School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

PreS-Gr 2 A sweet and pitch-perfect swan song to a wildly popular series. Reflecting on her good fortune and many blessings, Piggie decides to thank everyone who is important to her. Gerald thinks this is a bad idea, in that she runs the very big risk of forgetting someone. Piggie will not be dissuaded and embarks on her "Thank-o-rama!" She gives a shout-out to the Squirrels, Snake, the Pigeon, and other characters from the series, including Mouse, Birdies, Rhino, Hippo, Hippo's Big Sister, Barky Dog, Pelican, Bears, and Worms. Piggie turns into a thanking machine. Whale, Ice Cream Penguin, Doctor Cat, and Brian Rat all make appearances. Last, but hardly least, she remembers to acknowledge her partner in crime, Gerald, but there's still one important group that the effusive Piggie neglects to mentiontheir readers! Willems's brilliant, minimalist cartoon illustrations are as expressive and charming as ever. VERDICT The 25th installment in the winning series is a must-have for every collection and will lead kids to go back and revisit the earlier titles again and again. Thanks, Mo Willems, you've helped a whole generation learn to be proficient readers with Gerald and Piggie. Hugs all around! Luann Toth , School Library Journal

ALA Booklist (Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Willems' beloved odd couple returns in this giggle-inducing conclusion to the Elephant and Piggie series. This time, Piggie is struck by the need to say thank you to everyone important to her. When she tells Gerald her plan, he skeptically replies, "You will forget someone." Undeterred, Piggie exuberantly sets off on a "Thank-O-Rama" spree. From the start, readers will pick up from the illustrations that Gerald suspects Piggie will forget him. Quietly following Piggie, Gerald stands hopefully off to the side and grows increasingly agitated as Piggie hugs and thanks even the most insignificant of her friends e Cream Penguin, Doctor Cat, the flies. Kids will get a kick out of seeing Gerald appear as the unthanked elephant in the living room, so to speak, until Piggie finally realizes she has forgotten her best friend and acknowledges her mistake. A relieved Gerald tells Piggie that there is someone else she has neglected to thank: the reader! This sweetly silly introduction to expressing gratitude is a fitting send-off to one of children's literature's favorite duos.

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

In this final entry, Piggie decides to thank everyone who has touched her life. ("Everyone?" says elephant Gerald, incredulous. "You will forget someone.") You think you know where this is going, and Piggie does forget to thank Gerald, who does humorously blow his top. However, a twist provides an ending that is sweet, silly, metafictive, and heartfelt--everything the series has been all along.

Kirkus Reviews

Piggie is "one lucky pig," and she's determined to make sure she thanks "everyone who is important to" her in this, the final Elephant & Piggie book.Gerald is sure his friend will forget someone—"someone important"—but Piggie assures him, "It will be a THANK-O-RAMA!" Piggie proceeds to thank the Squirrels for their great ideas, Snake for playing ball, and the Pigeon "for never giving up." Piggie thanks and thanks: "I am a thanking machine!" She thanks character after character, even the Flies ("Any time, dude!"), as Gerald continues to interject that she'll forget "someone VERY important." Finally Piggie runs out of thanks, and by this time Gerald is steamed. "I goofed," Piggie says in itty-bitty type, before lavishing thanks on Gerald. But that's not whom Piggie forgot to thank! A classic Willems tantrum later, Gerald reveals the "someone important": "Our reader." Of course. "We could not be ‘us' without you," says Gerald, earnestly looking out from the page, and Piggie chimes in, "You are the best!" As Elephant & Piggie books go, this isn't one of the strongest, but it is a validating valediction to fans of the two characters, who have won Willems two Geisel Medals and five Honors. Yes, Gerald and Piggie have ushered countless readers into literacy, but as they rightly note, reading is a collaborative act. Thank you, Gerald and Piggie. We'll miss you. (Early reader. 5-8)