The Very Hungry Caterpillar Nails Are Here, and Teachers and Book Clubs Are Leading the Trend
Ask a room full of second graders to name the most famous eater in all of literature and you'll get one answer, shouted in unison. Now walk in with him crawling across your fingertips. Any teacher who has tried it will tell you: a red apple on one nail and a chubby green caterpillar on three more is the best icebreaker that exists.
Welcome to our Very Hungry Caterpillar nails, a hand-painted love letter to Eric Carle's 1969 classic. Whether you're reading it aloud for the hundredth time or bringing it up at book club as your most-reread title, it's the fall request we're most excited to get.
A storybook on Ten Nails
In the book, a tiny caterpillar hatches on a Sunday and spends the week eating his way through the produce aisle before becoming a butterfly. Our set reads like its best pages:
The sunrise. A smiling yellow sun on the thumb, because every good story starts with a morning.
The menu. Painterly fruit on a milky white base: a glossy red apple, a pear, an orange, a strawberry and a watermelon slice.
The star. The caterpillar himself, red face and green segments, crawling across the accent nails one segment at a time.
Every design is painted by hand, so no two sets come out exactly alike. Very much the point.
Make it yours
The book has more to give than ten nails can hold, so pick your favorite chapter:
Add the plums. He eats them midweek. We'll find room.
Start in moonlight. Swap the sun for a little moon and a leaf, the way the story opens.
End with the butterfly. One bright, painted butterfly on the ring finger. The finale, on your hand.
Count it out. One apple, two pears, three plums. A counting lesson your students can do on your fingers.
Why teachers love them
It's a lesson plan you can wear. Days of the week, counting, healthy snacks, metamorphosis. The book covers half the primary curriculum, and now so do your nails.
It's a conversation starter. Kids notice everything. Your mani turns story time into a guessing game before you've opened the cover.
It's seasonal without being costume-y. Fruit and harvest tones feel cozy and right all fall long.
It's a little self-care in a very demanding job. You give a lot. Your hands deserve something cute.
And because our polishes are non-toxic, you're not bringing a cloud of chemical fumes into a classroom full of little lungs.
Why book clubs are obsessed
Book club is the one night a month that's just for you: good wine, a cheese board, and a debate about whether the ending was earned. The Hungry Caterpillar set is the nostalgic wildcard, the mani that makes everyone at the table admit which picture book raised them. And when the club moves on to grown-up reads, the same idea travels:
Match the pick. Pull a color or symbol from the cover: a gold key for a mystery, a single rose for a romance, stars for a fantasy.
Coordinate with your club. Book a few of you together and give everyone a different detail from the same book. (For the Caterpillar, one of you gets the apple, one the sun, one the butterfly.)
Make it a ritual. A fresh mani before every meeting turns book club prep into a monthly treat.
Pre-game at the café. Grab a coffee or a glass of something while your polish sets, and finish those last chapters in the chair.
More bookworm nails for every kind of reader
The picture-book purist: the Hungry Caterpillar set, obviously. Watercolor fruit, a sun and a caterpillar on milky white.
The dark academia girlie: deep oxblood with a tiny gold-leaf book spine or a fountain pen on the ring finger.
The fantasy reader: a midnight base with gold stars and a crescent moon, very enchanted-library.
The cozy mystery fan: plaid accent nails in rust and cream with a little magnifying glass.
The romance reader: blush pink, one red heart, and a handwritten-style initial.
The librarian: a neutral base with a tiny "stamped" due-date detail. Niche? Yes. Iconic? Also yes.
How to book your Very Hungry Caterpillar mani
Hand-painted art takes more time than a solid color, so let us know when you book that you want the Hungry Caterpillar set or another custom design. Bring a photo of your favorite page or a screenshot of your inspo, and our artists will translate it into an original design that's all yours. Short-to-medium almond and round shapes give the most canvas for a caterpillar with places to be.
Teachers and book clubbers, this one's for you. Book your Very Hungry Caterpillar nails at our Greenpoint or Williamsburg salon, and tell your students (or your book club) where you got them.
Lili and Cata is not affiliated with or endorsed by Eric Carle, the Eric Carle estate or the book's publishers. Our nail art is an original, hand-painted homage to a book we love.