[Saturday Reads] Elephant and Piggie Say Thank You… and Goodbye

Fats here.

Every Saturday we hope to share with you our thoughts on reading and books. We thought that it would be good practice to reflect on our reading lives and our thoughts about reading in general. While on occasion, we would feature a few books in keeping with this, there would be a few posts where we will just write about our thoughts on read-alouds, libraries, reading journals, upcoming literary conferences, books that we are excited about, and just book love miscellany in general.

satreads114a — The first five books in the Elephant & Piggie series.

Six years ago, I shared my first Elephant & Piggie book on the blog: Pigs Make Me Sneeze! I found a discounted copy from Borders, during their store-wide closing sale. I bought a few more E+P books after that—including all five books in the photo above.

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In the September Update (2015) of his blog, Mo Willems announced that the final E+P book would come out in 2016. In May 2016, the 25th and final installment of the E+P series was published by Disney-Hyperion.

The Thank You Book

Author and illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (2016)
ISBN-10: 1423178289
ISBN-13: 978-1423178286

Summary: 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 The Thank You Book!, Piggie wants to thank EVERYONE. But Gerald is worried Piggie will forget someone . . . someone important. ♦

The book begins with Piggie telling Gerald that she wants to thank everyone that was important to her. The book then follows Piggie in her THANK-O-RAMA spree. She begins by thanking the squirrels, Snake, and the Pigeon. Gerald reminds Piggie that while it’s nice of her to express gratitude, she’s bound to forget someone. Piggie assures Gerald that she will not.

The magic and whimsy of Mo Willems are ever-present in the book. Readers are led to believe that Gerald was referring to himself when he told Piggie that she would forget someone. As with other E+P books, the ending comes with a twist. Fans of E+P will melt into puddles as Gerald and Piggie say goodbye. (Tissues, please!)

The copy I purchased included a special Thank You surprise. I thought about taking a picture and sharing it but I don’t want to deny you a heartwarming story of gratitude. Long story short, Mo Willems created the perfect ending to a delightful and beloved series in children’s literature.

Bonus Material…

I am usually scheduled to work during the annual Black Friday, so I always miss out on exclusive signed editions being sold in Barnes & Noble stores during Black Friday weekend. (By the time Saturday hits, there aren’t a lot of copies left.)

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