Happy Pig Day! (Elephant & Piggie)

by Mo Willems (Author) Mo Willems (Illustrator)

Happy Pig Day! (Elephant & Piggie)
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

Gerald and Piggie are best friends. 

Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.

In Happy Pig Day! Piggie celebrates her favorite day of the year! But will Gerald the Elephant be included in the festivities?

Using vocabulary that is perfect for beginning readers (and vetted by an early-learning specialist), Mo Willems has crafted a heartfelt story about celebrating the special occasions in life. Fans of the Geisel Award-winning duo will want to join the party!

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Kirkus

Ostensibly about celebrating porcine pride, this explores coping with feelings a child may have upon learning a best friend may actually have other friends. Several Elephant & Piggie books have received Geisel Awards or Honors, for books for beginning readers; this one will not only encourage kids to give reading a go but will also teach them at least a few words in a new language: 'Oinky! Oink! Oink!' 'means Happy Pig Day in Pig.' (Early reader. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly

It's "the best day of the year"—Happy Pig Day! Piggie goes hog-wild with his porcine friends, but Gerald feels left out and shrinks away. After Piggie finds his friend, Gerald works himself into an existential meltdown: "I do not have a snout. I do not have hooves! I am not pink! I want to say, 'Happy Pig Day' in Pig! But I am not a pig." As always, Willems's delightfully mismatched best friends communicate with bold declarations and gestural expressions that convey a vast range of recognizable emotions—from the agony of feeling left out to unbridled joy at celebrating all things pig. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)

Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3--Beginning readers will delight in this funny tale. Gerald and Piggie are celebrating "The day of the pig" with pig songs, pig dances, pig food, pig games, and friends wishing one another "oinky, oink oink," which is "pig for Happy Pig Day!" Gerald the elephant seems genuinely interested in this celebration until Piggie's friends start speaking "pig" and he feels left out. The animated characters convey emotion and humor; masterful use of white space and comic-style text bubbles will inspire repeated readings. Another hit for Willems.--Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



awesome

Mo Willems
Mo Willems is a six-time Emmy Award-winning writer and animator for Sesame Streetand the creator of Cartoon Network's Sheep in the BigCity. He is the author of groundbreaking picture books, including; Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Caldecott Honor winner 2004); Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Caldecott Honor winner 2003); Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late!; The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!; Time to Say "Please"!; Leonardo, the Terrible Monster; and Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct. Mo lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

same as above
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781423143420
Lexile Measure
170
Guided Reading Level
G
Publisher
Hyperion Books for Children
Publication date
October 04, 2011
Series
Elephant & Piggie
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV002200 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Pigs
JUV002080 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Elephants
JUV017000 - Juvenile Fiction | Holidays & Celebrations | General
Library of Congress categories
Pigs
Swine
Friendship
Elephants
Parties
Golden Archer Award
Nominee 2013 - 2013

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