Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct was written and illustrated by Mo Willems.
Picture Book
1st - 2nd Grade
4 out of 5
This book is about a dinosaur, Edwina, who did not know that she was extinct. Everyone in town loved Edwina, she helped them whenever needed and also liked to make chocolate chip cookies for everyone. A little boy in town, Reginald wanted Edwina and everyone else to know that she is extinct so he tries to do whatever to convince the town. After several attempts no one, including Edwina, listens or cares.

I really liked the book, Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct. I think that it was really funny not only for kids but I also thought that it was funny. It was funny because the dinosaur walked around with the town's people like nothing was wrong. She also was funny because she carried a purse, had her claws painted pink, and wore a necklace and hat. I thought the illustrations were good because they were different than most books. They were different because some pages would be 1 big picture full of color and the some would be a couple separate pictures and paragraphs. I thought that it was very to read and could be read with fun expressions. The plot had good flow and was a good story. The story at times left you hanging until you flipped the page. One part where it does this is when Reginald has just told Edwina that she was extinct and the page says, "There was no doubt about it in Edwina's mind: she knew she was extinct" and the illustrations shows her being very upset, but on the next page it says, "She just didn't care."
I think that there this book could be used in the classroom as a mini lesson in several ways. One way that I was able to actually do with a student was to read the book and on a page that had a sense of suspense slam the book shut and then we wrote and drew an ending to the book. The page that I think it is good to stop on is when Reginald is sad because no one was listening to him and a voice from behind him says, "I'll listen to you". The child that I read this book with really liked the book. She loved the pictures which at times made us get off track but overall the activity went really well. Another activity you could do with a student is to have them write and draw what dinosaurs would be like if they were not extinct or to write about what extinct means. You could also teach the class about extinct animals and why they can't exist today.