Snake happily says, 'Whee!' to which Piggy replies, 'I love playing catch with my friends!' While all ends on a positive note, Jeanne Willis's Susan Laughs (Holt, 2000) and Grace Maccarone's The Gym Day Winner (Scholastic, 1996) offer more respectful treatments of inclusion.- Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission. Then Piggy gets the idea to use Snake as the ball.

Then Elephant decides, 'Maybe we need more balls,' and the next spread shows Elephant and Piggy bombarding Snake with balls, each one hitting him with a 'BONK!' and Snake upside down in anguish. Piggy follows suit, with the same result. On the next page, Snake diffuses his rejection by saying, 'Hee-hee! Ha-ha! Hee-hee! Ha-ha! Hee-hee! I know I do not have arms./I am a snake.' Elephant asks, 'But can a snake play catch?' The story moves from clever to cruel as Elephant throws the ball and hits Snake on the head, and the reptile's expressions indicate distress. Piggy breaks the silence stating, 'You don't have arms!' and Snake dejectedly slithers away. Simple gestures and facial expressions convey Elephant's embarrassment at Snake's inability to catch a ball. Before they begin, Snake asks to join them. K-Gr 2-This beginning reader focuses on differently abled animals as Elephant and Piggy get ready for a game of catch. “Will you please read us again?” Willems’s deceptively simple dialogue and illustrations not only are brimming with wit but also grounded in conventions that support both reading and visual literacy.By Grade + Interest - K to 1st By Grade + Interest - 2nd to 3rd By Grade + Interest - 4th to 5th

And when the book is coming perilously close to its end, the answer is obvious. She makes the reader say “Banana,” which sends Elephant into gales of laughter. We are in a book!” Piggie is quick to realize the powerful position this puts them in. In We Are in a Book! Elephant and Piggie make a stunning discovery: “The reader is reading these word bubbles. The snake is eager to try, but after several unsuccessful attempts (it’s literally bombarded with balls), Piggie comes up with a much better way to include their new friend in the game. The request challenges Elephant and Piggie to tactfully point out the obvious-the snake has no arms to catch the ball. In Can I Play Too? the two are starting a game of catch when a snake asks to join the game. Mo Willems continues to delight with Elephant and Piggie, whose humorous exchanges-all conveyed through speech bubbles-are a gift to beginning readers.

Piggie and gerald can i play too