The Very Hungry Caterpillar is older than me – just. It’s a book I’m more than familiar with, what with H owning at least three copies of it since birth. Did you know that in 2014 The Very Hungry Caterpillar turned 45?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar needs no introduction – Eric Carle’s favourite has been an essential book in a child’s collection for such a long time now – 45 years to be precise. I grew up with it, and now H is too. Did you know that last year a copy of the book was sold every 150 seconds on average in the UK?

Turning 45 is a big deal. You get nice things made which commemorate that birthday – and The Very Hungry Caterpillar is no exception! We were sent a selection of goodies. Being sensible I passed a few on to Karen for the boys next door, and kept the ones I knew H would love.

We got a lot of play with The Very Hungry Caterpillar Strawberry Shaped Chalkers – a.k.a. outdoor chalks. We had a funny old summer this year with a bit of rain, and I was pleased to see that the chalk didn’t wash out straight away – in fact, on walls where H had drawn the chalk stayed for a good couple of weeks which makes these chalks really good value. They do wash off, they just have much more staying power! They have a rrp of £9.99 and are available at John Lewis.

Any crafty creative type will enjoy playing with The Very Hungry Caterpillar Stamper Set – with a rrp of £9.95 and available at John Lewis, there are six stamps from the book, with coloured ink pads. H has enjoyed playing with them and creating pictures!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Bubble Bath was a favourite too – it comes with a rrp of £3.50, and available from Waitrose and Fenwicks. H has delicate skin and this was ideal for her – nice and gentle and no reactions to it. My only complaint? She loved it so much we used it up super fast as she kept insisting on having baths!  There’s also a handwash (rrp £3.50) which encouraged her to wash her hands rather a lot!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar toothbrush was a good size for H – she’s at that in-between stage where she has gaps in her teeth and is moving up into bigger sizes, but does still have a small mouth. The brush was bright and colourful and yet another incentive to get her teeth cleaned – she loves a good toothbrush! It has a rrp of £3.50 and is available from Waitrose and Fenwicks.

I thought our days of having plates with sections for food would be over, but The Very Hungry Caterpillar Melamine divided plate is brilliant – perfect for H when she doesn’t want her rice and vegetables all mixed up, and it’s dishwasher-friendly too – top shelf only, mind! We use it almost every night and while she likes to consider herself grown up, it’s the kind of plate which is very useful even for older kids. I’ve also noticed she’s started to get fussy about food – something she never really was. Having it sectioned at times seems to make it more appealing for her. It has a rrp of £7.95 and is available at John Lewis.

We were also sent a drinks bottle which is a good size and comes with the new(er) twister tops that I’ve noticed bottles seem to have. I also noticed that it didn’t leak very much at all. It comes with a rrp of £7.99 and is available from Amazon.

We passed on the following to Jacob and Oscar next door, and from what I’ve heard they’ve had a lot of fun! The Very Hungry Caterpillar Numbers Peel and Stick Wall Art is something I’d have loved to try because they’re re-peelable wall stickers, but H’s walls are pretty full at the moment, so we gave them to a good home. Having the numbers and fruit is a nice idea – it will help a child learn to count as well (exactly like the book does). Lovely! It has a rrp of £8.00 and is available from John Lewis and Amazon.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Pull Out Pop Up Book is a smaller version of the book, but with enough to it a young child who may like to wreck a book has things to pull and put their fingers through. I liked it and wished we had one for when H was a baby, as our pop-up book got a bit destroyed when she was at that stage. It has a rrp of £5.99 and is available at Amazon and all good gift shops worldwide. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cloth Book is a baby essential – the story is there and it’s in a gentle cloth book, ideal for babies who want colours and a book they can hold comfortably – I loved it! It comes with a rrp of £10.99 and is available from Amazon and all good bookstores.

We received all these Very Hungry Caterpillar goodies for the purpose of review – thank you!