You probably have the rhythm in your head already. String beans. Spaghetti. Zooooop. If you grew up with a certain kind of library shelf, Today is Monday by Eric Carle wasn't just a book—it was a literal song that got stuck in your brain for three days straight. Most people think of Carle and immediately picture that famous gluttonous caterpillar, but this specific book is a different beast entirely. It’s based on an old children's song, but Carle turned it into a visual feast that does some heavy lifting for early childhood development.
Honestly, it’s kinda weird how we teach kids time. Days of the week are these abstract concepts that don't really look like anything. They’re just boxes on a calendar. Carle’s genius was realizing that kids don't care about calendars; they care about what’s for dinner. By linking Monday to string beans and Tuesday to spaghetti, he gave children a sensory hook to hang their hats on.
The Art of the Animal Feast
The illustrations in Today is Monday by Eric Carle use his signature collage technique. He painted tissue paper, cut it out, and layered it. It looks simple, but try doing it yourself and you'll realize it's basically a masterclass in texture.
Look at the cat on the spaghetti page. It’s not just a cat; it’s a vibrant, multicolored creature that looks like it's actually enjoying that pasta. The colors are intentionally loud. Carle always said he wanted his books to be a bridge between home and school, and you can see that in the way he handles the animals. They aren't realistic. They’re emotional.
The book follows a cumulative structure. This is a fancy way of saying it repeats everything that came before.
On Thursday, you aren't just reading about Roast Beef. You’re recapping the Roast Beef, the Soup, the Spaghetti, and the String Beans. For a three-year-old, this is basically a memory workout. It builds what educators call "phonological awareness" and "predictive reading skills." They know what's coming next, which makes them feel like they're actually reading, even if they're just memorizing the rhythm.
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Why the Song Matters
Most people don't realize that Carle didn't invent the lyrics. It’s a traditional song. But his version—specifically the one often paired with music by artists like Greg & Steve or even the version Carle himself would narrate—turned it into a classroom staple.
Music hits the brain differently than speech. When kids sing "Today is Monday," they are engaging their motor skills, their auditory processing, and their visual recognition all at once. It’s a trifecta of learning.
Interestingly, there’s a bit of a debate in the "kid-lit" world about the Saturday meal. Chicken? Sometimes it’s different in regional variations of the song, but in the Carle book, it’s firmly chicken. And then Sunday? Ice cream. Obviously. Because what else would a menagerie of animals eat at the end of a long week?
More Than Just a List of Food
If you look closer at the final pages, you’ll see all the children from around the world coming together to eat. It’s a subtle, very Carle-esque message about community. It’s not just about animals eating roast beef; it’s about the universal experience of sharing a meal.
I’ve spent years looking at how these books impact early literacy. Today is Monday by Eric Carle is a standout because it handles "sequencing" better than almost any other board book. Sequencing is the ability to understand that things happen in a specific order. If a kid can understand that Tuesday follows Monday, they can eventually understand that the plot of a story has a beginning, middle, and end.
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It’s foundational stuff.
The "Zoooop" Factor
Let's talk about the soup. Why "Zoooop"?
It’s an onomatopoeia. Carle loved using words that sounded like the action they described. It makes the reading experience interactive. You don’t just read the book to a child; you perform it. You make the slurping noises. You pretend to eat the spaghetti.
This is what researchers call "Dialogic Reading." It’s the difference between a kid staring at a screen and a kid engaging with a physical object. The physical nature of the book matters. The way the pages turn, the way the colors bleed into each other, and the way the text gets larger for emphasis.
How to Use This Book Today
If you're a parent or a teacher, just reading it once isn't enough. You have to lean into the repetition.
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- Make a "Food Calendar": Have kids draw what they actually eat on Monday. Does it match the book? Probably not. Maybe their Monday is "Chicken Nuggets Day." That’s fine. It teaches them that the concept of Monday is a container for their own lives.
- The Sign Language Layer: A lot of preschool teachers use ASL signs for the animals and the food while singing the book. This adds a kinetic element that helps "active" learners sit still and focus.
- Collage Art: Get the tissue paper out. Let them be messy. Carle’s style is great because it doesn't require "perfect" drawing skills. It requires cutting and pasting and being bold with color.
There is a common misconception that Eric Carle’s books are too "simple" for older kids. That's wrong. You can use this book to teach foreign languages—it's one of the most translated children's books in existence. Teaching a kid the days of the week in Spanish or French? Use the Carle framework. It works because the melody is already burned into their subconscious.
The Lasting Impact of Eric Carle
Carle passed away in 2021, but his museum in Amherst, Massachusetts (The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art), keeps this legacy alive. They focus on the idea that "picture books are the first art gallery a child enters."
Today is Monday by Eric Carle is a perfect example of this. It’s a gallery of colors that happens to teach you that Wednesday is for "Zoooop."
It’s easy to dismiss these books as "just for babies," but the math of the page layout and the psychology of the repetition are incredibly sophisticated. We see a cat eating spaghetti; a child sees a pattern, a rhyme, and a way to organize the chaotic passing of time.
Moving Beyond the Board Book
If you want to take the lessons from Today is Monday by Eric Carle and apply them to real-world learning, start by focusing on the routine. Kids crave predictability. This book provides it in a 24-page format.
Actionable Next Steps for Parents and Educators
- Create a Ritual: Link a specific, repeatable action to each day of the week, much like the book does. It doesn't have to be food. It could be "Library Tuesday" or "Park Friday."
- Focus on Onomatopoeia: When reading, emphasize the "Zoooop" and the "Slurp." Encourage the child to invent their own sounds for the foods that aren't in the book. What sound does a taco make? Or a banana?
- Visual Sequencing: Ask the child to close the book and remember what comes after Thursday. Don't correct them immediately if they get it wrong; let them flip back and "discover" the answer. This builds self-correction skills.
- Explore the Technique: Watch videos of Eric Carle creating his hand-painted papers. Understanding that a "book" is something made by hand, with paint and glue, changes how a child perceives the objects in their home.
The brilliance of this book isn't in its complexity, but in its clarity. It takes the seven days of the week—a concept that is entirely man-made and invisible—and turns it into a parade of hungry animals. That is the kind of magic that sticks with you well into adulthood.
Next time you find yourself humming "Today is Monday," don't be surprised. It was designed to do exactly that.