Pete, the cat who couldn’t care less, celebrates Christmas with his inimitable lassitude. Considering the author’s track record and influences, it may find a welcome from younger audiences too. Short on internal logic but long on creamy scenes of calf and tractor either gamboling energetically with a gaggle of McCloskey-like geese through neutral-toned fields or resting peacefully in the shade of a gnarled tree (apple, not cork), the episode will certainly draw nostalgic adults. After the big new yellow tractor, crowds of overalls-clad locals and a red fire engine all fail to pull her out, the little tractor (who had been left behind the barn to rust after the arrival of the new tractor) comes putt-puff-puttedy-chuff-ing down the hill to entice his terrified bovine buddy successfully back to dry ground. 4-8)Ĭontinuing to find inspiration in the work of Virginia Lee Burton, Munro Leaf and other illustrators of the past, Long ( The Little Engine That Could, 2005) offers an aw-shucks friendship tale that features a small but hardworking tractor (“putt puff puttedy chuff”) with a Little Toot–style face and a big-eared young descendant of Ferdinand the bull who gets stuck in deep, gooey mud. Page turns and placement of speech bubbles are customarily flawless, yielding multiple guffaws, but this story also provides much-needed guidance to kids who are navigating the etiquette minefield of friendship among peers of differing abilities. More balls (“BONK! BONK! BONK! BONK!.”) isn’t the answer, but then Piggie has an idea (illustrated by a compact fluorescent light bulb) that provides the ideal solution. This awkward moment resolves with the three friends trying to play catch, with predictable results (“BONK!”). But.” “We are playing catch,” Piggie explains. “You do not want to play with me?” Snake asks sadly.

Gerald and Piggie decide to play catch, but when Snake slithers up asking to play too, they are a bit dubious. The latest Elephant and Piggie book displays all the snappy pacing and wry humor readers have come to expect of the Geisel Medal–winning series, with a valuable lesson in friendship and flexibility tucked inside.

Can i play too book