The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a very special book!  It’s no wonder that it has been such a huge favourite for generations, but the simple, engaging story and bold illustrations capture the imagination and inspire all sorts of creative learning activities.

So of course this catchy Hungry Caterpillar Rap is the perfect song to sing along with all the caterpillar festivities!

Hungry Caterpillar Rap

I am a hungry caterpillar,

I need to eat a lot for dinner,

I munch, munch here, and I crunch, crunch there,

A cabbage, a peach, a plum or a pear,

Crunch-crunch, crunch-crunch wi-ggle, wi- ggle, wi-ggle wi- ggle

Crunch-crunch, crunch-crunch wi-ggle wi- ggle, wi-ggle wi- ggle

Crunch-crunch, crunch-crunch wi-ggle wi- ggle, wi-ggle wi- ggle

That’s the  way he e- ats his lunch.

*

I climb the corn right up to the top,

I don’t look down and I never stop,

I need to eat because real soon,

It’ll be time to make my cocoon.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch wi-ggle wi- ggle, wi-ggle wi- ggle

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch wi-ggle wi- ggle, wi-ggle wi- ggle

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch wi-ggle wi- ggle, wi-ggle wi- ggle

Then it’s time to build a cocoon.

*

In my cocoon I have a long sleep,

I don’t come out and I never peep,

But when it’s time look up in the sky,

And I’ll be a beautiful butterfly!

Flap-flap, flu- tter, flu- tter, flu-tter, flu-tter, flu-tter, flu-tter,

Flap-flap, flu- tter, flu- tter, flu-tter, flu-tter, flu-tter, flu-tter,

Flap-flap, flu- tter, flu- tter, flu-tter, flu-tter, flu-tter, flu-tter,

That’s the way a butterfly goes!

This rap is so quick and easy to remember as it borrows the catchy tune from the well known song – Down in The Jungle.

You’ll find that kids love improvising with the actions too,  with plenty of crunching and wiggling of the caterpillar and then lots of graceful, flapping and fluttering of the beautiful butterfly at the end.

Listen to the tune here

Why not try this Butterfly Song and craft activity ? It would be a perfect activity to accompany the Hungry Caterpillar Rap,  or there’s this easy little finger puppet craft over at Damson Lane which would also go down very well!  As mentioned above,  there are so many great hungry caterpillar inspired activities that Nicolette over at Powerful Mothering has done an excellent round up of 60+ Play Ideas based on the book.

Print Hungry Caterpillar Rap sheet music here 

Check out our Caterpillar & Butterfly themed lesson plan for a 35 minute fun packed music lesson, with lots of fluttering and imaginative movement.