Press Release: Events
The Very Hungry Caterpillar 40th Anniversary
Posted at 1:26PM Friday 20 Mar 2009
20th March, the first day of Spring, marks the official launch day of the 40th anniversary of The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, a book which sells one copy every 30 seconds somewhere in the world, day and night. Translated into more than 45 languages, this special picture book has now sold over 29 million copies. It is also at No.2. in Nielsen BookScan's 'Evergreen list', a list of 12 titles which have continually appeared in Nielsen's charts since records first began 13 years ago, and gives booksellers guidelines on titles they can't afford not to stock. This truly global event was marked today by Google with a glorious Very Hungry Caterpillar Google Doodle. Puffin has already begun celebrating the anniversary with a strong retail presence with all their major customers both instore and online. A large number of adorable new Very Hungry Caterpillar products have also entered the marketplace, including new formats of the book such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar's Buggy Book and The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pop-Up Book, cuddly toys, mugs, tshirts, stationery and games. High profile media coverage around the anniversary, began last weekend with an exclusive interview with Eric Carle in The Guardian Weekend magazine, followed this morning by another interview in The Metro. Very Hungry Caterpillar activity weekends are taking place in bookshops and libraries nationwide based on a specially produced party kit, available to download from puffin.co.uk. Also, throughout the year the Very Hungry Caterpillar himself has made his first ever trip over from the US to visit specially-selected bookshops across the country. His first visit will be to Waterstones, Milsom Street in Bath on Saturday 18th April, with Manchester, Leeds, Norwich and Blackpool already confirmed on his itinerary. In addition, there will be Very Hungry Caterpillar events with a professional storyteller at all the major literary festivals beginning at the Oxford Literary Festival on 5th April, followed by Hay, Cambridge, Shrewsbury, Brighton, Salisbury, Edinburgh and Cheltenham Literary Festivals. 'Forty years ago, as I punched holes with a hole puncher into a stack of paper, the image of a bookworm came to mind and the idea for The Very Hungry Caterpillar was born. I am delighted that this story has been enjoyed by so many readers all over the world. For me, The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a story of hope. It is my wish that this story, with its hopeful message, will encourage all of us to change and grow, and will be enjoyed by readers of all ages for many years to come.' - Eric Carle 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar remains one of Puffin's bestselling titles. Its enduring appeal lies in its deceptive simplicity, as there is also so much to learn from it, like the days of the week, colours, a variety of foods, counting and so on. We expect it will continue to munch its way into children's hearts for many generations to come!' - Francesca Dow, Managing Director, Puffin Books
http://www.puffin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141385068,00.html
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