--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The common thread of the series is that…" description: "\"The common thread of the series is that these are the books that Elephant and Piggie like to read. Elephant and Piggie are retired, so this is what the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/mo-willems-25067_book_the-common-thread-of-the-series-is-that_1192636.jpg" --- # The common thread of the series is that these are the… ![“The common thread of the series is that these are the books that Elephant and Piggie like to read. Elephant and Piggie are retired, so this is what they do in their spare time. What will they end up wanting to read? Time will tell. We've got to let that evolution happen as the series goes on. Any…” quote by Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/mo-willems-25067_book_the-common-thread-of-the-series-is-that_1192636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/mo-willems-25067_book_the-common-thread-of-the-series-is-that_1192636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e4/mo-willems-25067_book_the-common-thread-of-the-series-is-that_1192636.jpg) > “The common thread of the series is that these are the books that Elephant and Piggie like to read. Elephant and Piggie are retired, so this is what they do in their spare time. What will they end up wanting to read? Time will tell. We've got to let that evolution happen as the series goes on. Any return of a character would have to be organic, would have to be, for example, Laurie Keller saying, hey, I really want to do this, and me feeling that there's a story there, rather than just saying, yeah, we can get three books out of these characters.” [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage explains that the series features books favored by retired characters, emphasizing organic evolution and authentic storytelling over forced content. **In simple terms:** Stories should grow naturally, not be forced. Key Takeaway Let characters develop stories organically. Themes authenticity creativity character development Mood thoughtful reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - children’s literature - author interviews - creative process Key Concepts organic storytelling series continuity Questions to Reflect On - How can creators keep characters fresh? - What signals indicate a story feels forced? A Different Perspective Balancing fan expectations with genuine narrative can be tricky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Spare time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-time/) ## Related quotes > [Rescue Me' is the first book in a three-book series. Although, like all my series, the books are purposely written so that readers do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-gibson/rescue-me-is-the-first-book-in-a-three-book-series-although-like-all/) [Rachel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-gibson/) > [I'm a huge fan of the series of books by Cassandra Clare, 'The Mortal Instruments.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-the-series-of-books-by-cassandra-clare-the-mortal/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) > [“A series of books is really one book separated into several.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maribel-pagan/a-series-of-books-is-really-one-book-separated-into-several/) Maribel Pagan > [“It became clear that Keisha Blake could not start something without finishing it. If she climbed onto the boundary wall of Caldwell, she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/it-became-clear-that-keisha-blake-could-not-start-something-without/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“She wanted to read things -- could not resist wanting to read things -- and reading was easily done, and relatively inexpensive. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/she-wanted-to-read-things-could-not-resist-wanting-to-read-things-and/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“She had several books she'd been wanting to read, but instead she sprawled out on the couch surrounded by pillows and blankets, and spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-derting/she-had-several-books-she-d-been-wanting-to-read-but-instead-she/) [Kimberly Derting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-derting/) > [Growing up, my parents managed to show me the importance of reading without cramming it down my throat. A difficult task, I'm sure. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/growing-up-my-parents-managed-to-show-me-the-importance-of-reading/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A woman wanting to come to the battlefield was like … well, like a man wanting to read. Unnatural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/a-woman-wanting-to-come-to-the-battlefield-was-like-well-like-a-man/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [I wasn't a very outgoing child. I read a lot of books and the characters in each of the books became like imaginary friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-fine-frenzy/i-wasn-t-a-very-outgoing-child-i-read-a-lot-of-books-and-the/) [A Fine Frenzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-fine-frenzy/) > [I can't single out one of my books or characters as a favorite. In the same way that I don't have a favorite kidney,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/i-can-t-single-out-one-of-my-books-or-characters-as-a-favorite-in-the/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [My parents have taught me the value of reading and self-love through books that have characters that look like me and talk like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marley-dias/my-parents-have-taught-me-the-value-of-reading-and-self-love-through/) [Marley Dias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marley-dias/) > [I leapt eagerly into books. The characters’ lives were so much more interesting than the lonely heartbeat of my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/i-leapt-eagerly-into-books-the-characters-lives-were-so-much-more/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [I had a love affair with books, with characters and their words. Books kept me company. When the voices of the book faded, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/i-had-a-love-affair-with-books-with-characters-and-their-words-books/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting places to set my books. But as the characters come first, who they are will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-walker/i-m-always-on-the-lookout-for-new-and-interesting-places-to-set-my/) Kate Walker > [“Books and characters in books, pictures and elements in pictures—they all have families and ancestors, just like people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/books-and-characters-in-books-pictures-and-elements-in-pictures-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More by Mo Willems > [Kids are super-independent. This is the time when you don't need your parents for a story anymore. You have a great degree of agency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/kids-are-super-independent-this-is-the-time-when-you-don-t-need-your/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [I think Laurie's Keller story 'We are growing', resonates because when you have that amount of independence, you're starting to ask yourself questions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/i-think-laurie-s-keller-story-we-are-growing-resonates-because-when/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [I've been lucky enough to have made enough of these types of children's books that while I don't necessarily know what works, I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-have-made-enough-of-these-types-of-children/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [“People think, Hey, I love kids, I want to write children’s books. But they think children are happy. That’s their first mistake. \[Messinger, Jonathan.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/people-think-hey-i-love-kids-i-want-to-write-children-s-books-but/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [A picture book is a motorcycle: small, loud, fun, and zippy. An easy reader is a chartered bus: obliged to carry a rather dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/a-picture-book-is-a-motorcycle-small-loud-fun-and-zippy-an-easy/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [The difference between children and adults is that they're shorter - not dumber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/the-difference-between-children-and-adults-is-that-they-re-shorter/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [Elephant and Piggie have a very large input. They have a distinct aesthetic taste. They like books that are philosophical. They like books that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/elephant-and-piggie-have-a-very-large-input-they-have-a-distinct/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [An artist is waiting for the audience to understand the work. A craftsman is working to understand the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/an-artist-is-waiting-for-the-audience-to-understand-the-work-a/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [The first bowl of chocolate pudding was too hot, but Goldilocks ate it all anyway because, hey, it's chocolate pudding, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/the-first-bowl-of-chocolate-pudding-was-too-hot-but-goldilocks-ate-it/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [I bet your mom would let me." -Pigeon, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/i-bet-your-mom-would-let-me-pigeon-don-t-let-the-pigeon-drive-the-bus/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [When you make a decision, you don't have to be locked into it. One of the ways that you grow is by starting over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/when-you-make-a-decision-you-don-t-have-to-be-locked-into-it-one-of/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [I also learn a lot about everybody else's process. People create in different ways, so that has opened me up to different processes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/i-also-learn-a-lot-about-everybody-else-s-process-people-create-in/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [“And the moral for Dinosaurs is: Lock the Back Door!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/and-the-moral-for-dinosaurs-is-lock-the-back-door/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [Aggle flabble kabble . . . snurp?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/aggle-flabble-kabble-snurp/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) > [A book, being a physical object, engenders a certain respect that zipping electrons cannot. Because you cannot turn a book off, because you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-willems/a-book-being-a-physical-object-engenders-a-certain-respect-that/) [Mo Willems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) [Explore all 23 Mo Willems quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-willems/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The common thread of the series is that these are the books that Elephant and Piggie like to read. Elephant and Piggie are retired, so this is what they do in their spare time. What will they end up wanting to read? Time will tell. We've got to let that evolution happen as the series goes on. 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