Review Detail

Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar (I Can Read Level 1)

Kids Fiction 357

Butterfly Life Cycle

April 11, 2018 (Updated: June 06, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

In this level one beginning reader, Pete and his friends adventure into the back yard to look for bugs. They find ants, ladybugs, and spiders and are able to observe their actions, but it is the caterpillar that most interests Pete. He brings one home, andhis parents help him set up a home for it in a jar. The next morning, it is gone, but a pupa remains. Pete waits and waits for something to happen, and his parents assure him it will. Sure enough, the pupa hatches, and Pete sets the butterfly free.

Good Points

Pete and his friends all have a quirky, folk art feel to their depiction, with stylized eyes and a feeling of coarse texture to the backgrounds. The colors are bright and fun, befitting the spring and summer when the pupa is with Pete.

While the information presented is very basic, it is a good introduction to science. Along with Godwin's The Mystery of the Missing Caterpillar, Spilsbury's Caterpillar Capers and Frost's Monarch and Milkweed, Pete the Cat and the Cool Caterpillar is an excellent resource for classroom or independent study, and would make a great companion to a backyard bug observation kit, along with a net, container, and magnifying glass so that readers can go on their own bug safari.