Mo Willems (www.pigeonpresents.com), a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions (for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity). Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was also an inaugural inductee into the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame. And his celebrated Elephant & Piggie early reader series has been awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal on two occasions (for There Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside?) as well as an Honor (for We Are in a Book!).Other favorites include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and City Dog, Country Frog, illustrated by Jon J Muth.
Mo began his career on Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards. He lives with his family in Massachusetts.
Fans of the obstreperous Piggie will know that she certainly
doesn't need an instrument to trumpet her affections for the less
demonstrative Gerald, but grab one she does, commanding the
elephant to sit on a comically diminutive three-legged stool while
she attempts to coax notes out of her shiny new trumpet. The bleats
become an obnoxious but subtly ingenious phonics lesson, as her
instrument emits variations of consonant blends that combine with
easily pronounceable endings to form nonsense words that lack
meaning but nonetheless show how words work. Gerald's attempts to
be supportive without hurting his friend's feelings teach an
important emotional lesson as well, as he flounders to be
encouraging and honest at the same time; he lauds Piggie's efforts
as enthusiastic but has to acknowledge that they are not musically
pleasing. The punchline strikes a beautiful note even if Piggie
doesn't, as Willems manages yet again to pull off the perfect dual
audience move: Gerald's adult-like misunderstanding of Piggie's
intentions and the revelation of Piggie's actual motive will ring
true to youngsters and will elicit surprised and delighted eeps
from older reading partners at the unaffected sweetness of
childlike empathy and friendship. The consistency of the
color-coded sound bubbles and the clear depiction of emotional
states, conveyed through comic exaggeration of the deceptively
simple figure drawings, will help even the newest readers track the
narrative line as they practice their emergent literacy skills. KC
BCCB"
PreS-Gr 2 Gerald and Piggie are back in another easy reader that
manages to touch on the complex issues of communication, honesty
among friends, and shared experiences. Piggie is in proud
possession of a loud, shiny trumpet, which she can't wait to play
for Gerald. As he sits and listens, she proceeds to struggle her
way through a demonstration, which sounds less like music and more
like Gerald's "Aunt Molly with a cold." But as painful as it is for
Gerald to listen to Piggie play, he knows that telling her how bad
she is will be even more torturous. His anguish is clearly visible
but tell her he must, because that's what friends are for. Willems
squeezes so much information and emotion out of the barest of
illustrations: Gerald sticking his tongue out in concentration as
he maneuvers his bulk onto the tiny stool Piggie has provided for
him reminds readers of what a physically odd couple they are;
Piggie reverently embracing her trumpet before proceeding to blast
the heck out of it speaks to her true motivation for getting it in
the first place, as is revealed in the surprisingly sweet ending.
This winning pair continues to delight and charm readers with a
wisdom that seems hard won by adults, but is second nature to
children. Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA SLJ"
This seventeenth entry in the indefatigable Elephant & Piggie
series finds gray elephant and pink piglet once again cavorting
before Willems' traditional big white backdrops. Piggie's excited
about her new acquisition, a trumpet, which she makes a big to-do
about before playing it for Gerald. The sounds she creates are
rather abrasive: "Bluuuurrrk!" "Bl-ap!" "Vr-ip!" Yet she continues
to honk and squawk while Gerald looks increasingly worried. How is
he going to tell his friend that her music is no good? He tries to
pad his evaluation with some faint praise ("You, uh, hold your
trumpet very well"), but eventually he lays out the truth.
Thankfully, Piggie is not mad. Gerald has merely misunderstood: she
wasn't trying to make music, she was trying to "speak Elephant."
This may be one of the lesser entries in the series, but the bar is
so high that this remains irrepressibly fun. And who can resist
that double-page spread in the middle filled with Piggie's playing?
"Blap-zap-blap-BLONK!," indeed. - Daniel Kraus Booklist"
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