If your kids are obsessed with the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, we have a special craft for you today! Very Hungry Caterpillar Puppet Printables that double as a fun craft and allow kids to re-enact the story.

Very Hungry Caterpillar Craft

I absolutely adore Eric Carle’s books. They are so great for teaching children a variety of concepts while being enjoyable and rhythmic, but possibly my favorite thing about his books are the gorgeous illustrations.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is possibly his most famous book, featuring a cute little caterpillar eating his way through a variety of snacks until finally cocooning and transforming into a beautiful butterfly.

Every time I read this book with my daughter or daycare kids they have so much fun reciting all of the food that the caterpillar eats, so I thought it would be fun to create our own Very Hungry Caterpillar Puppets and re-enact his appetizing adventures.

Kids can use their puppets to work on their memory skills, trying to remember the different foods that the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate and the order, or they can use the puppet to make up their own story! They can even add their own favorite foods into the mix. They can also practice counting with the different foods because the caterpillar ate different amounts of different foods (three plums, one apple, four strawberries, two pears, five oranges, etc).

The puppets are also a great way to enhance the story reading process – acting out the story as you read it to them.

For this craft, I’ve provided a free printable template that includes the pear, apple, orange, plum and some leaves that the caterpillar ate. Kids can then be creative in making their own puppets/shapes for the remaining foods (strawberries, chocolate cake, ice cream, a pickle, swiss cheese, salami, a lollipop, cherry pie, sausage, a cupcake and watermelon) or you can just use the included foods when prompted by the book.

More Hungry Caterpillar Crafts:

• Watercolor Hungry Caterpillar Craft from Fireflies and Mudpies
• Very Hungry Caterpillar Painted Rocks from Color Made Happy
• Hungry Caterpillar Flap Book from A Little Pinch of Perfect
• DIY Hungry Caterpillar Marker Holder from Crafting Cheerfully
• Caterpillar Sponge Stamping Craft from Buggy and Buddy

Materials to Make a Very Hungry Caterpillar Puppet

• Colored Construction Paper or Cardstock
• Craft Glue
• Popsicle Sticks
• Markers
• Pencil
• Scissors <– these are the ones we have in our daycare, super easy to use and actually cut through things (unlike a lot of safety scissors). They’ve lasted for over 5 years
• Hungry Caterpillar Puppet Pattern

How to Make Very Hungry Caterpillar Puppets

Print out the provided puppet template and cut out the individual shapes.

Trace the pattern pieces onto cardstock or construction paper that corresponds to the colors shown in the book:

• trace the oval body shapes of the puppet onto light green and dark green paper
• trace the circular head piece on to red paper
• trace the oval eyes onto yellow paper
• draw slightly smaller ovals onto black paper, and also use that black paper for the caterpillar’s legs
• trace the caterpillar’s antennae onto purple paper
• trace the leaves and pear shape onto green paper
• trace the apple shape onto red paper
• trace the orange shape onto orange paper
• trace the plum shape onto purple paper

Cut out all of the traced shapes.

Glue the eyes, mouth and antenna on the red colored round cutout.

Assemble the green round cutouts in a curved row and glue slightly overlapping to form the caterpillar’s body.

Glue the legs along the bottom side of the caterpillar.

If using construction paper, you may want to glue a strip of cardboard or cardstock to the back of the puppet to make the caterpillar craft sturdier.

Glue the center of the paper caterpillar on a popsicle stick to complete the caterpillar puppet.

If desired, color the fruit pieces before gluing each onto a popsicle stick.

Allow the glue to dry completely before playing with the puppets.

Pin this Easy Hungry Caterpillar Craft to Make and Play with your kids:

Grab your free printable instructions for our Very Hungry Caterpillar Puppets and don’t forget to grab your free printable puppet pattern here:

I hope your kids love getting to make their very own hungry caterpillar puppets – I’d love to hear how they end up using them or any creative twists they bring to the craft!

For more book-inspired crafts, check out our full collection of book-inspired activities here:

Or for more fun crafts, check out our full crafts for kids collection here: