Review by Booklist Review
Poor Gerald is incredibly cranky. And tired. Luckily, he knows the cure. He will take a nap! Blanket and Knuffle Bunny in arm, he settles in for some shut-eye. But just as he is drifting off, Piggie appears, shouting for Gerald and obliterating the start of his relaxing dream. What are you doing? Piggie wants to know. In his loudest, crankiest shout, the force of which bounces Piggie onto her head, Gerald explains that he is trying to nap. Now Piggie is feeling cranky, so the friends decide to nap together. Unfortunately, Piggie snores so loudly that Gerald doesn't have a chance at falling asleep. Piggie wakes refreshed, and Gerald eyes red with rage snaps, and things take a ridiculous twist. The simple line illustrations turn the comical exchange between Gerald and Piggie into pure slapstick. Willems, as usual, knows all the buttons to push to get kids laughing, and his decision to write a naptime tale about a character who wants to sleep, but can't, only adds to the silliness.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Willems delivers another exemplary entry for beginning readers. Announcing that he is cranky and tired, Gerald the elephant decides to take a nap to improve his mood. Just how restful this will be comes into serious question when Piggie enters his dream and begins pestering him. The increasingly agitated elephant freaks out, as Gerald is wont to do, and soon both Piggie and Elephant are in desperate need of sleep. This dream sequence goes from funny to downright kooky when their respective stuffed animals, acting as a Greek chorus, comment on some of the more outrageous happenings. The expressions of Elephant and Piggie, in combination with the simple yet emotional text, will have young readers laughing and identifying with the characters and the topic. VERDICT Filled with slapstick humor and a sense of the absurd, this book is a sure bet for fans of the series and a lovely introduction for those not yet acquainted with it.-Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Elephant Gerald is "tired. And cranky." He settles down for a nap ("I hope I have good dreams") and is eventually joined by Piggie. "SNORE! SNORE! SNORE!" Piggie wakes up refreshed, but Gerald isn't...because he's "NOT napping!" Or is he? The illustrations cleverly indicate what's real and what's a dream; once they're in on the conceit, beginning readers will enjoy the narrative tricks. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Poor Gerald the elephantall he wants is to take a nap.A bleary-eyed Gerald blinks out at readers from the cover, blanket and Knuffle bunny tucked in his arms. Piggie's head pokes into the frame from the side at a 90-degree angle, hinting at the disruption to come. Inside, "I am tired," Gerald announces. "And cranky. // I am going to take a nap." Those declarations set off a characteristically hilarious encounter between the fussbudget elephant and his porcine pal. He spreads out his mat, lies downand in marches Piggie, hollering, "GERALD!" Gerald explodes from slumber in alarm. Readers will not find it at all surprising, though they will find it funny, that pretty soon Gerald's cranky mood spreads to Piggie, who decides that she will take a nap, too: "SNORE! / SNORE! SNORE! SNORE!" Several pages later, the stertorous swine wakes up, rested and smiling. "How are you enjoying your nap, Gerald?" Beside himself, the elephant rages that he is "NOT napping!"but if he's not napping, then how come Piggie is floating? And endowed with a turnip-head? Careful readers will have noticed the change in background color that cues this extended dream sequenceand they may also find themselves wondering whether Gerald could possibly be as rested as he seems when he really wakes up. As naps go, this is about as strenuousand as funnyas it gets. (Early reader. 3-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
