When my nieces were younger, they frequently requested I read them The Very Hungry Caterpillar. So I was excited to learn that the story about a caterpillar's ravenous journey and metamorphosis has been selected to teach youngsters about nutritious eating. (If you recall, the caterpillar spends a week gobbling up fruit but overindulges on less-healthy food on Saturday night and gets a stomachache.) Booster Shots reports:
Starting this month, more than 17,500 pediatricians' offices are to receive free copies of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," packaged with growth charts and a reading guide (.pdf) designed to help parents use the story to talk to their young children about healthy eating. The packages are an initiative of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (the anti-obesity campaign established by the American Heart Assn. and former President Bill Clinton) and two literacy groups: the Pearson Foundation and We Give Books, a digital initiative of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar's" publisher, Penguin Books.
If you're looking for another title with a healthy-eating message, consider Pinkalicious. In the book, a little girl eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink and the only cure is to eat green vegetables.
