Waiting Is Not Easy!-An Elephant and Piggie Book Hardcover – Illustrated, November 4, 2014

“Waiting Is Not Easy” by Mo Willems is such a fantastic and easy read, especially for kids who are just starting to read! My kids absolutely love it—it’s become a favorite in our house. The story is engaging, the illustrations are fun, and it’s simple enough for early readers to enjoy while still keeping their attention.I was so impressed with how much my kids loved this book that I ended up buying all of Mo Willems’ books. They’re all so easy to read, entertaining, and perfect for young readers. I totally recommend this one and the rest of his collection!

It certainly is not easy to wait! My girls and I have been waiting for this book since we pre-ordered it in April!For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this series, Elephant and Piggie is a series of easy readers featuring a neurotic elephant and his friend Piggie, who is a nice foil for Gerald. The books are very silly; there is usually a misunderstanding, and quite a bit of comic relief. The text is simple, and the character speak via voice bubbles, using simple language like,"I have a surprise for you!""Yay! What is it?""The surprise is a surprise!""Oh."The illustrations enhance the simple text. Elephant and Piggie are put up against a white background. This allows emphasis to be placed on facial expressions and body language. This is a wonderful tool for helping children understand how a character is feeling.Waiting Is Not Easy is a wonderful entry in the franchise. The snippet of text I shared is from the beginning of the book. Piggie has a surprise for Gerald, and he is very excited. The only problem is that Gerald literally can't deal with waiting, and he gets more and more anxious about the surprise. He groans audibly, and his groan voice bubble even knocks Piggie over. She remains patient with him, and the payoff when the surprise is revealed proves to be worth the wait.My three girls (7,5,5) loved this story. They giggled at Gerald's impatience, and they enjoyed the surprise. The Elephant and Piggie books don't always have a lesson at the end, so I appreciated that this story conveyed the message that good things come to those who wait.I would absolutely recommend Waiting Is Not Easy to preschoolers through children in the early years of elementary school. The voice bubble format makes this an ideal story to act out with an emerging reader. I know that we will continue to enjoy this story, just like the rest of the Elephant and Piggie stories.

I purchased this book over a year ago, my son was 4 yo. Initially I got it, because he had trouble being patient and I thought this book would help. As soon as we read it, he really enjoyed it and wanted me to read it over and over to him. Although, it didn’t help him to become more patient right away, he did learn the lesson over time. When he wasn’t being patient, I would remind him about this book and how Elephant was rewarded with the surprise after being patient. It worked over time. This became one of my son’s favorite books. Now he is 6 and can read on his own, he always wants to read this book, however, he nearly has it memorized at this time.Today, I was looking to purchase more books from this series for my son to read. I came across this book, and after reading some reviews, I felt compelled to write a review myself. I can see how some ADULTS would find this book terrible, as it is just pages and pages of Elephant waiting and sort of whining abut having to wait. However, CHILDREN absolutely love these books, because they are simple and relatable. And they are super easy to read for beginner readers giving them confidence and love for reading. I highly recommend this book.

This writer is a genius. The illustrions are wonderful. Children love it

This is the second Elephant and Piggie book that we have purchased for my daughter and she LOVES them (she is almost 2)! It is a very interactive, unique style of children's book. It requires animation on the reader's part and my daughter loves how excited my husband and I are when we read the book. She now requests the book by asking for elephant and/or piggie and gets excited when we start to read it!It also has a good lesson for children...good things come to those who wait! Whenever my daughter is being impatient or whiny and I tell her "waiting is not easy, is it?" she immediately smiles and says piggie! Impatience is something that everyone deals with, and in this book Gerald the Elephant is having an internal struggle of not wanting to wait for Piggie's surprise. He goes back and forth between waiting and getting frustrated by the fact that Piggie's surprise is not ready right now! In the end he waits and the surprise is well worth it.I do appreciate that this book has such an important lesson, but is also fun to read and my daughter gets really into it! Well worth every penny and I think my husband and I will buy her a few more Elephant and Piggie books for her birthday coming up! Great book to add to any children's book collection.