We Are in a Book! (Elephant & Piggie)
1988
- nyt:picture_books=2011-05-28
- books and reading
- pigs
- swine
- elephants
- juvenile fiction
- fiction
- humorous stories
- children's fiction
- pigs, fiction
The story
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In We Are in a Book! Gerald and Piggie discover the joy of being read. But what will happen when the book ends? Using vocabulary perfect for beginning readers (and vetted by an early-learning specialist), Mo Willems has crafted a mind-bending story that is even more interactive than previous Elephant & Piggie adventures. Fans of the Geisel Award-winning duo won't be able to put this book down--literally!
What it’s like
Spare, bright pages with thick outlines and flat, saturated colour: a grey elephant and a yellow pig against clean white space, with speech bubbles doing much of the work. The book reads quickly and aloud, with short exclamations, repeated phrasing, and deadpan timing that rewards a playful voice. Its feel is giddy and wry, with a light metafictional wink that makes the reader feel included in the joke. Gentle throughout, with no violence, fear or peril, just mild comic tension over whether the characters can keep going once the page turns. It suits a lazy afternoon with a small child on a lap, a bedtime read that turns into a second and third reading, or a quick comfort pick for an adult who wants something sweet and funny in ten minutes. Made for early readers and the grown-ups reading to them, especially anyone who enjoys stories that break the fourth wall with a grin.
More books like We Are in a Book! (Elephant & Piggie)
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved We Are in a Book! (Elephant & Piggie)and we’ll explain which ones fit you.
