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Parents' Guide to

Today I Will Fly!: An Elephant & Piggie Book

By Dawn Friedman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Piggie will fly in this spunky read-aloud.

Book Mo Willems For Beginning Readers 2007
Today I Will Fly!: An Elephant & Piggie Book Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 3+

Based on 2 parent reviews

cmpc
cmpc Parent of 3, 6 and 8-year-old
March 22, 2011
age 3+
My older kids love reading it to our youngest. Hilarious series and a great first reader for those starting to read. Fun for parents to read aloud too.
magasalee
magasalee Parent of 4 and 7-year-old
July 30, 2010
age 3+
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Piggie wants to fly but Elephant is discouraging. With the help of a couple of friends, Piggie tries hard to make her dreams come true.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (3 ):

It won't surprise parents to hear that author/illustrator Mo Willems got his start writing for Sesame Street; the same smart but developmentally appropriate attitude is all over his picture books. This Elephant and Piggie book will remind readers of vintage Dr. Seuss series regular P.D. Eastman, who wrote classics like Go, Dog. Go! A similar sensibility drives this book: simple pictures, likable characters, and snappy dialogue in an easy-to-read, kid-friendly format.

Willems' scratchy, casual illustrations convey the action and character emotion. The lack of background keeps the focus on language and makes the punctuation -- somewhat sophisticated for this level -- less daunting. TODAY I WILL FLY is entertaining enough that adults will want to read it aloud, but has enough emotional action that beginning readers will be satisfied that this is no book for babies. For such a tight vocabulary, an awful lot happens in this well-presented book.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Elephant. Does he remind you of Eeyore? Why doesn't he think Piggie can fly? Even though Piggie's being silly, do you think Elephant should be encouraging anyway?

Book Details

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