Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

Mo Willems is at his sharpest here. Edwina is a dinosaur who bakes cookies and helps her neighbors and is, by every measure, a beloved member of her community — the fact that she is technically extinct is, to everyone around her, completely beside the point. The exasperated boy Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie desperate to correct this scientific injustice is a perfect comic foil, and Willems plays the tension between facts and feelings with real wit. The ending is quietly funny rather than triumphant, which some readers may find a touch unsatisfying, but it suits the book's gentle honesty. A National Parenting Publications Award winner, warmly reviewed by School Library Journal and Booklist. Wonderful for read-alouds. Completely family-safe.