Elephant and Piggie

Seriously. Mo Willems is a genius. Two simple characters. Simple text. HUGE impact! 

The last couple weeks we have been all about Elephant and Piggie! It started when I got a bunch of Elephant and Piggie books and put them in our Read to Someone area. The kids would grab a couple books, picked a part, and started reading! It defintely revitalized the read to someone station!

After reading elephant and piggie books for about a week or two, I added some plain books (three sheets of paper stapled together) to the writing area and told the kids to write an elephant and piggie book (they couldn't have one with them at the table. We talked a little bit about speech and thought bubbles (I have a piggie anchor chart from earlier) and the kids got to work.

It's so amazing to see what they have started coming up with. The details they add. The new story ideas. The cuteness of their pictures...

You can tell they notice so much when they read. The many expressions. The simple speech bubbles. Seeing how they think of a story as they work on the cover.
One of my favorites as we have gotten started is this one below. The child came up to me with a title: Piggie Turned Brown.

First she drew the dirty piggie and wrote her sentence. Then she drew the elephant. I commented on how he looked mad. She said, "No, he is disappointed."
I about died. You had to hear her voice. The matter of factness. The "someone has used this phrase with me before" kind of tone.

In each child's book I think there is going to be an element of truth. Elephant and Piggie's adventures mirror the daily adventures of the kids. That's what made them so lovable in the first place.

I can't wait to add these stories to our library!

We have lots more to do with Elephant and Piggie, as well as many other Mo Willems' books! I will share more as we move a long in the month!