A tribute to the most existentially terrifying kids’ book ever written.
A startling realization from We Are in a Book!
From Harry’s willing martyrdom in the seventh Harry Potter novel to the snuff-film ruthlessness of the Hunger Games series to the existential bleakness of Toy Story 3, popular culture has become surprisingly enthusiastic about forcing children to confront the prospect of their own deaths.
But there’s one literary depiction of mortality for kids so gripping and so terrifying that it has been haunting me—a fully grown man—since I read it. It is arguably the most disturbing book published in America since The Road. I refer, of course, to Mo Willems’ 2010 picture book, We Are in a Book!
We Are in a Book! is a superficially giddy tale about Gerald the Elephant and Piggie the Pig, best friends in the grand tradition of kid-book animal odd couples. Like Snake and Lizard, Mouse and Mole, and, of course, Frog and Toad, Gerald and Piggie are idiosyncratic and loving—Gerald anxious, Piggie carefree. The Elephant and Piggie books—Willems seems to publish a new one every couple of weeks—are buoyant, lightly drawn cartoons. Dialogue is sparse and replete with exclamation points and ALL CAPS. A little bit happens, then Gerald and Piggie learn something.
In There is a Bird on Your Head, for example, a bird nests on Gerald’s head and annoys him. In Elephants Cannot Dance, Gerald tries to dance. Willems’ vignettes gracefully capture the raw emotions of childhood—as many Slate parents certainly know from Willems’ Knuffle Bunny books (the dreadful consequences of a lost stuffed animal) and Pigeon books (the mood swings of a frustrated pigeon).
Full review at Slate.
Full review at Slate.
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