My children love reading Mo Willems books. We have read three books in the Elephant and Piggie series over, and over, and over. They giggle every time we read Today I Will Fly!, We are in a Book!, and Should I Share My Ice Cream? These books are visually appealing, interactive, and hilarious. The word bubbles and expressive characters make them fun to read again and again.
Today I Will Fly!
Piggie is on a mission to fly, but Gerald says she WILL NEVER FLY! After a few failed attempts at flying, Piggie finds a helper. In the end, Gerald declares, “Tomorrow I will fly!”
Graphics play a huge role in this book. My six-year-old son, Mason, recognizes the visual cues to read the big, bold text VERY loud for emphasis. This book has given him more confidence as a reader. He also enjoys reading it to his little sister.
Mason’s favorite part in Today I Will Fly!
“When Gerald says he will fly and Piggie says, ‘Good luck.'”
Mason’s favorite illustration spread in Today I Will Fly!
We Are in a Book!
Piggie and Gerald discover that someone is watching them. Is it a monster? No, it’s a reader! They are in a book! Piggie and Gerald have loads of fun making the reader say funny things like, “Banana.” Gerald becomes extremely upset when Piggie mentions that the book will end. “The book ends?!” Piggie and Gerald develop a great plan to ask the reader to read the book again.
Graphics add another level of fun to this book as well. An entire page is filled with, “Ha! ha! and hee! hee!” Mason makes sure he doesn’t miss a single ha! ha! or hee! hee! when he reads We Are in a Book!
Mason’s favorite part in We Are in a Book!
“When they ask if we will read them again.”
Mason’s favorite illustration spread in We Are in a Book!
Should I Share My Ice Cream?
Gerald can’t decide if he should share his ice cream with his best friend, Piggie. He debates for too long and his cream ice melts. Luckily, Piggie shows up just time to share her ice cream with Gerald.
I am incredibly impressed with the graphics in this book as well. My favorite graphic is the word bubble in the shape of an ice cream cone. How clever!
Mason’s favorite part in Should I Share My Ice Cream?
“I think it’s funny when Gerald’s ice cream melts.”
Mason’s favorite illustration spread in Should I Share My Ice Cream?
Paint with Words 
Agree that Mo Willem’s books are always a hit with young kids. My children are much older than yours, so I discovered Mo Willems when he started his Pigeon Series. Loved them a lot too!
The Pigeon books are fantastic! I pretty much love everything he does :).
Love, love, love Piggie and Gerald. The books are so great for beginning readers. Pure and simple: Mo Willems is a genius.
Yes! Yes! I wish I could write and illustrate like Mo Willems. His books are great for my kids and helpful to me as a writer :).
I like them too, they are a little like real life… just funnier :o)
Ha! Ha! Hee! Hee! His books are hilarious. My son wouldn’t hesitate to share his ice cream. My daughter would never even consider it lol :).
what a wonderful blog post! I enjoyed how Mason is part of the action, and the photographs of the illustrations. These are FUN!
Thank you! I’m so excited that Mason enjoys reading. It makes my heart smile when he reads to Sophie. I think I will include the kiddos in more of my book reviews :).
These were really popular at the library…
I’ve read KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE dozens of times and still love, love, love it. Also, can never get too much Pidgeon. Mo Willems is a favorite.
Knuffle Bunny is great! I love the Pigeon series, too! He creates amazing books. Thank you for sharing your favorites :).
I don’t know why his books are so popular–maybe it’s because they are deceptivelysimple, which makes them so appealing. They remind me of the George and Martha books. I actually got to hear Mo at a SCBWI conference right after he wrote the Pigeon Bus books. He is quite entertaining as a speaker.
Lucky you! I would love to hear him speak!
Wow…..this sure is a happy discovery for me….i am going to get it for my son too….thanks for the review….we are in the Fly Guy craze these days…..
I’m so glad you mentioned Fly Guy! We haven’t read those yet and I think my son would really like them!
Yes….do read it….and this might interest you as well….
http://istoppedtosmellarose.blogspot.com/2015/01/for-my-friend-fly.html
spare some time to read my other stuff on the same blog….Thanks….Do leave comments if you like anything…
My sister is a huge Mo Willems fan, and she has definitely won us over by giving lots of birthday gifts of his books! Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday this week!
Tina
We are huge fans of Mo Willems and Elephant and Piggie series. It was the series that got my son reading! Thanks so much for sharing at the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
How wonderful! They have helped my son gain a lot of confidence with reading. They are so fun to read aloud!
All of them! My daughter is 7 but she still absolutely adores the Elephant and Piggie books and will seek out the latest in the series. Hopping on over from KidLitBlogHop.
Can’t go wrong with Mo books! Thank you for visiting. So happy to connect with you :). Stacking Books is a fabulous blog!
I love No! I think my favs are the Pigeon books 🙂
Yes! The Pigeon books are awesome!
I’m a big fan of the Pigeon books! And I also love the Trixie and Knuffle Bunny ones 🙂 I’ve been thinking about doing a post on the PIgeon Series myself…
The Knuffle Bunny books are great, too! I’d love to read your post on the Pigeon series :). You should definitely write one!
My family and I adore Mo Willems and especially enjoy reading aloud Gerald and Piggies! They are so enjoyable and fun, and my daughter gained confidence in reading herself by using those books to practice.
They are great books for beginning readers. My son gained a lot of confidence reading these books, too. He loves to shout the large words with exclamation points and whisper the small words :). The graphics are so fun in these books.