Yesterday was December first. Just twenty three shopping days left. And of course the first day the Book Elf should have come. I think this weird unknown wet stuff falling from the sky must have confused him and he couldn’t navigate the giant, treacherous mud pit that is our front yard.
During dinner, some guy rang our doorbell asking for donations or selling a lifetime’s supply of magazines or something. That’s when Jake is pretty sure the Book Elf must have snuck in. Jacob thinks he saw a little flash of red… “Maybe a little hat? And shoes? And that guy did have a white beard. Was that Santa?!” Must have been…
So somehow the Book Elf snuck in and delivered our first book of the holiday season, Edwina, The Dinosaur That Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, by Mo Willems. Mo is the author of possibly my favorite book of all time, Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. Clearly I will buy anything Mo publishes about dinosaurs and girls with questionable names. Pigeons? No. Dinosaurs? Yes.
When we were in Santa Fe, my friend Jill says, “Oh, I have this favorite book I think you would really like. It’s called Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.” And then I say, “Wait, didn’t I give you that?!”
And now back to Edwina…
In a nutshell: Edwina is your friendly neighborhood spinster dinosaur. She carries a pocketbook, paints her claws pink, wears a prim Easter hat, and bakes chocolate chip cookies for everyone. When she carries old ladies across streets it’s like a big old lady carrying a little old lady. Cleverly darling.
The leading man in this story is a know-it-all (possibly also why I was drawn to this story) named Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie. Reginald has almost permanently angry eyebrows and spends the majority of the story petitioning and picketing and proving to the entire town that dinosaurs are extinct. No one will listen to him, except of course… Edwina. After a long heart-to-heart, Edwina is convinced by Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie that she is in fact extinct. After the initial shock wears off, Edwina decides she doesn’t care and frolics off through a brick wall. Having finally been validated and heard, Reginald’s eyebrows return to a pleasantly arched shape and he and Edwina eat chocolate chip cookies happily ever after.
Families can talk about: What does extinct mean? What animals do you know about that are extinct? Why do you think no one will listen to Reginald? What is a know-it-all? Why are his eyebrows like that? How did Edwina jump through a brick wall and leave a dinosaur-shaped hole? Where is the Reginald-Von-Hoobie-Doobie-shaped hole? Why is it so fun to say Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie? What is going on with that construction worker’s nose? And is Edwina a T-Rex? Can a T-Rex be sweet? Why does Nate take everything and turn it into Reginald Von Poopie-Poopie? Do you think Nate’s treat privilege might soon be extinct? How soon?
Edwina, The Dinosaur That Didn’t Know She Was Extinct by Mo Willems
