Piggy is a pig. Gerald is an elephant. They are best friends. And they are the stars of this brilliant collection of books.

Great for early readers, they are so much more fun and relatable than your average first reader; deceptively simple, each story actually has hidden depths, both in design and in content. Plenty of repetition of simple language make them easy to access for even very newly independent readers. Every tale is presented as a conversation, in speech bubbles, between Piggy and Gerald, so that the stories function as scripts for children to play out, or adults to read out with a child - they are a great leveller, and so funny! Piggy's speech is in a pink bubble, while Gerald's bubble is grey, avoiding ambiguity for young readers playing their characters. Willems has also adopted the clever strategy of using font size to indicate the volume the words should be spoken at - no stage directions needed! Her simple illustrations major in on the emotions on the two characters' faces, sometimes hilariously drawn, which also make it super easy for kids to play the parts of the two friends, as well as helping readers learn to recognise feelings in faces of the real people around them.

Stories explore tricky emotions like anxiety and jealousy, the ups and downs of friendship, and teach so many valuable life lessons without ever lecturing and with plenty of laughter - they are the ultimate 'show not tell' books! They introduce children to the concept of dramatic irony - so often even the youngest child will be able to anticipate the denouement of the story before Piggy and Gerald have arrived there themselves, which just adds to the fun and connection of reading these books together. They force adults to be silly - the better your comic acting skills, the more fun you will have with this series. We were introduced to Piggy and Gerald by friends who love them and wanted to share the joy, and as we read aloud, everyone from 4 year olds to teens, to adults gathered round to join in the shared hilarity - not many books can claim the attention of so many people of such widely different ages - they really are a gift that keeps on giving!