Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie Books in Chinese and English

If you’re looking for timeless books for reading practice that will make your kids laugh, then you should get Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie books in Chinese and English!

The cute and clever stories plus playful text encourages my toddler to try reading, while my rising 2nd grader is also entertained! They are also great for parents who are just starting to learn how to speak and read Chinese with their kids!

Chalk Academy is reader-supported. Some of the links are affiliate links. When you buy something through an affiliate link, we may earn a very small commission at no additional cost to you. More details here.

Review of Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie Series 小猪小象系列绘本

Elephant and Piggie is such a fantastic series for building vocabulary and encouraging a love of reading!

The conversational, first-person style of the books features common, everyday vocabulary. Repetition gives a rhythmic pattern to the narrative while helping kids master new words.

Try this: 15 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Read

While elephant Gerald’s words appear in matching grey speech bubbles, Piggie’s words are shown in pink letter bubbles. The best part is that the size of the word reflects the volume and excitement level of their voices, which makes reading fun and dynamic!

The playful variability of the text size encourages reading to understand Elephant and Piggie’s thoughts about friendship and emotions. With the standard KaiTi font and clear words against a simple background, the layout facilitates memorization of Chinese characters.

In addition, the illustrations are cute and expressive!

Reading level

Children who know approximately 300-500 Chinese characters, such as after completing most of the Sagebooks curriculum, should be able to read most of these books.

Explore this: Chinese Leveled Readers: Comparison of Graded Books for Kids

As for English, this is great reading practice for kids who have completed leveled readers, such as the Bob Books.

English versus Chinese version

Although we have the Elephant and Piggie books in both English and Chinese, we have only read the Chinese version.

With the exception of absolute favorite books, such as the Giving Tree and Freddie the Leaf, my kids generally don’t read books in both languages.

小猪小象 Elephant and Piggie Titles

1. Today I Will Fly! 今天我要飞！
2. My Friend is Sad 我的朋友不开心
3. I am Invited to a Party! 第一次参加派对！
4. There is a Bird on Your Head! 你头上有只鸟！
5. I Will Surprise My Friend! 吓你一跳！
6. Watch Me Throw the Ball! 看我来扔球！
7. Elephants Cannot Dance! 大象不会跳舞！
8. I am Going! 我要走了！
9. Can I Play Too? 我能一起玩吗？
10. We are in a Book! 我们在一本书里！
11. Should I Share My Ice Cream? 要不要分享冰激凌？
12. Listen to My Trumpet! 听我吹小号！
13. Let’s go for a Drive! 开车去兜风！
14. A Big Guy Took My Ball! 大个子抢了我的球！
15. I’m a Frog! 我是一只青蛙！
16. My New Friend is So Fun! 新朋友真有趣！
17. Waiting is Not Easy! 等待真不容易!

Pictures of Elephant and Piggie books in Chinese

Where to buy Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie Books in Chinese and English

• Author: Mo Willems; 戴永翔  (translator)
• Where to buy:
  • English – Complete collection (25 book set): ISBN 978-1368021319Amazon
  • Simplified Chinese:
    • 17 Book set
      • JoJo Learning
    • 5 Book set
      • JoJo Learning
  • Traditional Chinese with Zhuyin: *out of print* keep an eye out for it in your library or used book sales.

Mandarin Chinese narration

Although these books are now easy for me to read Mandarin Chinese, I’m grateful that these books have audio narration. I think that Luka Reading Robot narrates all of these books in Chinese and some in English!

My children and I have learned so much Chinese vocabulary from audiobooks, and I wish we had these books when we began our language journey a few years ago!

Several of these books have been narrated in Mandarin on YouTube as well! Here are a few that I found:

• Mandarin Mama
  • Can I Play Too? and Elephants Cannot Dance!
  • I Love My New Toy and Today I Will Fly
  • Watch Me Throw the Ball and We Are In a Book
• Better Chinese
  • There Is a Bird On Your Head 你的头上有只鸟

Have you read Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie Books in Chinese or English?

If you read this book, let me know what you think in the comments below! We’d love to hear about your learning experience with the books you choose! What other books do you recommend we check out?

Happy reading, friends!