| Title | : | Today I Will Fly! (Elephant Piggie, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1423102959 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781423102953 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 57 |
| Publication | : | First published March 13, 2007 |
Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.
Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.
Gerald and Piggie are best friends.
Today, I Will Fly! is the funny introduction to the characters. Piggie is determined to fly. But Gerald the elephant knows that's impossible--isn't it?
Today I Will Fly! (Elephant Piggie, #1) Reviews
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Piggie decides that she will fly today. Being a pig, she cannot actually fly, and her friend Gerald tries to inform her of this. No matter what reality says, Piggie will find a way though.
As someone who has now read all of the Elephant and Piggie books with my daughter, I've got to say the first one in the series actually feels very different from the others. In the first book, Gerald (the elephant) seems more impatient with Piggie than usual and there's a bit more sarcasm in this one. My daughter even commented last time we read it that Gerald "is having a bad day." That phrase sums up this one nicely. That said, there's a nice lesson about getting help in this one and the last couple of pages Gerald seems to be his usual enthusiastic (around Piggie at least) self.
The book is amusing, but Williams would go on to make much better books with these characters. 3/5 stars. -
Piggie is determined that she will fly, telling Gerald as much. Being a level-headed elephant (are there other kinds?), Gerald reminds Piggie that it is not possible and that she had best come to that realisation. Still, Piggie does all she can to fly and engages the assistance of her friends. Alas, still no flight, but her determination leaves Gerald to wonder if he, too, might be able to fly. By the end, Gerald is ready to give it a try, leaving Piggie to play the level-headed one. Neo read this one to me and did so well. It would appear that he has read it before in school, as he sped through this one, laughing as he tried to ‘appear’ to be able to predict what would come next. Seeing him happy while reading is the best Father’s Day present I could obtain, so we’ll let this one pass ;-)
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The teaching point behind this story is admirable, and the team work is sweet.
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Pigs cannot fly! And this is a fact! hahaha
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Enjoyed the online reading by Astronaut Megan McArthur on board the International Space Station.
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Pig is an optimist who is convinced she can fly. Her friend Elephant is much more down-to-earth. He is sure she will never get off the ground.
Will she prove him wrong?
Very cute, very simple, very entertaining.
I see why Willems has achieved rock star status among children's book authors. -
Another wonderful Willems book that kept both my 5 yr old and twin 3 yr olds fascinated. Not enough words to be even a reading level 1 book, Willems still has a way about him to bring the reader into his wonderful world. These books are ones my whole family loves. And a fellow friend on GR recently told me that the pigeon was hidden in each book and we now love to look for him too! Fun for all and a great addition to any children's library! And later in the day I caught my kids trying to fly! Watch out for this one! :)
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Funny and cute. I loved every face Piggie makes :)
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This books wasn't so awesome because isn't about reading but i can easily say that "Elephant & Piggie" will become in one of my favorite kids series. Isn't ultra deep, but doesn't need it. Has a message, in this particular case "Don't give up" but shows that not everything can be as you wish and it doesn't mean that you muns't try, but doesn't try to make you swallow to the force. And is super cute, the constrast between the personality of both characters is so fun and i belive that these two animals can be friends...so :D
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Ideal book for beginner readers say, first- and second-graders with easy vocabulary, cute illustrations. Fun stories with endearing characters. These books will be read again and again.
Piggie & Gerald. Gotta love'em. Gerald, because of his reactions and because he comes off as a bit neurotic, reminds me of the Ferocious Beast (from books like
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast: The Big Scare and the kids' cartoon of the same name). And what can I tell you about Piggie other than she (yes: Piggie's a female) is free-spirited, loves to have fun, and will do her darnedest to get Gerald to relax and not be so uptight.
Guest appearances by a random dog and a pelican! -
This book is FANTASTIC. Seriously, a must-read. Check out the facial expressions - exceptional. I aspire to own the whole collection one day. (I'm totally serious.)
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This is the third book in this series that I've read. What caught my attention here was the whole "when pigs fly" idea. Let me explain: I have a friend who teaches at Toledo School of the Arts which has, as their mascot, a flying pig. You see it was always claimed that Toledo wouldn't have a school of the arts until pigs flew. Clearly, at least in Toledo Ohio, pigs are flying. So when this little volume tumbled onto my counter, I had to read it.
It's delightful. Willems approaches the subject of belief and faith in the same wonderful way that other subjects have been approached. The author never losses sight of the way children view the world and still gives the material a sophisticated underpinning that grounds the fantasy in reality. I'm hooked, I'll definitely be reading more of these books. -
Another cute story by Mo Willems. In this one, Piggie is sure she'll be able to fly, but Gerald keeps trying to (figuratively) shoot her down -- what a naysayer. But Piggie gets some help, and although she doesn't fly on her own, she's still up in the air :)
A nice story about perseverance, as well as friendship and teamwork. -
Great series for kindergarten age kids .... very silly books.
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De los favoritos de mi peque...
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This is the first book in the
Elephant and Piggie series, but we've read several of the other books in this series since it's not important to read them in order.
As always, our oldest reads Gerald's dialogue and I read Piggie's dialogue (plus any extras). We love the repetition, the expressions, and the emotional roller coaster that each story depicts. Fun!
This story was selected as one of the books for the
March 2013 - 21st Century Picture Book Characters discussion at the
Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
June 2022 update: Just got ahold of this book again and it brought back fun memories of reading this with our girls. -
Willems' very dry humor works perfectly in his Elephant and Piggie easy readers. Lots of white space makes these approachable for those learning to read and the format for each page is similar without being boring. Words are all in speech bubbles with the different colors indicating which character is speaking. The illustrations are very simple and yet emotions are clearly communicated to the reader. Today I Will Fly is not my favorite of the series as Gerald appears to be fairly dismissive in the first half before redeeming himself by the end of the book, but this is still miles better than most of the easy reader junk being published. Simply an excellent series of easy readers, here's hoping there will be more in the future!
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One of the best things about kiddos is the day they say, "I want to read this, to you."
Ellie discovered the Elephant and Piggie books through her school librarian. The pictures are great and the story is perfect for emerging readers. It is the sort of book she can read to me every night for a week without either of us getting bored. -
We can't get enough of elephant & piggie books at our house. Great for starting readers and parents too!
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I'm very surprised this is the first in the series, but it is very good!
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Gerald and Piggie were two very different people, despite their friendship. Ebullient Piggie was enthusiastic - in this case, for the idea of flying - while Gerald was more cautious... more skeptical. Piggie's determination to fly plays off quite humorously against Gerald's determined belief that she cannot. When she does, after a fashion, Gerald's conception of what is possible is changed. But does that mean he can fly too?
The release earlier this month of
The Thank You Book, the twenty-fifth and final entry in Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie series, has prompted me to finally embark upon a project I had long thought of undertaking. Namely: reading this entire series in order. I have a signed copy of Today I Will Fly!, obtained at a talk given by Mo Willems in Dublin while I was studying there, so this is a welcome starting point for me. I enjoyed Willems' humor here - the way he plays his two friends off against one another, how he captures the back-and-forth of two very different characters. His art ably captures the emotional pitch of each scene, with something as small as a change of eyebrow orientation communicating quite a bit about the state of elephant and pig. I've seen these books praised by reading teachers, and I can see why. The story is appealing, the language simple but engaging - ideal material for readers who are just beginning! -
The the boy and girl her said no I don’t want to fly and her world not say today or tomorrow and yesterday and her want to go to house and her get hunt and fly and her want to house and her mom was sick and her want to house and her not to fly
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This whole series very popular now with both kiddos. Will comment later on some other books in it.
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This was not as funny as “waiting is not easy”
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Eleanor almost read this all by herself! Eeeek! Proud mama!!!
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I have to think...I like this book so much, I love this book so much, that I want to keep it!
Azura spoke
