Should I Share My Ice Cream? (Elephant and Piggie Series)

by Mo Willems

Overview

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.


In Should I Share My Ice Cream? Gerald has a big decision to make. But will he make it in time?



Using vocabulary that is perfect for beginning readers (and vetted by an early-learning specialist), Mo Willems has crafted a funny story about the challenges of doing the right thing. Fans of the Geisel Award-winning duo will eagerly eat it up!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423143437
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	06/14/2011
Series:	Elephant and Piggie Series
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	309
Product dimensions:	7.78(w) x 6.80(h) x 0.44(d)
Lexile:	260L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mo Willems (www.pigeonpresents.com), a number one New York Times 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). Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was also an inaugural inductee into the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame. And his 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?). Other favorites include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and City Dog, Country Frog, illustrated by Jon J Muth.

Mo began his career on Sesame Street, where he garnered six Emmy Awards.

Editorial Reviews

Children will delight in this perfect drama for hot weather. Gerald is excited about his "awesome, yummy, sweet, super, great, tasty, nice, cool ice cream" cone. But worry sets in with thoughts of his best friend, Piggie should he share his treat with her? As Gerald wrestles with the pros and cons, observant readers will notice that the ice cream is melting fast. By the time he decides in favor of sharing, it has melted into a puddle at his feet, and Gerald realizes that he "blew it." But timing is everything, and Piggie shows up at that moment with a cone of her own and happily shares it. "Not my plan," thinks Gerald, but he also realizes that this arrangement is fine. Willems's simple text allows beginning readers independent success, although the text and illustrations also work well as a read-aloud. Fans of the series will not want to miss this offering, and adults can use the simple story to discuss sharing, friendship, and making decisions in a timely manner. Another winner. Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, AL—SLJ

The endless line of moral dilemmas presented by Willems' Elephant & Piggie series continues with this ode to the classic conflict between generosity and greed. Wow, is Elephant ever excited about his ice cream cone! (He is so excited his very word balloons are in cone shape.) But should he find Piggie and give her some before it all melts? Swift changes in text and image size provide much of the humor, though nothing is funnier than Elephant's rationalizing: "Sharing a flavor Piggie does not like would be wrong." Is it even possible to get tired of these books? - Daniel Kraus—Booklist

From the Publisher

Elephant buys an ice cream cone and then begins an argument with himself. Should he share the ice cream with Piggy? Piggy is nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, Elephant conjures up several scenarios. Maybe Piggy does not like this flavor. Maybe Piggy will never know he has an ice cream cone. Maybe Piggy is sad and needs cheering. As he goes back and forth and back and forth, the ice cream melts and falls from the cone. No one gets to eat the ice cream from his cone. Then Piggy appears with a cone of her own. She sees that Elephant is sad and needs cheering, so she shares her ice cream. Elephant and Piggy are pictured standing up, but unclothed. The only adornment is Elephant's Harry Potter-like round spectacles. The book meets the criteria for a read alone, but its message may be questioned. Even though we like the idea of sharing, do we want to encourage two beings (children) to eat from the same ice cream cone? They were apparently each licking the cone. No spoons were shown. Part of the "Elephant and Piggie" series. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.

Children's Literature - Phyllis Kennemer

PreS-Gr 2—Children will delight in this perfect drama for hot weather. Gerald is excited about his "awesome, yummy, sweet, super, great, tasty, nice, cool ice cream" cone. But worry sets in with thoughts of his best friend, Piggie—should he share his treat with her? As Gerald wrestles with the pros and cons, observant readers will notice that the ice cream is melting—fast. By the time he decides in favor of sharing, it has melted into a puddle at his feet, and Gerald realizes that he "blew it." But timing is everything, and Piggie shows up at that moment with a cone of her own—and happily shares it. "Not my plan," thinks Gerald, but he also realizes that this arrangement is fine. Willems's simple text allows beginning readers independent success, although the text and illustrations also work well as a read-aloud. Fans of the series will not want to miss this offering, and adults can use the simple story to discuss sharing, friendship, and making decisions in a timely manner. Another winner.—Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, AL

School Library Journal