A small green inchworm is proud of his skill at measuring anything—a robin’s tail, a flamingo’s neck, a toucan’s beak. Then one day a nightingale threatens to eat him if he cannot measure his song. Children will enjoy the clever inchworm’s solution and delight in finding the tiny hero on every page.

Every inch the classic, this was the first of Lionni’s books to win the Caldecott Honor.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

WINNER 1960 - Caldecott Honor Book
WINNER 1960 - New York Times Best Illustrated Book

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

“The lovely colors, the sharp definition of cutouts against white space, the rhythm of the composition, and the simplicity of the whole make a handsome and appropriate book to give pleasure to little children and their elders.”—The Horn Book Magazine

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Leo Lionni, an internationally known designer, illustrator, and graphic artist, was born in Holland and lived in Italy until he came to the United States in 1939. He was the recipient of the 1984 American Institute of Graphic Arts Gold Medal and was honored posthumously in 2007 with the Society of Illustrators’ Lifetime Achievement Award. His picture books are distinguished by their enduring moral themes, graphic simplicity and brilliant use of collage, and include four Caldecott Honor Books: Inch by Inch, Frederick, Swimmy, and Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse. Hailed as “a master of the simple fable” by the Chicago Tribune, he died in 1999 at the age of 89..

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page