Elephant and Piggie – BookBunnies

Caramel reviews We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller

Caramel reviews We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller, a book in the Elephant and Piggie Like Reading Series.

Caramel has already reviewed three books from the Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series (see his reviews of The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat, The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham, and Harold and Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat). Today he reviews a fourth book from this collection: We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Caramel reviews We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller. (Can you see the little beak behind the book? Who is hiding there??) — Caramel reviews *We Are Growing!* by Laurie Keller. (Can you see the little beak behind the book? Who is hiding there??)

Sprinkles: What is this book about Caramel?

Caramel: Hmmm, I’m busy, I’m flipping through the pages.

S: Yes, you can do that of course, but you should also tell us about the book.

C: It is about eight leaves of grass.

S: The book is about grass?

C: Not exactly. The characters are grass leaves but the book is about one particular leaf.

S: So what is interesting about this leaf?

C: He doesn’t know what he is. Until the end.

S: What does that mean? He is a grass leaf. So he knows that, right?

C: Yes, but among his friends, there is the tallest one, there is a silliest one, there is a curliest one. There is a crunchy one, for some reason. And two pointy ones.

S: I see. So our hero leaf wants to be special like them too?

C: Yes! And in the end he figures out that he is the …

Caramel and his mysterious penguin friend are reading the preamble of We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller, where Elephant and Piggie tell the readers that reading this book is like watching grass grow ... because it is! But in the best possible way... — Caramel and his mysterious penguin friend are reading the preamble of *We Are Growing!* by Laurie Keller, where Elephant and Piggie tell the readers that reading this book is like watching grass grow … because it is! But in the best possible way…

S: Wait! Don’t tell. You’ll spoil it for our readers!

C: Aww…. That’s too bad… I really wanted to give it away.

S. Alright, let us not give it away though. Let us go back to what this book is really about. It is not quite about grass, is it?

C: No not really.

S: Can you think of the grass leaves as little bunnies in second grade?

C: Hmm, maybe.

S: Is there a tallest in your class? Is there someone who is the funniest? Is there someone who is the messiest?

C: Hmm… I don’t know. We don’t really compare ourselves to each other. And there is definitely not the pointiest. Or a curliest one.

S: There might be bunnies with curlier hair than you! But it is good that you and your friends don’t compare yourselves to one another. Do you think the little grass leaf would be happier if he did not compare himself to his friends?

C: Maybe.

S: So do you think the book is about comparing oneself to others?

C: Maybe.

S: Or maybe not.

C: I don’t know really.

S: All the leaves are unique in their own ways, right?

C: Not all! Two of them are the same! Practically. They are both the pointiest.

S: Yes but they too are special in some way and different from one another.

C: Their colors are kind of different I think. One is darker green and the other is lighter green.

S: Yes. So our little grass leaf friend also wants to be unique and special, right?

C: Yes! I think that is what the story is about! Being unique, right?

S: Right. And we are all unique, each of us!

C: Yes! And the little leaf figures this out too. And he is unique because .. ok, I won’t tell you.

S: Good idea Caramel! Readers can read and find it out themselves. Do you think it is time to wrap things up now?

C: Yes! Stay tuned for more book bunny adventures!

Caramel and his mysterious penguin friend really enjoyed reading We Are Growing! by Laurie Keller, and recommend it to all other little bunnies and penguins. — Caramel and his mysterious penguin friend really enjoyed reading *We Are Growing!* by Laurie Keller, and recommend it to all other little bunnies and penguins.

Caramel reviews A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems

After reviewing three books from the Elephant and Piggie Like Reading series (see his reviews of The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat, The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham, and Harold and Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat), Caramel is now rereading some of his old favorites from the original Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Wilems. Below he shares his thoughts on A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions, though this time Caramel himself also tried typing some of the words.

Sprinkles: So what do you want to tell us about this book Caramel?

Caramel: boing! Boing boing boing boing boing! I love this book! boing!

S: So what is that supposed to mean?

C: it is one of the best books that I have ever read! It is a very good book! I love it! And the boinging is about a bouncy ball.

S: Yes, the book has a ball in the center of the story, right? Tell us about the story. What is happening in the book?

C : There is a big guy that takes Piggie’s ball! Piggie is very sad. So Gerald the Elephant goes to the big guy to try and take the ball back.

S : Why can’t Piggie take it back herself?

C : The guy is too big, she’s scared. It’s a humpback whale! They are huge!

S : Yes, apparently they can grow up to 25 to 30 tonnes. That is a huge weight Caramel. And it is about the size of ten mid-sized elephants. So the big guy is probably too big for Gerald as well, right?

Caramel is reading the page where Gerald is telling Piggie that the big guy is really big.

C: Yes. But in the end everything works out, and all three of them play together. They play a game called whale ball. But I don’t get it.

S: What do you not get Caramel?

C: How is the whale not in the ocean? And where is the water coming from that it spouts from its blow hole?

S: Hmm, those are good questions Caramel, but maybe just like an elephant and a pig are quite unlikely to be friends, the whale joining them is also quite unlikely, but it can happen in fiction. Isn’t that what fiction is about? A lot of times things that don’t always make sense or cannot really happen do happen in stories.

C: I don’t always like that though. I like real things.

S: Yes, of course I know that Caramel. But there are many fiction books you also enjoy reading, right? I think you have enjoyed reading all the Elephant and Piggie books many many times.

C: Yes! I also love the Narwhal and Jelly books!

S: Yes, and you reviewed all four of them: Narwhal: The Unicorn of the Sea!, Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Narwhal’s Otter Friend, all by Ben Clanton. It is a good thing to read a balance of fiction and non-fiction. I think you are doing great!

C: Yes! I like reading. And I will keep reading. And reviewing books!

Caramel loves reading and rereading A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems.

Caramel reviews Harold and Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat

Caramel has already reviewed The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat and The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham, two of a new series titled Elephant and Piggie Like Reading. This week he shares his thoughts on a third book in this series, Harold and Hog :Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat. As usual Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions when needed.

Sprinkles: Caramel, what did you think about this book?

Caramel: I thought it was awesome! There are two friends, an elephant and a pig, and they are trying to pretend to be Elephant and Piggie. You know who those are of course?

S: Yes, those are the main characters of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie series. And you love that series, don’t you?

C: Yes!

S: And it seems this new elephant, his name is Harold, and his friend Hog, also like our Elephant and Piggie. So they try to be like them.

C: Yes, they pretend to be like them. First Harold tries to be Gerald, That is Elephant’s name. And Hog tries to be Piggie.

S: And does it work?

C: No! They’re are not really very good at it. They are not exactly the same.

S: They have different personalities, right? Harold is not as careful as Gerald and Hog is not as carefree as Piggie. So…

C: So they decide that Harold is going to be Piggie and Hog is going to be Gerald!

S: That is a perfect solution, right? They can still pretend to be best friends!

C: And they ARE best friends!

Caramel is reading Harold and Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat. — Caramel is reading *Harold and Hog Pretend for Real!* by Dan Santat.

C: And even a pigeon shows up!

S: The Pigeon?

C: No. A pigeon. They even ask him if he wants to drive the bus!

S: That is really funny. Does this story remind you of any other stories Caramel?

C: Yes! Remember the one where Elephant and Piggie are in a book?

S: Yes, Mo Willems’ We Are In A Book! There are many interesting meta questions that one can consider reading that book. So this one too raises many questions. In the end Elephant and Piggie look quite puzzled. Why do you think they look that way?

C: I don’t really know.

S: It seems that they are surprised to see two friends so much like themselves but also not like themselves. And these two friends know of them.

C: Like they must be famous or something.

S: Yes, kind of. And then in the end they decide to pretend to be Harold and Hog! Quite a neat full circle!

C: Yes! This is a fun book to read! I like reading it out loud on my own. But it is more fun to read with you. Shall we read it again together?

S: Yes. Let’s. This is a nice place to end our review, too.

C: Yes. Good bye! Stay tuned for more reviews from the Book Bunnies!

*Caramel really enjoyed reading Harold and Hog Pretend for Real! by Dan Santat.*

Caramel reviews The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham

Last week Caramel reviewed The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat, from Mo Willems’ series Elephant and Piggie Like Reading. Below he shares his thoughts on the second book he read from the series: The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham. Sprinkles is taking notes and asking followup questions.

Sprinkles: So what do you want to tell us about this book Caramel?

Caramel: It’s an awesome book! The book is about a group of dinosaurs who all have an itch to scratch, except one. But they can’t scratch their itches.

S: Why not?

C: There’s a sign that says “Dinosaurs do not scratch”.

S: And so they want to follow the rules and don’t scratch themselves, right?

C: Yes, until the end. But I won’t tell you what happens in the end. Can I instead tell you about which dinosaurs are in the book?

S: Yes Caramel. That would be neat.

C: There is a brontosaurus, a pterodactyl, a triceratops, a T-rex, and a pachycephalosaurus.

S: That is a lot of different dinosaur types. How come you know them all?

C: I like dinosaurs. And I know all about the first four. And one of my friends knows a lot about the pachycephalosaurus.

S: So which one is your favorite dinosaur then?

C: The pachycephalosaurus! It’s a plant eater. I also like triceratops and pterodactyls. I also like pteranodons, but there is no pteranodon in The Itchy Book.

S: That’s a good way to get back to the book we are talking about. So what else did you want to say about this book?

C: I loved the book! It is so funny! The twist in the end is cool and the characters themselves are all funny!

S: Ooo, so there’s a twist in the end, hmm?

C: Yup, but I won’t tell! Everybody should read it themselves!

S: I agree. Ok, so this was again an Elephant and Piggie Like Reading! book. Do they appear in the book again, like in The Cookie Fiasco?

C: Yes. They show up at the beginning of the story and also at the end. Like before. And Gerald gets very very itchy in the end.

S: Well, talking about itches and scratching itchy spots might make you itchy, no?

C: Yep, that’s exactly what happens to Gerald. But I didn’t feel itchy. I just felt like laughing.

S: That is good, isn’t it? This book reminded me of Shel Silverstein’s poem: The Unscratchable Itch. Do you know it?

C: Nope.

S: Ok, then we should read it together:

There is a spot that you can’t scratch
Right between your shoulder blades,
Like an egg that just won’t hatch
Here you set and there it stays.
Turn and squirm and try to reach it,
Twist your neck and bend your back,
Hear your elbows creak and crack,
Stretch your fingers, now you bet it’s
Going to reach — no that won’t get it–
Hold your breath and stretch and pray,
Only just an inch away,
Worse than a sunbeam you can’t catch
Is that one spot that
You can’t scratch.
Shel Silverstein, from A Light in the Attic, Harper & Row, 1981.

C: That is a funny poem!

S: It is, isn’t it? And a good place to end your review this time, right?

C: Yes, it’s just about time. Because now I’m itchy! Scratch scratch!

Caramel enjoyed reading The Itchy Book by LeUyen Pham. — Caramel enjoyed reading *The Itchy Book* by LeUyen Pham.