\n A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends\n <\/p>\n
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Gerald the elephant learns a truth familiar to every preschooler\u2014heck, every human: \u201cWaiting is not easy!\u201d<\/p>\n
When Piggie cartwheels up to Gerald announcing that she has a surprise for him, Gerald is less than pleased to learn that the \u201csurprise is a surprise<\/i>.\u201d Gerald pumps Piggie for information (it\u2019s big, it\u2019s pretty, and they can share it), but Piggie holds fast on this basic principle: Gerald will have to wait. Gerald lets out an almighty \u201cGROAN!\u201d Variations on this basic exchange occur throughout the day; Gerald pleads, Piggie insists they must wait; Gerald groans. As the day turns to twilight (signaled by the backgrounds that darken from mauve to gray to charcoal), Gerald gets grumpy. \u201cWE HAVE WASTED THE WHOLE DAY!\u2026And for WHAT!?\u201d Piggie then gestures up to the Milky Way, which an awed Gerald acknowledges \u201cwas worth the wait.\u201d Willems relies even more than usual on the slightest of changes in posture, layout and typography, as two waiting figures can\u2019t help but be pretty static. At one point, Piggie assumes the lotus position, infuriating Gerald. Most amusingly, Gerald\u2019s elephantine groans assume weighty physicality in spread-filling speech bubbles that knock Piggie to the ground. And the spectacular, photo-collaged images of the Milky Way that dwarf the two friends makes it clear that it was indeed worth the wait.<\/span><\/p>\n A lesson that never grows old, enacted with verve by two favorite friends<\/p>\n
. (Early reader. 6-8)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n\n
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Pub Date:<\/b> Nov. 4, 2014<\/p>\n
ISBN:<\/b> 978-1-4231-9957-1<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
Page Count:<\/b> 64<\/p>\n
Publisher:<\/b> Hyperion<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
Review Posted Online:<\/b> Nov. 4, 2014<\/p>\n
Kirkus Reviews Issue:<\/b> Nov. 15, 2014<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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