About this book

A clever send-up of every child's biggest challenge — being patient!

When a group of caterpillars scamper up a tree to metamorphosize, one of them is still learning about this whole transformation thing.

Who knew that with a little time, and patience, he could become a beautiful butterfly? But the two-week wait inside his chrysalis feels interminable. ("Can I get a comic book?" "What if I need the bathroom?" "Anyone want to play a game?"). His fellow caterpillars all tell him to be patient and let nature take its course, but the waiting is just so hard. Can he do it??

With warmth, wit, and a flair for hilarious cartooning, Ross Burach turns a relatable feeling and an evergreen curriculum topic into an endearing picture book that has all the hallmarks of a modern classic.

Reviews

Awards and Distinctions for The Very Impatient Caterpillar:

2018/2019 Kid Lit TV morning Book Club Best Books of the School Year
2019 SLJ list of Picture Book Readalouds
2019 TODAY.com Best Gift for 3 year-olds
2019-2020 Florida Sunshine State Jr. Reader List
2020 North Carolina Children’s Book Award Masterlist
2020 Gryphon Award Honor
2020 Indiana Read Alouds Too Good to Miss Masterlist
2020 Read Aloud Indiana Book Award List
2020 Michigan Mitten Award Top Ten Title
2021 Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Masterlist
2021-22 Arkansas Diamond Primary Award Nominee
2021-22 South Carolina Book Award Masterlist: Picture Book Category
2022 South Carolina Book Awards Reading List

"Will delight fans of Mo Willems's "Pigeon" series... absolutely charming." --School Library Journal

* "Chunky characters, livid green and thickly outlined for easy group sharing, and speech-bubble dialogue make this a good choice for read aloud[s] with a histrionic bent... There's definitely some science lurking here among the laughs, and preschool and primary classrooms can jumpstart the life cycle units with this super-charged title." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"Burach chronicles this miracle of nature in cartoon scenes as loud as the rapid patter... It won't be just adults chuckling at the interactions between the title character and its patiently pupating companions." --Kirkus Reviews

"Burach's mixed-media digital artwork makes good use of the cartoon style to depict vibrantly colored caterpillars and the protagonist's overwrought emotions. Particularly humorous are the spot drawings showing the inside of the chrysalis, in which he rails against the measured pace of nature... a good choice for science edutainment." --Booklist
​

​​​​​​Praise for Truck Full of Ducks:

"Burach will have readers quacking up, both with the frequent repetition of the title -- 'Did you call for a truck full of ducks?' is a funny line no matter how often it's read or heard -- and over the illustrations... Sight gags and side comments in the pictures add further yuks to this ducky delight." -- Booklist

"Children will delight in the extreme silliness of this story and will repeatedly pore over the detailed, colorful, and quirky illustrations." -- School Library Journal
​​​​​​​
"Burach tells his story entirely through dialogue, packing it -- and his exuberant, crayon-like digital illustrations -- with visual jokes [and] an abundance of funny details to discover in each scene." -- Publishers Weekly
​​​​​​​
"Silly details decorate every spread... Storytime audiences will quack up." -- Kirkus Reviews


​​​​​​Praise for Billy Bloo Is Stuck in Goo, illustrated by Ross Burach:

2018 CBC Children's Choice Book Awards Finalist
​​​​​​​
"Begs to be read aloud... Gleeful, errant nonsense." -- Kirkus Reviews
​​​​​​​
"Plenty to linger (and laugh) over." -- Publishers Weekly
​​​​​​​
"Lots of giggles and goo, and weird characters too, in this rhyming cumulative storytime read-aloud, make this title a must-have for picture book collections." -- School Library Journal