar setups are gender-neutral once you've got the green base.

If you've left it late, easy book week costumes ships same-day from Melbourne when you order before 2pm AEST.

Caterpillar siblings & group costumes

Going as a group? The Very Hungry Caterpillar book is built for ensembles:

• Three caterpillars — same costume, different sizes (great for siblings)
• Caterpillar + Butterfly — older kid wears wings + bright colours, younger kid is the caterpillar (tells the whole story in one photo, beginning + end of the book)
• Caterpillar + the food — siblings dress as Strawberry, Cupcake, Pickle, Cheese (one each)
• Eric Carle ensemble — Caterpillar, Grouchy Ladybug, Tiny Seed sprout (one kid in green leotard with leaves taped on), and a Mister Seahorse pair-up — all from Eric Carle's own original picture books

Group costumes always win school parade photos.

Teacher tip — classroom Caterpillar parade

If you're a teacher running a Book Week classroom segment:

• Each child reads one page of the book aloud
• The "food" pages get a child holding up that food prop on cue
• The Caterpillar transitions to Butterfly at the end with a costume reveal (wings hidden under a cloak)
• A green-and-yellow ribbon banner across the front of the room ties the whole moment together

The book is exactly 224 words and takes about 4 minutes to read, so a full classroom parade fits in a single period.

What to avoid

• Don't use full-body caterpillar onesies for school — they're hot, hard to walk in, and bathroom breaks are a nightmare
• Skip fabric paint on skin — face paint cheeks only; you don't want to scrub fabric paint off a child after parade
• Mind the "very hungry" jokes — kids find food-themed costumes funny but teachers prefer the focus to stay on the book
• Don't photocopy whole pages of the book onto your child's costume — illustration is in copyright; draw your own caterpillar shapes or use plain coloured felt for the food trail

Carle-curious? Other Eric Carle costumes that work for Book Week

If your child loved this one, Carle's own picture books (the ones he both wrote and illustrated) work well too:

• The Grouchy Ladybug — red dress + black spots + frowny eyebrows
• The Tiny Seed — green leotard + leaves taped on + a small flower headpiece
• Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me — silver crescent moon prop + pajamas (great for Year 1)
• Mister Seahorse — sea-green outfit + cardboard seahorse fin pinned on back
• A House for Hermit Crab — child carries a painted "shell" backpack with sea creatures glued on

(Note: Carle also illustrated Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, but the words on that book are by Bill Martin Jr — if you want to dress up a Brown Bear costume for Book Week, both authors get a mention at school.)

All fit the broader storybook costumes category and tick the "real book" box CBCA judges look for.

Pairing with the 2026 Symphony of Stories theme

The Very Hungry Caterpillar fits Book Week 2026's "Symphony of Stories" theme beautifully — Carle's rhythmic repetition of "but he was still hungry" is itself a kind of refrain, and the food list scans like a children's song. Lean into that for the parade by adding a music-note accessory (a tambourine tied to the belt, or a kazoo pinned to the chest) — it nails both the book and the year's theme in one costume.

FAQ

Is the Very Hungry Caterpillar an Australian book? No — Eric Carle was American (born 1929 in New York, died 2021). But the book has been a fixture of Australian Foundation and Year 1 reading lists since the 1970s and counts for Book Week parade purposes.

Can boys wear the Very Hungry Caterpillar costume? Yes — the caterpillar is gender-neutral. Most Australian school parades celebrate kids dressing as any character regardless of who originally read the book.

What size beanie suits a kid Caterpillar? A regular winter beanie sized to your child's head works — red is the most recognisable colour. Keep it loose enough that it doesn't pinch through the parade.

Where do I get the "food cutouts"? Draw simple felt shapes or print clip-art versions (not Carle's actual illustrations — those are copyrighted). Laminate for reuse next year.

Will a Very Hungry Caterpillar costume work for World Book Day too? Yes — World Book Day (early March in Australia) accepts any book character. The Caterpillar is one of the most-recognised picks for both events.

Looking for a different storybook character? Browse our Girls' Storybook Costumes range — Matilda, Pippi, Hermione, Possum Magic and 20+ other classics with same-day Melbourne dispatch.