Let's Go for a Drive! (Elephant & Piggie)

K-Gr 2--Best friends Elephant and Piggie are back in a new adventure that extols imaginative play and flexibility. Type-A Elephant suggests going for a drive (narrated hilariously by the friends with a Pigeon-esque "Drive! Drive! Drivey-drive-drive!"), but cannot stop panicking about contingencies long enough to relax. Piggie gamely supplies solutions to assuage Elephant's concerns, each time adding a new sound effect to their play-"Map! Map! Mappy-map-map!" and so on-guaranteeing laughs from children. Eventually, Elephant thinks of a need that Piggie cannot supply, causing him to have a flat-out meltdown (also reminiscent of the Pigeon), but in the end, Piggie's quick thinking saves the day. The clean line drawings mirror and support the concise text; both avoid unnecessary details while evoking the full range of emotion. The deceptive simplicity and the comic-book layout will entice even reluctant readers, and is a perfect read-aloud for groups of a wide age range. A must-have for every library.--Rebecca Dash Donsky, New York Public Library

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

When Gerald the elephant and Piggie decide to go for a drive, they find that all the planning in the world can't replace one crucial ingredient. "Let's go for a drive!" proposes Gerald; "That sounds fun!" agrees Piggie. "Drive! Drive! Drivey-drive-drive!" they chorus. Gerald, a touch on the OCD side, insists on a plan that includes a number of items: map, sunglasses, umbrellas, bags and, as there will be "a lot of driving on [their] drive," a car. Oops. Piggie doesn't have one; "[a] pig with a car would be silly." Neither does Gerald. Whatever will they do? The dauntless duo's 18th outing employs Willems' award-winning formula: color-coded speech bubbles; lots of white space; endearing visual characterization (Gerald's emotional journey as he realizes the tragedy a-borning is hysterical); effortless phonetic play; thoughtfully designed endpapers; silliness. The pair's refrain incorporates each new element to Gerald's plan in a way that is both classically childlike and slyly pedagogical. After "Map! Map! Mappy-map-map!" children will enjoy anticipating how sunglasses, umbrellas and bags will fit into that pattern-and likely start playing with other words as well. Gerald and Piggie's solution? Typically elegant and entirely satisfying. Which describes the book as well. (Early reader. 4-8) Kirkus"