I explained to the students that this would be the last Elephant & Piggie book and their disappointment and shock was always audible. As I read The Thank You Book over and over, about 25 times in all to all grades, I choked back more than a few tears. Willems's books have become a common thread for all of my students. And, happily, I occasionally get older students checking these books out to read to younger siblings. And I absolutely love telling them to look for Pigeon at the end of the book -and in all of Willems's books! Sometimes I have to nudge the second and third graders away from Elephant & Piggie, or encourage them to get one book at their reading level and one E&P. Technically, I'm not supposed to check books out to the kinders, but it's hard to say 'no' to those adorable little faces. They are a staple for my first graders, but I especially love checking them out to the kindergarteners. Today, we have at least three copies of each book in the series on the shelves (in their own special section) and they are always almost all checked out. Gerald and Piggie became instant celebrities in the library. Taking advantage of my employee discount at Barnes & Noble one last time, and taking advantage of the generosity of my amazing principal, I bought a copy of every book in the series and began reading them out loud to my students - all grades. There were just a few Elephant & Piggie books on the shelves and they were not circulating. When I took over my library it had languished through more than a year of substitute librarians cycling in and out of the space and several years of a diminished or non-existent book buying budget. More than 80% of the students at my school are socioeconomically disadvantaged, 65% of them are reading at grade level and 55% of them are English language learners. I am finishing up my second full year as an elementary school librarian.

The thank you book by mo willems