Today I Will Fly!

Title: Today I Will Fly!

Author: Mo Willems

Publisher: New York: Hyperion, 2007

ISBN-13: 9781-42310295-3

Plot Summary: When spirited Piggie decides that she will fly, her best friend Elephant is outright antagonistic to the idea. “You will never fly!” he cries. Piggie is indomitable—she will fly! Elephant looks skeptically on while her various attempts yield no results—until she enlists another friend to help.

 Critical Analysis: Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books are a modern staple for emerging readers. The illustrations are simple, the text simpler, yet in just a few artistic lines and simple sentences a story of friendship and imagination unfolds. Each book examines an aspect of friendship; problem-solving, anger, and comfort to name a few.  Today I Will Fly! is the first book in the Elephant and Piggie series and examines support. Willems readdressed this aspect of friendship in 2009 with Elephants Cannot Dance!

The characters of Elephant and Piggie can be summed up in few words. Elephant is a pessimistic, realistic, introverted, and loyal. Piggie is an optimistic, exuberant, extrovert who makes friends easily, yet is unswervingly devoted to her best friend Elephant. Their sincere friendship is their defining quality. The simplicity of the characters makes them easy to understand and love—an essential feature of quality books for young children. 

Today I Will Fly! demonstrates a stress on friendship. Elephant will not support Piggie’s dream of flight, and tells her so in no uncertain terms. Piggie listens to Elephant carefully, but ultimately decides she can at least try to fly. The characters could allow the disagreement to drive a wedge between them, but they do not. Although Elephant never offers his help to Piggie, Piggie is confident enough in herself and her friendship to move ahead with her idea. The breakthrough moment for Piggie is actually triggered by a sarcastic remark by Elephant. A take-away from the story from Piggie’s perspective is to follow your dream in spite of the ridicule of others, even that of your friends. Elephant learns that you should never underestimate your friends.

The outstanding quality of Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books is the perfect marriage of text and illustration. As an illustrator Mo Willem’s style is distinct and spare. Flat pencil drawings of Piggie and Elephant are often the only illustration on a page. Backgrounds are non-existent; even a horizon does not make an appearance. The characters remain grounded by a consistent bottom margin. The key indicator of height is a squiggly black line representing a shadow. Extensive white space helps the young reader to remain focused on the reading experience, yet the simply drawn characters are not a distraction. The spare nature of the illustration makes every detail significant. From Elephant’s defiant stance with his hands on his hips to Piggie’s appealing lean as she asks a pelican for help, the body language is portrayed simply and accurately. The primary emotional cues of the book rest on three lines per character—the eyebrows and the mouth. Additional lines represent movement, reminiscent of newspaper cartoons such as Peanuts and Family Circus.

In addition to the illustration of the characters, Willems uses the words themselves as graphic elements. The top half of each page is reserved for the test, emphasizing the equal importance of text and illustration. The text is entirely dialogue, differentiated by the cartoon staple of the voice bubble. In addition to the traditional tail of the bubble pointing toward the speaking character, the dialogue bubbles are color-coded. Pessimist Elephant’s words are gray and exuberant Piggie’s bubbles are pink. The lack of traditional text indicators of speaking character (i.e. he said/she said) allows uninterrupted dialogue and supports the quick pacing of the story. In addition to the effective use of the dialogue bubble, Willems uses the font size to cue emotion. The larger the letters, the louder the character is speaking. The text treatments make Elephant and Piggie books excellent read-alouds.

Setting aside the graphic elements of Willems’ voice bubbles allows one to examine the construction of the text. He uses the repetition of a handful of simple words to great effect, making him a true heir to the legacy of Dr. Seuss.

Awards: The Elephant and Piggie series received the 2008 and 2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal, a honor awarded for the most notable early reader book published during the previous year. Elephant and Piggie books have also won Geisel Honors 2011-2015. Mo Willems has garnered the Caldecott Honor three times for his delightful children’s books. Prior to reinventing children’s literature Willems earned six Emmy Awards for his writing and animation on the venerable Sesame Street children’s television program.

Additional Review:

Booklist: “Accessible, appealing, and full of authentic emotions about what makes friendships tick, this will put a contemporary shine on easy reader collections.”

In the Words of the Author/Illustrator:

“Oh, I’m no artist . . . I’m a utilitarian craftsman. My job is to construct solidly, well-built stories and drawing to be used and reused by kids and grown-up. An artist is concerned with making his audience understand him, a craftsman is concerned with understanding his audience . . .The only rule I set for myself before starting is that the star of each book should be designed in such a way that anyone can draw him or her.”

From an interview conducted by Sujata Shahane for the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature (NCCIL).  September 2008. www.nccil.org/experience/artisits/willemsm/. Accessed 9/9/15.

Review created for course LS 5603 20-21 at Texas Woman’s University