Elephant and Piggie facts for kids

Elephant and Piggie is a super popular book series for young readers, created by the amazing author Mo Willems. This fun series started in 2007 with two books. It's written like a comic book and features two best friends: Gerald, a thoughtful elephant, and Piggie, a cheerful pig.

The books are written in a chatty style, almost like you're listening to Gerald and Piggie talk. Piggie's words are shown in pink speech bubbles, and Gerald's words are in gray speech bubbles. These stories often explore important ideas about friendship and how friends interact.

The Elephant and Piggie books have won some cool awards! There Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside? both won the Geisel Medal in 2008 and 2009. Also, Time magazine listed two books in the series among their Top 10 Children's Books of the Year: Today I Will Fly! (which was #2 in 2007) and Elephants Cannot Dance! (which was #5 in 2009).

In 2015, Mo Willems announced that the 25th book would be the last one he wrote for the series. However, more Elephant and Piggie books have been published since then, but they are written by other talented authors. Gerald and Piggie still make short appearances in these newer stories, usually at the beginning or end.

Meet Elephant and Piggie

Gerald the Elephant and Piggie the Pig are the main characters in this beloved series. Gerald is often careful and a bit worried, while Piggie is usually happy and full of big ideas. Their different personalities create many funny and heartwarming situations. Through their adventures, kids learn about sharing, trying new things, and understanding feelings.

The Unique Style of the Books

The Elephant and Piggie books are special because of their simple yet powerful style. They use a limited number of words, which makes them great for kids who are just starting to read on their own. The illustrations are clear and expressive, helping readers understand the characters' emotions and the story's plot. The speech bubbles make it easy to follow who is speaking, just like in a comic.

The Books in the Series

Many books have been published in the Elephant and Piggie series. Each one tells a new story about the adventures and challenges Gerald and Piggie face together. Here are some of the titles:

1. Today I Will Fly! / My Friend is Sad (March 2010)
2. I Am Invited to a Party! / There Is a Bird on Your Head! (July 2007)
3. I Love My New Toy! / I Will Surprise My Friend! (June 2008)
4. Are You Ready To Play Outside? / Watch Me Throw The Ball! (October 2009)
5. Elephants Cannot Dance! / Pigs Make Me Sneeze! (March 2009)
6. I Am Going! / Can I Play Too? (June 2009)
7. We Are In A Book! / I Broke My Trunk! (October 2009)
8. Should I Share My Ice Cream? / Happy Pig Day! (January 2010)
9. Listen To My Trumpet / Let's Go for a Drive! (June 2010)
10. A Big Guy Took My Ball / I'm a Frog! (September 2010)
11. My New Friend Is So Fun / Waiting Is Not Easy! (February 2011)
12. I Will Take a Nap! / I Really Like Slop! (June 2011)
13. The Thank You Book (October 2011)
14. We Are Growing (September 2016)
15. The Cookie Fiasco (September 2016)
16. The Good for Nothing Button (May 2017)
17. It's Shoe Time! (November 2017)
18. The Itchy Book (May 2018)
19. Harold & Hog Pretend for Real! (May 2019)
20. What About Worms?! (May 2020)
21. I'm On It! (May 2021)

Beyond the Books

The popularity of Elephant and Piggie has grown so much that a musical has even been created based on the books! This shows how much people love these characters and their stories.