Waiting Is Not Easy!-An Elephant and Piggie Book

It certainly is not easy to wait! My girls and I have been waiting for this book since we pre-ordered it in April! For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this series, Elephant and Piggie is a series of easy readers featuring a neurotic elephant and his friend Piggie, who is a nice foil for Gerald. The books are very silly; there is usually a misunderstanding, and quite a bit of comic relief. The text is simple, and the character speak via voice bubbles, using simple language like, "I have a surprise for you!" "Yay! What is it?" "The surprise is a surprise!" "Oh." The illustrations enhance the simple text. Elephant and Piggie are put up against a white background. This allows emphasis to be placed on facial expressions and body language. This is a wonderful tool for helping children understand how a character is feeling. Waiting Is Not Easy is a wonderful entry in the franchise. The snippet of text I shared is from the beginning of the book. Piggie has a surprise for Gerald, and he is very excited. The only problem is that Gerald literally can't deal with waiting, and he gets more and more anxious about the surprise. He groans audibly, and his groan voice bubble even knocks Piggie over. She remains patient with him, and the payoff when the surprise is revealed proves to be worth the wait. My three girls (7,5,5) loved this story. They giggled at Gerald's impatience, and they enjoyed the surprise. The Elephant and Piggie books don't always have a lesson at the end, so I appreciated that this story conveyed the message that good things come to those who wait. I would absolutely recommend Waiting Is Not Easy to preschoolers through children in the early years of elementary school. The voice bubble format makes this an ideal story to act out with an emerging reader. I know that we will continue to enjoy this story, just like the rest of the Elephant and Piggie stories.

“Waiting Is Not Easy” by Mo Willems is such a fantastic and easy read, especially for kids who are just starting to read! My kids absolutely love it—it’s become a favorite in our house. The story is engaging, the illustrations are fun, and it’s simple enough for early readers to enjoy while still keeping their attention. I was so impressed with how much my kids loved this book that I ended up buying all of Mo Willems’ books. They’re all so easy to read, entertaining, and perfect for young readers. I totally recommend this one and the rest of his collection!

This is the second Elephant and Piggie book that we have purchased for my daughter and she LOVES them (she is almost 2)! It is a very interactive, unique style of children's book. It requires animation on the reader's part and my daughter loves how excited my husband and I are when we read the book. She now requests the book by asking for elephant and/or piggie and gets excited when we start to read it! It also has a good lesson for children...good things come to those who wait! Whenever my daughter is being impatient or whiny and I tell her "waiting is not easy, is it?" she immediately smiles and says piggie! Impatience is something that everyone deals with, and in this book Gerald the Elephant is having an internal struggle of not wanting to wait for Piggie's surprise. He goes back and forth between waiting and getting frustrated by the fact that Piggie's surprise is not ready right now! In the end he waits and the surprise is well worth it. I do appreciate that this book has such an important lesson, but is also fun to read and my daughter gets really into it! Well worth every penny and I think my husband and I will buy her a few more Elephant and Piggie books for her birthday coming up! Great book to add to any children's book collection.

These books are sheer genius. The easy to read words, the easy to understand art, and the familiar characters are all great ways to get kids interested not just in a story but interested in reading the words and understanding what the art is portraying. This is one of my personal favorite elephant and piggie storylines. What they were waiting for was not (as my students thought it would be) some physical object (like a bouncy castle according to one student) but a beautiful moment to share with each other and a wonderful experience for themselves. The best of the best.

This is one of many Mo Willems books I have bought for my grandchildren. They love them all! My grandson is 1 1/2 and my granddaughter is 4. She memorizes these books so fast it’s unreal. She can just tell from the punctuation and the look on Elephant or Piggie’s face how they are speaking. It’s so fun to see her touch the right page and say the correct words with inflection. She loves to “read” these books to her little brother until he starts trying to rip the pages out.

Great book. Recommend.

Cute and simple.

I've given this book to several friends/family members for baby gifts. The concept of the story is perfect for those who have experienced difficulty trying to have a child. Parents will appreciate the message of how hard it is to wait, but then being rewarded by something magical and perfect. I still get a little misty-eyed when reading it to our Little One!

Uma forma bem divertida de trabalhar a ansiedade nas crianças!

I discovered the Elephant & Piggie books a few years ago and loved them, but my kids have just really got into them, so I bought my daughter a couple of new ones for Christmas. She is just learning to read, and now she reads Piggie's speeches and her big bro reads Gerald's. (I get to read the walk-on characters.) I just love the way Willems' illustrations combine such simplicity with such expressiveness, and his stories gently convey really positive messages for young heads. Bless you Gerald. Bless you Piggie. Bless you Mo.

All the books of Mo Willems are a treasure! Super short stories, perfect for kids who learn how to read and for sure a great book for parents as the humor is suitable for both! :)

In assoluto il mio libro del cuore… la sorpresa di cui si parla è di una tenerezza struggente!!

絵本というよりは漫画。このシリーズは子供に本当ウケがいいです。3歳から読み始めてますが、何回も読んでるうちにセリフ覚えます。英語を習い始めたくらいのお子さんにもおすすめです。