Today I Will Fly! (An Elephant And Piggie Book) Read Free Books and Download eBooks
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.Today, I Will Fly! is the funny introduction to the characters. Piggie is determined to fly. But Gerald the elephant knows that's impossible--isn't it?
Series: An Elephant and Piggie Book
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion; 1 edition (March 13, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1423102959
ISBN-13: 978-1423102953
Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.4 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #6,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #24 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants #39 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Pigs #277 in Books > Children's Books > Growing Up & Facts of Life > Friendship, Social Skills & School Life > Friendship
Age Range: 4 - 8 years
Grade Level: Preschool - Kindergarten
Having a 4 year old on the edge of the autism spectrum is a blessing and a curse -- sure, she taught herself to read at the age of 3, but try finding something she *wants* to read out loud. Even better, find something that helps teach natural speech intonation and provides massive opportunities to explore feelings, emotion and humor -- how great would that be for a kid with significant social and speech delays?(Oh, wait -- that would be Elephant and Piggie! They act out simple, short and funny stories, full of emotion and humor. The dialog (and it's pretty much all dialog) is also short, fun, repetitive, and presented in color coded speech bubbles, so you always know who's speaking. Basically, an early reader's dream come true. My daughter is in love with the cute little girl pig (did I mention she was *pink*?) and about the second time through said, "I'll be Piggie". So now she reads/acts Piggie's dialog while the rest of us read/act for Gerald the elephant and the various other bit parts.Her dramatic reading intonation is improving (you can tell questions from exclamations by tone, now) and she enjoys the humor of the stories as well, often incorporating the scripts into her regular speech -- on our way to the airport she started saying, "Today I will fly!" in her Piggie voice. (Needless to say, we replied "You will not fly today. YOU WILL NEVER FLY!" just like Gerald.) Even my 7 year old enjoys them, and will often volunteer to play a small role (like the dog or duck).The books are just so well written -- so well *crafted* -- that they're just a pleasure to read. After wading through rivers of drek trying to pass for childen's "literature", I just can't recommend these books highly enough.
Mo Willems is a master illustrator and storyteller. Typically, he uses just a few characters, a simple and somewhat absurd plot, and slight illustrations--basic shapes, lines and arrows. Within this minimalist framework, however, he has no peer."Today I Will Fly," for example, is a smark, sly take on the skeptical expression that something will happen "when pigs fly," i.e., never.However, "never" is not a given in Willems' twisting of readers' expectations. The elephant, Gerard, who stands in an adult role (complete with professorial glasses), scoffs at young, wide-eyed Piggie's declaration that "Today, I will fly." Gerald's repeated negations reach a crescendo of adult nay-saying:"You will not fly today.You will not fly tomorrow.You will not fly next week.YOU WILL NEVER FLY!"Piggy, ever the optimist, says simply, "I will try," as Gerard looks out at the audience with disbelief and frustration. What follows--on an adult level--is a discourse on semantics and boundaries. Kids will just love the hilarious pursuit of flight bu the inexperienced, opimistic pig. First, Piggie runs across the page, flapping her arms (!), and repeats the word, "fly," ten times, as if she could will herself to flight. Elephant replies, "you need help," undoubtedly referring to a porcine psychologist somewhere. Piggie takes this at face value, and thanks Gerard for his advice.In Piggie's second attempt, she enlists the help of a sharp=toothed dog: Piggy is so scared that she jumps on top of Gerald's head. Her fear of the dog soon turns to pride: "I did it! I flew!" The exasperated (so much so, that Gerald falls off his head) Gerard replies, "You did not fly. YOU JUMPED!
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