Early Reader -- Are You Ready to Play Outside

Title: Are You Ready to Play Outside? 

Author: Mo Willems

Date: 2008


Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children

ISBN: 978-1-4231-1347-8

Format: Print book, hardback

Summary: Gerald and Piggie have a big day of running, skipping and jumping outside planned, but it begins to rain. Piggie is disappointed that the weather has ruined his plans for the day, so Gerald comes up with ways to cheer him up, as only a best friend would do.

Audience: This book is recommended for toddlers through age 8. It is an early reader book geared toward helping children learn to read.

Strengths: This book provides an interesting narrative written in a way that makes it easy for children just learning to read to understand the story's context. The words are simple and clearly illustrated by the accompanying pictures. This provides readers with a better understanding of the storyline. The book also presents the benefits of friendship, even though Gerald and Piggie are different from each other. Another strength of this book is that it is part of a series, so readers who want to read more adventures of Gerald and Piggie have a variety of books to choose from. Also, each of the Elephant and Piggie books have been vetted by an early learning specialist.

Weaknesses: Are you Ready to Play Outside? does not have any real weaknesses. For more advanced readers, the easy words used throughout could cause them to get bored, but overall the book serves it purpose well.

Uses: This book works well as an introduction to reading for toddlers. Not only does it help children learn to read, it is also entertaining in a way that can inspire a love of reading. This book focuses on the narrative as well as the tools needed to help children learn to read, so it makes learning fun. This book could also be used to teach children how to handle disappointment, following Piggie's example from the book.

Read-alikes: There is a Bird on Your Head by Mo Williams

I Broke My Trunk by Mo Willems

The Pigeon Needs A Bath by Mo Willems

Awards: 2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Winner