Happy Pig Day! by Mo Williams
Published: Scholastic, Inc., 2011
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I can’t believe it took me this long to talk about Mo Willems. A prolific writer, animator, and artist, Mo Willems has written all the books your child is most likely to check out of the library. His books have won Caldecott Honors, Geisel Awards, and his Pigeon series is inescapable. Mo Willems does not need a review from me to get more exposure, but a neighbor placed this book in my hands and said I should talk about it because her kids can’t get enough of it. It’s easy to see why.
What works so well about his books is Willems casual, conversational tone. I often read picture books, especially from new authors, that treat children’s book content like sacred texts. The text feels distant and a little condescending. They rhyme when rhythm and rhyme aren’t the author’s greatest strength. They tell a story in third-person that feels like it could start with “Once upon a time…” Willems’s books do none of these things.
The dialog in Happy Pig Day! is framed like a comic book. The characters exchange brief conversations within dialog balloons and there are no “he said/she said” dialog tags. The Holy Word of Publishing would ordinarily frown on that for a picture book format, but Willems background gives him allowances. Breaking the rules works for him and it works for the kids who love him, too.
That approach to dialog is key to these books. There is no narration to fall back on; the story relies on how much can be conveyed through conversation. There is also no jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring artwork to fall back on, either. Willems’s simple, cartoony style is the same style he used as a Sesame Street animator, and although it has its own appeal, there are limitations to how much can be told through character posing. When Pig dances it looks very similar to Pig waving her arms, for example. No matter; if you need to know what’s happening, the characters will tell you.
In this particular story, Gerald the Elephant feels out of place on Pig Day because he isn’t a pig. Willems takes us through all of Gerald’s emotions as he goes from curious to downtrodden to shocked in fifty pages. If you’ve ever been the black sheep in a field of white sheep having a party, it’s easy to identify with Gerald’s discomfort.
I’ve often moaned over how often extravagant artwork serves as a replacement for a story in the publishing world these days, but Willems remains a popular exception. Happy Pig Day! is one of many of his books worth adding to your collection.