We Are Growing! – Laurie Keller – Children's Materials: Large Group Bibliography

Age Range: 6 – 8 years
Grade Level: 1 – 3
Lexile Measure: 120
Series: Elephant & Piggie Like Reading!
Hardcover: 64 pages
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion (September 20, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1484726359
ISBN-13: 978-1484726358

Keller (the Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut) teams up with Willems for one of two titles launching the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series; vignettes featuring Willems’s two pals bookend this story. “It is as exciting as watching grass grow,” Elephant tells Piggie, holding a copy of this book, “because it is watching grass grow!” Indeed, Keller whisks readers to a vast lawn, where blades of grass are growing, though not at the same speed or in the same way. An early bloomer turns boastful (“I know, I know. I made it look easy”), but as the others grow, they realize that they all stand out in various ways, whether they’re the tallest, curliest, or dandiest (in the case of a dandelion). But what’s that buzzing noise? Keller’s googly-eyed grasses brim with personality, her emphatic cartooning creates some wonderful slapstick moments, and raucous sound effects make the action of grass growing sound more like a five-car pileup. The underlying ideas—to stick to your strengths even when life (or a power mower) cuts you down, and that “We are all the something-est!”—are winners, much like the book itself.

Awards: Geisel Award 2017

Rationale for Inclusion: Keller’s hilarious and creative tale inspires children to grow in their own unique and individual ways. Each blade of grass grows in its own way–curly, straight, dipped or frayed, each blade develops its own personality from its growth. Children are always growing, just like these blades of grass, and its good to remind kids that we all grow in separate and unique ways–no two of us are the same, so it’s great to be proud of who we are, because we’re always the something-est! Award-winning authors and illustrators of Piggie and Elephant joins Keller for this amazing collaboration into the Piggie and Elephant catalog.

Murray Library reads We Are Growing!: