We Are in a Book!

Elephant and Piggie are very enthusiastic that they are in a book. Elephant loves the fact that Piggie can get the reader to say "bananas" over and over. But they are fearful of the book ending so they ask the reader to read it again.

I think this is more useful in a classroom as entertainment

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rather than learning to read. The words can be complex for early readers but it's got a cute personality to itself.

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Metanarrative. Great for discussing page-numbers and encouraging re-readings.

Love, love, love this book and it's interaction with the reader. Can't wait to read it aloud. Once again, Mo Willems doesn't disappoint with the friendship between Elephant and Piggie.

Elephant and Piggy realize they are in a book.

This book is a great way to teach concepts about print for children. It is also great for early and beginning readers. The plot can be confusing for younger audiences because it does talk about some concepts about print they might be unfamiliar with.

This is such a great book for small children! It teaches a subtle hint about politeness and a huge lesson in humor. I can't wait to read it with my nieces and nephews!

100% adorable and totally original! Dangerous for parents though: encourages the kid to ask you to read it again and again and again and again . . .

This could be a hilarious read aloud, but would also be great to encourage kids who are still reading aloud to themselves to read. The verbal and rather existential humor in the book is very engaging.

Mo Willems' story, which is part of the Elephant and Piggie series, is about Gerald and Piggie as they realize that they are inside a book! These two characters enjoy being read, and help young children understood that books can be read and appreciated over and over again. This book is perfect for

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young children who are just learning how to read, especially since it emphasizes to children the timelessness of reading.

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4Q, 4P: Another successful book for beginning readers from Mo Willems.

This is another classic Mo Willems read- fun, funny, and interesting. THis one features the well-known Elephant and Piggie, who are just hanging out one day when they realize someone is watching. I love this dialougue: “A monster?....No. It is...a reader! A reader is reading us!” Once they

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realize this, they have fun making the reader say words like banana and cracking up. When they realize they are running out of pages, they ask us if we will read it again.

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Elephant and Piggie book. The two are just hanging out and then realize that they are in a book. When they begin to run out of pages, they ask the reader to start again.

Gerald and Piggie make a startling discovery in this delightfully meta story: they're in a book! And people are reading it! But will happen to Gerald and Piggie when the book ends?! Great fun for all ages, this series is a great introduction to graphic novels for kindergarten and up. The simply

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drawn characters against a blank background clearly convey emotion and action, while the word bubbles are 'color-coded' to aid young readers in following the dialogue (which MUST be read aloud, of course!).

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Retelling: Elephant and Piggie discover that they are in a book by identifying the features of a book that surround them. They also find out that they can make the reader say funny things.

Thoughts and Feelings: I like how Elephant and Piggie use deductive reasoning to figure out why someone is

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watching them. It reminds me of the postmodernists who pointed to the fact that their art was art, or that their play was just a play.

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The text is easy for young readers. It keeps the reader or listener engaged due to the characters excitement and bewilderment.

This is a cute book where a piggy and an elephant discover that a reader is reader their book. They start off excited before the elephant gets extremely worried about what will happen when the book is over. This book is so fun for children to listen read aloud as well as a great book for beginner

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readers. The font is big the words are short and clear as well. At one point the characters exclaim "A reader is reading us!!!" This shows the reader how much joy can come from reading.

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Okay, so Elephant and Piggie has gone totally meta. (BTW - I'm spoiling the entire book here.)

Now, this is the series that has taught countless children to read. The books are genuinely funny, which is hard when you're writing easy readers! And it's ALSO the series I've used to teach my own beloved

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nieces the meaning of the fourth wall. Piggie manages to break it at least once per book, usually when Gerald flips out over something or other, but usually she does it in the normal way - she looks at us and rolls her eyes, or she speaks in an aside "He had better know parties...." or something like that.

This goes beyond that. The book starts with a wink and a whispered "Thank you!" right at the reader. Why a thank you? Well, let's wait and see....

All of a sudden, Gerald realizes - he's being watched! Aaaaaand... we're off! Piggie goes right up and stares at the reader. She leans directly ON the fourth wall. She hangs from her speech balloon! She makes the reader say a word. OMG HOW FUNNY SHE MADE US SAY BANANA! IT IS THE FUNNIEST THING EVER!!!!!

And then... it's over. Oh no. The book is going to END. It's time for our regularly scheduled freak-out by special elephant, GERALD! He has so much more to give! So much more to say! So many more bananas! And the pages just keep flying by while he panics!

Luckily Piggie comes up with the solution - we can read it again! So they ask, and we obviously comply, and THIS, my dear nieces, is why Piggie says thank you at the start of the book. (Now my head hurts a little.)

It's actually really funny... and yet, I kinda don't like that it's a Piggie and Elephant book. I think I would've preferred it as a different book with different characters. I love the concept, and I love Piggie and Elephant with undying affection - but the combination irks me just a teensy bit. How can I read the other books that have already been written now that they know they're in a book?

Still, it's a good addition to your bookcase. Well, of course it is. Piggie and Elephant books are ALWAYS a good addition to your bookcase!

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My 3yo likes all the Elephant-and-Piggy books, but this one especially tickled her funny bone. Gerald & Piggy discover they're in a book and break up into giggles when they realize they can make the reader say things, like "banana". After reading this book, my kid would periodically just say

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"banana" and burst into laughter. She would say it to people who had no idea why it was funny, but she got the biggest kick out of it. Two or three weeks on and she still is cracking up over "banana". So, high marks for Mo Willems, as usual!

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VOYA-Q5,P5, Really an outstanding transitional book. Great humor, great-page turner effect. Emphasis on new words, exciting for kids.

Fun, animated books for very beginning readers. All the books from this series are great.

What a fun book! Beginning readers AND higher readers both enjoy this as a read aloud and enjoy reading to themselves/with a partner!

Summary: This is a book about being in a book. The loved characters Gerald and Piggie are back and this time they're in a book that is being read by a reader. They are very excited about this.
Genre: Graphic Novel
Personal Reflection: I like the silliness of Gerald and Piggie as they realize they

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are being read and they can make the reader say any word they want to.
Concept: I like that this book gets kids excited about reading and that at the end of the book where kids would normally put it down and do something else, they are encouraged to read it again.

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This was a really fun book, it involves characters that know that they are in a story. Makes my think of the interaction between the reader and text.

The first Elephant and Piggie book I’ve read. I’m becoming a huge fan of Willems and how he is able to do so much with so little. I especially enjoyed the conceit of characters aware of being read in a book and am reminded of some old Chuck Jones illustrated cartoons where characters interact

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with the artist. This certainly is attractive to beginning readers.

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