Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Gerald and Piggie are great friends, but will the friendship survive Piggie's latest offer? She loves slop and asks Gerald to try it. After eyeing the steaming, fly-festooned bowl of green goop, he resists, even refuses, but eventually relents because Piggie is his friend. Will he try dessert? Don't count on it. Friendship may transcend tastes but even great friends have their limit. Young readers will respond lovingly and laughingly to Willems' much-loved characters because they are so like children themselves. His cartoon illustrations are simple but humorous and full of facial expressions vivid enough to make readers believe that they, too, can smell Piggie's slop. As Piggie offers Gerald her wonderful slop, children will echo the elephant's own horrified sounds. The minimalist text corresponds with the simple illustrations, ensuring this will be another favorite among Willems' growing Elephant and Piggie series. Fans who love the author's Knuffle Bunny and Cat the Cat series books will, of course, enjoy Elephant and Piggie, as will those who claim Dr. Seuss, Bob Shea, and Oliver Jeffers as favorites. Willems has written another laugh-out-loud winner that will leave kids shouting for second helpings or even thirds. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Willems' latest proves his beloved and award-winning series for beginning readers isn't losing any steam. Order up!--Petty, J. B. Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Elephant and Piggie are back! This time Piggie has created... slop. When Gerald gets a whiff of the pea-green concoction and sees flies buzzing around the bowl, he asks Piggie if it is supposed to smell that way. With the exaggerative flair Willems is known for, as Piggie sniffs, her hat pops off, eyes bulge, and her head turns from turquoise to orange before she answers "Yessssss!" Piggie is eager for her best friend to try the recipe, but Gerald emphatically refuses. Seeing that he has upset his friend, Gerald changes his mind. Willems successfully executes the tension in the tasting scene by using two pages to zoom in on Gerald's face as a dot of slop touches his tongue. Gerald turns four shades of bright colors before transforming into a yellow and purple polka-dotted elephant. As he begins to return to his normal gray self, Piggie asks if he liked it. Although Gerald confesses that he does not, he shares that he is glad he tried it, because that is what friends do for each other. Variance in text size and melodramatic facial expressions will help readers understand how the two pals feel throughout the story. Elephant and Piggie fans will enjoy the new twist of bright colors used in contrast against the signature gray and pink hues. VERDICT Through a story line and illustrations that produce rollicking laughter, Elephant and Piggie once again share with young readers what it means to be a friend.-Beth Parmer, New Albany Elementary Library, OH © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
"Pigs really, really, really, really, really like slop!"In fact, "eating slop is part of pig culture," so when Gerald the elephant turns up his trunk at best friend Piggie's reeking, green bowlful ("The flies are how you know it is ripe!"), she takes it very personally. Seeing her devastation, Gerald steels himself to "try a small taste," using his trunk to transfer a tiny globule to a very reluctant tongue. A comedic four-page sequence ensues, in which Gerald's disgust is dramatized with very un-elephantlike coloration, contortions, and many repetitions of "Urk!" (Turns out old shoes are the secret ingredient.) Willems exploits his audience's familiarity with the beloved characters to deliver a humorous update of Green Eggs and Ham, combining it with a message about not just friendship and trying new things, but cross-cultural understanding. With cultural awareness an ever more prominent element of school curricula, it's likely kids will understand it immediately. Picky eaters will see themselves in Gerald, and they will appreciate his bravery and generosity of spirit. Once he's tasted it, Gerald confesses that he does not particularly like slop, but he's glad he tried it: "Because I really like you," he tells a pleased Piggie. "Yummy" may be highly subjective, but friendship is transcendent. (Early reader. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
