The Strongest Caterpillar In The World!
Perhaps you, or somebody you know, feels like the odd-one-out at school sometimes?
​
Are you scared of the dark?
Do you occasionally become the class clown, or just find it tricky to fit in?
Maybe there's some food that you absolutely dislike eating?
Come and meet William and let him take you along with him on his exciting journey of self-discovery!
William is a young, brave, pea-green caterpillar who's having some difficulty understanding his world.
​
He loves to have a good snooze and daydream about what he might become in the future.
He has a cheerful, positive personality. He is a kind and gentle caterpillar who only gets a little cross on rare occasions, if he's been made to feel silly!
Join William on a journey through his garden, as he meets new friends and learns some fantastic new skills!
​
Julie
Leonard
Author & Illustrator
Julie, whilst being blessed with an annoyingly curious and 'inconvenient' personality, was often a little bewildered by such big, scary places referred to as 'The World' and 'School'.
​
She is a mother of 3, inspiring boys, now fully fledged, who have unknowingly provided the design for 'William, the Strongest Caterpillar in the World'; his big smile, optimistic disposition and indomitable spirit!
​
Julie's cat; Felix, often keeps her company when she's at her desk (usually helpfully sitting on her work!).
​
Indulging in her favourite pastimes; illustration and story-making, provide the ultimate recipe for a very happy Julie!
'William, The Strongest Caterpillar In The World!' is the first book in Julie's newly emerging 'William The Caterpillar' series. Drawing on a few memorable experiences, she leads William along similar, often humorous and enlightening paths. He learns to overcome some of life's tricky challenges, as they come along, with the help of his ant friend, Arthur.
Caterpillar Fun Facts...
How many legs
does a caterpillar have?
​
Interesting fact:-
​
A caterpillar has 3 pairs of true legs and
5 pairs of smaller legs, called 'prolegs',
which are like suction cups.
They help the caterpillar to hold on
really well to lots of different surfaces.
What colours can caterpillars be?
​
Caterpillars can be many colours including
green, brown, red, black, yellow, blue
or even striped or multi-coloured!
Did you know?
​
Some caterpillars are able to change
their body colour to the colour of
the leaf or twig they are on!
How many body parts
does a caterpillar have?
1
2
3
Can you fit in the missing word pieces to complete the sentence?
the on at pill or
William, _ _ _ Str_ _ gest C _ _er _ _ _ _ar in the
W_ _ ld!
Did you know?
​
All caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies!
Caterpillar Word Search...
What do caterpillars eat?
Here are 7 things that caterpillars like to eat. See if you can find them hidden in the word
search....
​
flowers, honeycomb, grass, leaves, bark, twigs, moss
(Words can read forwards, up, down, or diagonally)
Print out your
wordsearch here!
Caterpillar Crossword...
Print out your
Crossword here!
The Life-Cycle of a Butterfly...
A female butterfly lays her eggs on a leaf...
​
Soon, caterpillars hatch out from the eggs, and start feeding on the leaf and crawling onto other leaves to feed as well...
​
Each little caterpillar eats and eats and grows bigger and bigger!
​
​
​
​
​
​
One day it will spin and weave a cocoon for itself using silk from special glands near its mouth.
​
After covering itself with the cosy cocoon, it falls asleep from between 5 and 21 days. While it sleeps an amazing thing happens! It changes slowly from a caterpillar into a butterfly!
​
It slowly comes out of the cocoon and hangs upside down for a while until its wings have unfolded and its ready to fly!
​
And guess what? Now that the caterpillar has completely changed into a butterfly....
​
It only has 3 pairs of legs
It has grown two pairs of wings
It loves to drink nectar (a sweet liquid found inside flowers)
​
How incredible is that!
The Big Butterfly Count
If you love butterflies, perhaps you'd like to know how many different types there are in your local park, or garden?
​
Every year in the summer from mid-July to early August, the 'Big Butterfly Count' takes place and you can have fun spotting common species of butterflies in your garden. You can send your findings to www.bigbutterflycount.org or send them to the free
'Big Butterfly Count' app.
​
The website advises; "just find a sunny spot and spend 15 minutes counting the butterflies you see and then submit your findings online."
​
There's a list of common butterflies to spot on the same website.
​
A pair of binoculars might help, if the butterflies are far away, but remember not to look at the sun through them!
Design Fun!
Print or copy the drawings below, and use colouring pencils, crayons or paint to design your own caterpillars and butterflies!
​
​
​
​
​
​
They can be any colour you like, and you can even try adding some spots or stripes!
William The Caterpillar Song
Sing along to the William The Caterpillar song by following the link below!
Copyright (C) Julie Leonard 2022
Download the lyrics here!