Can I Play Too?-An Elephant and Piggie Book

My family loves Piggy and Elephant, and this book "Can I play too?" by Mo Willems is another winner. The simple text and layout of each page leave room for so much imagination and play in reading. It's fun to use different voices and act out the emotions when reading. Mo Willem is a master at the use if subtlety in his writing style. Even though not much is written length wise, so much is said between these two best friends and their adventures and lessons together. In this book, Piggy and Elephant learn about friendship and including others, even differently-abled others. The way they adapt to include their new snake friend is sweet and hilarious. Piggy and Elephant books are also great books for teaching kids and talking with kids about feelings. A great plus, to have such a fun book where the main characters feel and express such a full range of emotions, appropriate and relatable to the kids (and parents!) who read them. This book, along with the other Mo Willem books in our collection, gets read over and over. Definitely recommend.

We have the entire set. My kids are 4yrs & 7yrs old now. We've been reading these books since my older son was 2 or 3. The stories are solely told in word bubbles as conversations between the 2 main characters, plus a few recurring characters who stop by in some of the stories. We each choose a character to 'be' and then we read the story, which is simple sentences of easy words. I honestly believe these books were a huge factor in my older son teaching himself to read at a very early age. We routinely give E&P books as gifts, and I always keep my eye out for new ones and pre-order well in advance. It's a nice little package that comes out of the blue, and both my boys are very excited when the UPS man brings us a new E&P book that they've never seen before. Our all-time favorites are: Watch Me Throw the Ball - I love the moral of the story where the most important thing is to have a good time, even if you're not a pro. Can I Play Too? - love this one because it teaches you to think outside the box and make the most of what you have. My sons couldn't stop giggling the first 10 times they read this one.

The Elephant and Piggie books are always full meaningful content in an extrememly fun and approachable way. They deal with relevant "problems" for children, like arguments with friends, rainy days, jealousy, sharing, etc. The endings are never cliche, with always a bit of twist and a suprise. The characters are endearing, loved by all children. This book specifically deals with an issue that kids face all the time. It contains lessons for kids without being preachy at all. It is simple enough so that even kindergarteners can read, but funny enough for some older kids to enjoy as well.

I LOVED this book, as did my 4 year old grandson!!! I think he has 13 Elephant and Piggie books which I have bought him, but this one jumped to the top! I read it to him the first time, but after that we took roles (as we frequently do on the E & P books) and we could have sold tickets! We had such a blast "staging" this great tale of finding ways to play with friends who might be a bit different than we are. When Clyde (my grandson) and I read the books aloud, he always announces ----in a loud voice --- "BY MO....WILLEMS"." I love that he recognizes and calls out the name of the author. Mo has certainly earned the "shout out!!! Needless to say, for this Christmas I have already ordered two more Elephant and Piggie books for Clyde. He and I will BOTH be excited when he opens them!

How do you play ball with a snake? That is the surface issue in this story, but the deeper one is helping everyone to have fun together, even if it appears that one of the group can't play. Gerald and Piggie try a number of ways to play ball with the snake, and their new playmate is game to try, as well. Nothing they try seems to work (my grandsons love reading the "BONKs" as the initial efforts are made), but they all persevere until a solution is found that makes all of the playmates happy. This is such a great lesson for little ones (and us big ones, too) that if we think outside the box, we can come up with solutions to involve those who may have different abilities from our own. The snake (and I am not a fan of snakes, in general) is a cute addition to the group and has a sense of humor when dealing with the differences between him and his 4-legged playmates. The simple illustrations are deceptive, as they add so much to the story and help emerging readers share in the story.

I never heard of these books til one day when my 9 year old went to the school library and picked this book for her 6 year old sister. It was the "we are in a book" and let me tell you she absolutely LOVED it and so did I. We both laughed very hard reading the book. Ever since she picked "An ELEPHANT & PIGGIE book". She absolutely loves these books and so do I. They are easier to read for her too and she WANTS to read them on her own. I can really recommend these . very nice books

This series is my son’s favorite! The books are easy to read and follow, and they’re very popular in school too. His teacher highly recommends

As a Kindergarten teacher, I LOVE Gerald and Piggie books. They're cute, funny, expressive and my students fall in love with these characters year after year. Beginning readers love the fact that they can 'read' the books independently and my higher readers really CAN read them independently! The characters are best friends, kind and caring. Gerald can be loud, pessimistic and impatient, but aren't we all at times? Piggie is Gerald's best possible match for a BFF. This is a story about trying, even when the odds aren't in your favor. It's about including those who are different. It's about focusing on what you CAN do and choosing to be happy. It's about kindness, compassion, friendship and fun. And believe me, your little ones will laugh!

OMG love all the books..

So nice book series. My 8 years old son loves this.

I love all of the Elephant & Piggie books! I am Teacher-Librarian and I bought this book to add to my school’s library collection. This book teaches the important concept of including everyone despite their differences. All my students really enjoy this book and ask to sign it out from the library. Don’t forget to look for the hidden pigeon at the end of the book!

Absolutely brilliant books! I love that there is very little text on each page so my son doesn't get overwhelmed or discouraged, but there are lots of pages (about 50?) so he ends up reading a lot. The stories pick up on themes that resonate with children (often based on friendship issues) and the humour is brilliant - my son finds them hilarious - as do I! The stories and humour aren't dumbed down, recognizing that children's humour and intellect (for want of a better word) are likely to be far more advanced than their reading level.My son finishes one of these books and wants to read another right away (unlike his school books where he is protesting after about 4 pages!) This particular story is lovely and looks at the dilemmas around incorporating someone into your game when they're not as able to play the game as you using your rules.

Love it