The Cookie Fiasco-Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!

From School Library Journal --------------------------- K-Gr 2—In this book within a book, readers are greeted by Elephant and Piggie, who are ready to share "some of their favorite books" with readers. Santat tackles the subject of division in a way that young kids will relate to—figuring out how to split up cookies fairly. The characters include a nervous purple hippo, a crocodile, a squirrel with pigtails, and a blue squirrel with glasses. They have a problem. There are four of them and only three cookies. How will they divide them up equally? Maybe the two squirrels should share one. Hippo suggests they share by size, but the crocodile protests, "WAIT! You are HUGE! You would get all the cookies!" Finally, a happy accident presents the solution. Those looking for "Elephant & Piggie" read-alikes will not be disappointed. The story is similarly told entirely in speech bubbles. The emotions of the characters are effectively conveyed through these speech bubbles, which change in size to express excitement and frustration, and the comic-style illustrations, which add dramatic appeal and humor. The language is more complex than most beginning reader texts, but kids won't mind. VERDICT With fun new characters and cameo appearances by Elephant and Piggie, this title is sure to be a hit with beginning readers. Libraries should be prepared for this one to fly off the shelves.—Kimberly Tolson, Medfield Public Library, MA Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) About the Author ---------------- Dan Santat (www.dantat.com) is the author and illustrator of the recent Caldecott winner, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, and many other books. For Disney-Hyperion he illustrated Oh, No! and Oh, No! Not Again! by Mac Barnett, Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo by Ayun Halliday, and Because I'm Your Dad by Ahmet Zappa. He is also the creator of Disney's animated hit The Replacements. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and two dogs. Mo Willems (www.pigeonpresents.com), a New York Times #1 best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions, for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. The celebrated Elephant & Piggie early-reader series has been awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal on two occasions (for There Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside?) as well as garnering five Geisel Honors (for We Are in a Book!, I Broke My Trunk!, Let's Go for a Drive!, A Big Guy Took My Ball! and Waiting Is Not Easy!). Read more ( javascript:void(0) )

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