So it will not surprise you to learn that we were very sad to discover that the latest book in the series, The Thank You Book, will besides be the last. It ’ s an end of an era to be sure, but it ’ s besides the perfect opportunity to celebrate how Mo Willems has made, and will continue to make, storytime better for my kin and for families all over the global .
Below are my top five reasons why Elephant & Piggie deserve a seat on every class ’ second bookshelf :
1. They are funny! Gerald and Piggie are masters of wit that appeals to children and adults. Using misunderstandings, misheard words, and jokes, Willems infuses the books with serious laughs. In I ’ m a frog !, there is a discussion about what it means to pretend : Gerald asks Piggie if “ even grown-up people ” guess, and Piggie gives the reader a smirk and answers, “ All the time. ”
2. The books contain life lessons for kids without hitting them over the head. Young readers learn the importance of empathy in A Big Guy Took My ball ! When Piggie finds a boastfully ball, only to have a “ big ridicule ” come and take it away, Gerald decides that he is going to get the ball back. however, Piggie soon learns that the “ big guy ” owns the ball and was merely trying to play with her, not be mean — and it ’ s a digestible moral in seeing a situation from person else ’ s position. In Waiting Is not Easy !, Gerald has to learn patience as he waits all sidereal day for Piggie ’ s surprise. Waiting is a unvoiced concept for youthful kids, and I love that Willems includes an amazing reward at the end of the bible ( no spoilers ! ) .
3. They are great for kids learning to read. Willems is able to convey a range of emotions and actions with simple so far expressive illustrations. He helps kids understand the fundamentals of negotiation by color-coordinating every character ’ s word burp, making it visually clear which animal is talking to little ones who can ’ thyroxine even read. Willems draws the words in a manner that reflects the emotions of the characters by using unlike font sizes, applying italics, and bolding letters. He besides does a great job with word repetition, while still keeping the plot interesting for parents .
4. The books are perfect read-alouds. When my husband and I bought our very first Elephant & Piggie bible, We Are in a ledger !, we began reading it aloud to our kids together. We Are in a book ! only stars the two nominal characters, so my husband and I each took on a function. now, as our twins have started to memorize the books, they ’ ve begun modeling our demeanor while besides assigning roles for everyone to act out. This adds an synergistic component to our syndicate prison term and makes reading evening more playfulness.
5. Every book in the series is ultimately about friendship. The stallion series contains the insidious message that, despite all of their differences ( personalities, genders, species ), Gerald and Piggie can get along. Gerald and Piggie laugh with each other, want to share everything together, and, of course, occasionally grow exasperated with each other. In My New Friend Is so playfulness !, Gerald begins to wonder if he has lost his best friend when Piggie plays with Brian Bat, a fear that many children ( and adults ) face. Of course, the reader learns that Piggie still considers Gerald her best supporter, helping children understand that it is okay to play with others and you can have more than one acquaintance .
With so much to love, it is deplorable that there will be no more Elephant & Piggie books hitting the shelves. They have been with our syndicate from the very beginning : from storytime when my twins were babies ( when it seemed like the pleasure was entirely my husband ’ mho and mine ), to history inclusion, to this new phase of memorization and acting out the books. And I am confident that they will help us through the initial stages of sight words and reading .
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thankfully, we don ’ metric ton even own all of the books in the series, so I can go on pretense there are new books being released as we slowly add them to our shelves .
But as I contemplate the end ( THE end ? ! ) of this special series, and what it ’ sulfur entail to our family, I would good like to say : Thank YOU, dear Mo Willems, for creating characters and stories that make reading truly fun for the whole family .
