"She'd found it and shouted, 'Finders, keepers, losers weepers!' ...Kyle excitedly tried to grab his toy and Kiara pulled her little caterpillar body up."
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Three Caterpillars and A Lost Toy by Valerie Fieber illustrated by Ivan earl Aguilar and colors by Ivan Agustin Trafford Publishing
book review by Sherokee Ilse
Ben and his caterpillar friends Lilly and Kiara help Kyle find his lost yellow monster truck. They travel through the garden around the pea patch, zucchini vines, green and yellow beans, by the old shed and near the pond. A Where's Waldo type chap (Ben) navigates through farm and field with the colorful caterpillars in simplistic, colorful pages, as they hunt for the lost toy.
This rather ordinary day's adventure for children, ages 3-6, paints a vivid picture of how caterpillars move; dance; and with some childlike imagination; how they laugh—tee hee heee. Kids at these ages are not usually good at sharing and cooperating. Both of these themes jump out of the story in sweet ways. One caterpillar asks the other to find another leaf to eat instead of nibbling on hers, and Kyle reminds Kiara that it is his toy and she can't keep it. Responses of anger and selfishness have the potential to turn relationships sour. Instead, the characters model problem-solving with calm, positive results.
There can never be enough opportunities for parents to teach their children such lessons through storytelling, and at the end of the day, friendship and happiness are prime goals for children of all ages. As the author ends the book, "Now the day is done and four friends are happy again."