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

Bibliography: 

Willems, Mo. Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. New York: Hyperion Books, 2006. ISBN: 0786837489

Plot Summary: 

Edwina the dinosaur is beloved by everyone in the community. She helps little old ladies across the
street, plays with the kids, and bakes her famous chocolate chip cookies. Everyone loves her, except for one person: Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie. The class know-it-all, Reginald is enraged by the fact that everyone seems perfectly content to ignore the fact that all dinosaurs are extinct. He gives a compelling presentation of the facts to his class, but they quickly ignore him and go outside to eat the chocolate chip cookies that Edwina had made. Further infuriated, Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie launches a campaign to convince everyone that Edwina’s existence is, in fact, impossible. With no one left to listen to him, Reginald is alone and distraught. Well, almost alone. Edwina appears and offers to do what no one else seemed to do: listen. He brings Edwina to the school and delivers his presentation. He is overjoyed because no one else has ever listened to him so intently. Edwina the dinosaur is shocked by the evidence and entirely convinced, and after thinking for a brief moment, decides she doesn’t care and gleefully exits the school leaving a dinosaur-shaped hole in the brick wall. Reginald decides, after all, he doesn’t care either, and happily joins Edwina in her kitchen for some cookies.

Critical Analysis:

In Edwina, Mo Willems creates a character who is impossible not to love. With her fancy hat, pearl necklace, and handbag, she fulfills many valuable roles in the community. Rather than enjoy her many contributions, Reginald is determined to deny her existence. The whimsical line illustrations depict Reginald's scrunched up, miserable expression in contrast with the delighted faces of the rest of his classmates. One illustration shows Reginald holding a placard reading “THIS IS NOT HAPPENING” while Edwina enjoys an ice cream cone in the park with a friend. In the end, the evidence of Edwina’s kindness wins out. She is unbothered by her extinct status, and simply continues to exist, giving Reginald the freedom to lighten up and enjoy one of her cookies. A lesser dinosaur could have resented Reginald for his campaign against her, but Edwina shows kindness and generosity instead, a loving example for readers, young and old.

Review Excerpts and Awards:

Although Edwina did not win any awards, author and illustrator Mo Willems has won the Caldecott Honor for three books, and his Elephant and Piggie series won two Theodore Suess Geisel Medals and five Theodore Seuss Geisel Honors.

“Willems’s expressive cartoon style makes the most of his fabled ability with line. Readers will enjoy Edwina in her straw hat, handbag, delicately painted claws, beribboned hat and simple strand of pearls, and especially her expression of utter shock when she realizes she is extinct. Aesthetically, this is neither as elegantly designed as Willems’s Pigeon books (Hyperion) nor as bold a departure as his Knuffle Bunny (Hyperion, 2004), but it will nonetheless please the author’s many fans.” - School Library Journal

“Willems’s funny text and cartoon illustrations convey Reginald’s mounting frustration with everyone’s refusal to accept his argument as well as just how much Edwina means to the townspeople, who are untroubled by logical inconsistencies. Willems also gives readers permission to accept this inconsistency, because even though of course dinosaurs are extinct, it really doesn’t matter in the book’s silly-fun fictional world. It’s more important to cheer as the kindhearted Edwina shows Reginald that sometimes sentiment is more powerful than fact, and, as Willems shows us, that both the Edwinas and Reginalds in this world deserve to be respected for what they know and do.” - Horn Book Magazine

Connections:

Gather other books by Mo Willems:
  • Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. ISBN: 9780786818709 (Caldecott Winner)
  • The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog. ISBN: 0786818697
  • Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. ISBN: 078681988X (Caldecott Winner) 
Connect with nonfiction books about dinosaurs (in honor of Reginald):
  • Hughes, Catherine D. and Franco Tempesta. National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Dinosaurs. ISBN: 1426308469
  • Dinosaurs: A Visual Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition. ISBN: 1465470115


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