Today I Will Fly! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) [Hardcover]

Mo Willems (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Elephant and Piggie

Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.
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? 

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Graphic novel influences have reached into most areas of children's book publishing; here, they crop up in a classic genre-the friendship--duo easy reader-and chalk up yet another success for two-time Caldecott Honor winner Willems. The basic approach is familiar from Willems' previous books, especially Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (2003). It's as if each page were one frame of a comic strip, characters zip in and out of white space, proffer speech-bubble remarks, and express emotion through spot-on body language. Today I Will Fly juxtaposes Piggie's optimistic ambitions with stodgier Elephant's naysaying. There are also plenty of quirky details to reward repeated readings, including the charmingly incongruous mystery of Piggie's real name (Elephant's, we learn, is Gerald). Accessible, appealing, and full of authentic emotions about what makes friendships tick, this will put a contemporary shine on easy reader collections. Vying for their affections is that irrepressible pigeon, who, still utterly in character, finds his way onto the endpapers. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Mo Willems is the New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of picture books and early readers that have changed the face of children's literature. He has been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions, and two of his Elephant and Piggie early readers have received a Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal. His most recent picture book is Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, of which the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books wrote: "Willems continues to be a master at conveying an amazing amount of emotion and humor using ... minimal elements" in a starred review.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; First Edition edition (March 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423102959
• ISBN-13: 978-1423102953
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants > Fiction
  • #18 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants
  • #30 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Pigs

More About the Author

A three-time Caldecott Honor winner for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, Mo Willems has also won two Geisel Medals for There is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside? And his books are perennial New York Times bestsellers. Before he turned to children's books, Mo was a writer and animator on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards. Mo lives with his family in Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heads up, teachers and parents of emergent readers!, January 19, 2008

By 

C. Brainerd - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Today I Will Fly! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hardcover)

Today I Will Fly! (Elephant and Piggie)

The Elephant and Piggie books FLY out of my classroom for home reading and are in great demand at the reading table~~better than Seuss for high interest. Contains just the right amount of text for beginning readers and lots of high frequency word practice. I've been teaching K-2 for 32 years and haven't seen this kind of excitement over a book series from very young readers. Mo Willems is a teacher's dream come true!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars We love the Elephant and Piggie books!, December 4, 2007

By 

bibliomom "bibliomom" (seattle, wa) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Today I Will Fly! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hardcover)

Having a 4 year old on the edge of the autism spectrum is a blessing and a curse -- sure, she taught herself to read at the age of 3, but try finding something she *wants* to read out loud. Even better, find something that helps teach natural speech intonation and provides massive opportunities to explore feelings, emotion and humor -- how great would that be for a kid with significant social and speech delays?

(Oh, wait -- that would be Elephant and Piggie! They act out simple, short and funny stories, full of emotion and humor. The dialog (and it's pretty much all dialog) is also short, fun, repetitive, and presented in color coded speech bubbles, so you always know who's speaking. Basically, an early reader's dream come true. My daughter is in love with the cute little girl pig (did I mention she was *pink*?) and about the second time through said, "I'll be Piggie". So now she reads/acts Piggie's dialog while the rest of us read/act for Gerald the elephant and the various other bit parts.

Her dramatic reading intonation is improving (you can tell questions from exclamations by tone, now) and she enjoys the humor of the stories as well, often incorporating the scripts into her regular speech -- on our way to the airport she started saying, "Today I will fly!" in her Piggie voice. (Needless to say, we replied "You will not fly today. YOU WILL NEVER FLY!" just like Gerald.) Even my 7 year old enjoys them, and will often volunteer to play a small role (like the dog or duck).

The books are just so well written -- so well *crafted* -- that they're just a pleasure to read. After wading through rivers of drek trying to pass for childen's "literature", I just can't recommend these books highly enough. These books feel as classic as Seuss and as humorous as Boynton, and for an asd kid who's also an early reader, they're a double blessing.

(Oh -- about my comment concerning feelings and emotions, I'm referring merely to wonderful illustrations of Gerald and Piggie and the emotions they convey. It provides us with a chance to say things like, "Does Gerald look skeptical? I don't think he believes his friend Piggie can really fly," and "Wow, Gerald really looks surprised! Is he surprised because Piggie is flying?" More humorous twist at the end than touchy-feely ;-)

How on earth can a cartoon elephant look so skeptical, anyway?

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Pigs Fly: Songs of Experience and Innocence, September 3, 2007

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Today I Will Fly! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hardcover)

Mo Willems is a master illustrator and storyteller. Typically, he uses just a few characters, a simple and somewhat absurd plot, and slight illustrations--basic shapes, lines and arrows. Within this minimalist framework, however, he has no peer."Today I Will Fly," for example, is a smark, sly take on the skeptical expression that something will happen "when pigs fly," i.e., never.

However, "never" is not a given in Willems' twisting of readers' expectations. The elephant, Gerard, who stands in an adult role (complete with professorial glasses), scoffs at young, wide-eyed Piggie's declaration that "Today, I will fly." Gerald's repeated negations reach a crescendo of adult nay-saying:

"You will not fly today.
You will not fly tomorrow.
You will not fly next week.
YOU WILL NEVER FLY!"

Piggy, ever the optimist, says simply, "I will try," as Gerard looks out at the audience with disbelief and frustration. What follows--on an adult level--is a discourse on semantics and boundaries. Kids will just love the hilarious pursuit of flight bu the inexperienced, opimistic pig. First, Piggie runs across the page, flapping her arms (!), and repeats the word, "fly," ten times, as if she could will herself to flight. Elephant replies, "you need help," undoubtedly referring to a porcine psychologist somewhere. Piggie takes this at face value, and thanks Gerard for his advice.

In Piggie's second attempt, she enlists the help of a sharp=toothed dog: Piggy is so scared that she jumps on top of Gerald's head. Her fear of the dog soon turns to pride: "I did it! I flew!" The exasperated (so much so, that Gerald falls off his head) Gerard replies, "You did not fly. YOU JUMPED!" The undaunted pig declares, "I will try again," and on her third attempt, she suspends herself from the beak of a friendly pelican. Gerald has a change of heart--or maybe he's just in a better mood because he just had lunch. Dancing, Gerald sings, "My friend can fly! She can fly!"

Abruptly, as kids often do, Piggie changes her tune: "I am not flying! I am geting help." Willems concludes with a delightful role switch: As if turning over a new leaf and embracing his "inner child," the newly optimistic Gerald says, "Tomorrow, I will fly!" Piggie, cupping his mouth in an aside, utters these parting words to Gerald and the reader:

"Good luck."

Droll, spare, but full of action and emotion, "Today I Will Fly" is another gem in the Mo Willems's never-failing search for humor in simple situations. Very highly recommended.