Customer Reviews

Watch Me Throw the Ball! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Out of all the Elephant and Piggie stories this one is probably my favorite, probably because I was such a high strung, shy child and this is something that I myself could have benefited from hearing. In fact, I probably still could. As for the story its self I had so much fun with this one that as soon as we finished it was promptly read again and again, the lesson about the ball easily extended beyond the reading lesson.

Gerald has a ball, and as usual once Piggie wants to join in he happily lets her do so but not before he attempts to make a huge fuss out of nothing. Throwing a ball is hard work! One must study for years! But Piggie is impatient and ends up throwing the ball before he's done explaining and unfortunately it doesn't go as far as when Gerald threw it. Even more bewildering is the fact that Piggie doesn't seem to care that her ball didn't even go three feet. The reason? Because the most important part of throwing the ball was just to have fun of course! Zipping off she leaves Gerald to contemplate these words of wisdom which ultimately inspire him to break his own, incredibly serious and overly complicated rules and follow in her footsteps much to his delight.

This book is about Elephant and Piggie. Gerald throws the ball and Piggy likes to have a lot of fun. Piggie tells Gerald he threw the ball all the way around the world! I like this book because Piggie likes to have fun. I like books by Mo Willems because they are silly!

My whole family loves Piggie and Elephant! From our 10yr old to our 2yr old, they are pulled into their comedy, drama, and simple problem solving. My kids are able to relate their own relationships with that of Gerald and Piggie and see them in a funny light. They take friendship more seriously because they watch these characters disagree and stay friends. Piggie's enthusiam and Gerald's sincerity are a wonderful mix. My husband, I, and our 4 children HIGHLY recommend this entire series! Mo Willems: you are brillant!

A simple story with simple drawings that not only got the attention of my nearly 6 year old but had him rolling in laughter! I read it to my son first, then he took a turn reading to me. A little on the long side for a new reader but a HUGE hit in our house. The others in the series are great too, but this is our personal favorite.

Mo Willems has hit another home run with this book that features the customary humorous repartee between Elephant and Piggie. Piggie is dancing along singing "La, la, la!" when he finds a ball. Elephant comes running and says, "You found my ball!" Piggie sweetly asks if he can try throwing the ball, and Elephant looking concerned asks Piggie if he knows the "secret to throwing". Piggie responds, "Sure. Have fun". Elephant snatches the ball away and proclaims, "Throwing this ball is not easy" and he explains to Piggie that it takes a lot of practice to throw well. Read this entertaining book to find out what hilarious thing happens next. This easy reader is such great fun to read aloud.

My four year old loves these books, and I don't mind reading them to him. When we read them, he laughs out loud and most have a nice lesson (like sharing or accepting others) without being heavy handed or overbearing. They are fun stories with small but not dumbed down words. I am sure these will be some of the first books he reads himself. In fact, he can already read some parts himself.

My daughters and I just love these books. I heighly recommend you give them a shot. Not too long and very entertaining.

What a fun book! Simple prose and pictures make it perfect for the tot and early reader. I have a 2 1/2 year old who loves the story. I also have a 10-year-old sports loving son. On many occasions, he and his friends have been both the pig and the elephant. He had fun reading the story, too, and recognized himself in the simple, sweet tale of uber-confidence!

Any children's book in which the overall message is "Have fun!" has to be a winner, and when the author of that book is Mo Willems, you know you have another instant classic on your hands.
Piggie, busy dancing through the day, finds a ball that Gerald (the Elephant) has just thrown. Piggie asks to throw the ball, only to get a mini-lesson in throwing from Gerald. When Piggie finally does throw the ball, accompanied with theatrics and hilarious dramatics, the results are not too impressive. Nonetheless, Piggie does not care because she has fun, an important lesson which immediately changes the way in which Gerald throws the ball.
As always with Mo Willems' books, the illustrations are simple yet evocative. The facial expressions on both Piggie and Gerald are priceless and no illustrator can do as much with a pair of eyes than Willems. The text is easy to read- appropriate for kindergarteners and up- yet even adults will enjoy reading this and will laugh out loud at the duo's antics.
Teacher, parent, beginning reader, lover of books- you cannot go wrong with an Elephant and Piggie book.

Must say I don't agree with the reviewers who would give this less than 5 stars. We've read all the Elephant and Piggie books and this is definitely one of our favorites (right behind "I will surprise my Friend").

LOTS of fun to read aloud and the expressions keep getting better (mid-way through both my preschoolers were screaming in delight).

Do yourself (oh, and your kids too) and put get this one for your collection!