I Will Surprise My Friend! (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.

In I Will Surprise My Friend!, Gerald and Piggie want to play a game and surprise each other—but the biggest surprise is the one they least expect.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 2—In classic Willems style, the characters' expressions and body language carry both stories, with the deceptively simple line art saying far more than the slight, though whimsical, texts. When Gerald accidentally breaks Piggie's new toy, he is by turns ashamed, chagrined, and apologetic. Piggie is mad, sad, and finally embarrassed (a squirrel shows them that the "broken toy" is of the "break-and-snap" variety). The pals then decide that playing together is more fun than playing with a toy anyway. In the second title, the two watch a squirrel surprise a friend by jumping out from behind a rock. Mischievous Gerald and Piggie then plan together how to "surprise" one another in the same way. They sit behind opposite sides of a large stone and wait to be surprised. And wait. And wait. And worry. Savvy readers will know exactly what happens when each friend thinks that the other has left. These masterful mini-dramas will delight and amuse easy-reader and picture-book audiences, alike.—Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Squirrel plays a big role in Elephant and Piggie’s next adventure, I Will Surprise My Friend. He surprises his friend by hiding behind a tiny rock and yelling, “Boo!” The squirrels have such fun that Elephant and Piggie decide to try it too, but alas, surprising each other, when both know a surprise is coming, isn’t that easy. As always in this series, the combination of simple text and mischievous art will satisfy beginning readers and leave them eager to polish their skills and move toward more challenging books. Grades K-2. --Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423109627
• ISBN-13: 978-1423109624
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,868 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
  • #25 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 Book Review: I Will Surprise My Friend, July 24, 2008

By 

T. Jonker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Will Surprise My Friend! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hardcover)

Scaring people is fun. There is really no getting around this fact. Kids know this better than anyone. Mo Willems knows that kids know this better than anyone. And now he's gone and written a book about it. Fitting right in with previous "Elephant & Piggie" titles, "I Will Surprise My Friend" provides a situation kids will relate to, presented with playfulness, wit, and an ace sense of humor.

The story begins when Gerald (the Elephant) and Piggie come upon a squirrel who is about to surprise his friend. They like the idea so much they decide to give it a try on on each other. They creep up to opposite sides of a big rock and wait to get startled. This setup is ripe for some silliness. Gerald and Piggie both start to wonder where the other one is. They look around the rock at the same time - no one there. They walk around the rock at the same time - nothing. When our heroes finally give up and head out to find each other, they finally get the shock they were hoping for.

The author's knack for getting inside the head of youngsters and seeing things from their perspective is on display here. From the way Gerald and Piggie immediately want to try something they see to how they end up waiting for the other one to scare them, beginning readers will identify with this title.

Willems continues to get his PHD in emotive minimalist illustration in "I Will Surprise My Friend". Each page brings expressions and gestures that announce the mood of each character as clear as day. Similar to other titles in this series, the story is told completely through dialog in the form of word balloons. This makes it a good choice for some good ol' individual reading. And kids will definitely want to read this one - be sure to have a couple copies on hand.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun, June 25, 2008

By 

PA Mom (Lansdale, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Will Surprise My Friend! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hardcover)

My son (almost 3 1/2) started with "Today I Will Fly" a month ago which he LOVED. As soon as we finished reading this one I was instructed to immediately read it three more times that morning (and 2 more times that afternoon). He loves that he can retell the story based on the pictures, the expressions and the short phrases. This is definitely a favorite in our house, so much that my younger son ( 1 1/2) likes to "read" them too.
It is humor that my son "gets" and adults should enjoy too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!!!!, July 19, 2008

By 

S. Kleinman-Dominguez "Elementary School Medi... (Fort Lauderdale, FL) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: I Will Surprise My Friend! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) (Hardcover)

An emergent reader series that is not boring! It's funny, you can actually listen to it again and again and again, which if your child is learning how to read or a struggling reader you will:)

It is emergent/early reader, think level 1 with decodable words repeated and introduced perfectly. Enough to gain skill but not too much to bore. (Think Dick & Jane.......easy to decode but boring)

By the author of the "Don't let the pigeon...." & "Knuffle Bunny" series and "Leonardo the terrible Monster" Mo Willems is a Caldecott winner, former Sesame Street writer and a genius!

Buy them all & look forward to nighttime or anytime storytime. (I keep some of them in the car)