It is impossible to raise a child in the United States and not be familiar with Eric Carle’s book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. But for those of you that do not know the story, here it is in a nutshell. A caterpillar is hungry and goes on to eat every fruit (along with ice cream, pickles, cheese, and watermelon – is this caterpillar pregnant!?) on its way to (SPOILER ALERT) becoming a butterfly.
The World of Eric Carle has come out with a great line of toys, puzzles, games, and clothing for toddlers this year. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Twirl & Toss Game from University Games is one of them.
The game is played by tossing various plush fruit-like objects at a spinning caterpillar perched on a stick with leaves. The first player to stick 3 pieces of fruit wins. Toddlers will enjoy tossing the fruit at the caterpillar and, in most cases, smacking the caterpillar down before the game is over. Don’t worry though, the caterpillar can take a beating.
Pros: Toddlers and older kids will have a lot of fun trying to stick the fruit to the Velcro on the caterpillar. Just make the older kids stand further back.
Cons: Toss it too hard and the plush toy will not stick. Persuading a toddler to do anything gently can be tricky.
Price: $19.99
Age: 3 and up (But my almost 2 year old can play the game)
* The company provided a sample of the product for my review, but I was not compensated and the opinions are my own.