Mo Willems doesn’t pull any punches. He just comes right out and says that Goldilocks shouldn’t be breaking and entering, that pigeons should, under no circumstances, be allowed to drive buses, and that it is very unwise to lose track of knuffle bunnies. This may be his most endearing quality. He refuses to pander or patronize. He speaks to children with a cool frankness that we generally reserve for adults. He treats them as intelligent, sensible beings, but he also remembers that children have a capacity for wonder and mystery that few adults possess.
Willems celebrates this ability to embrace mystery in Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct. (Hyperion, 2006) In this story, everyone loves Edwina. She’s the kind of dinosaur who carries little old ladies across the street, the kind who does favors for anyone who asks, the kind who bakes chocolate chip cookies. The townspeople, young and old alike, don’t bat an eye at the fact that dinosaurs are extinct. They celebrate Edwina and her cookies, too.
Only Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie objects. He’s the kind of boy (very modern, very adult, wildly informed, unflinchingly skeptical) who knows “just about everything about just about everything,” and he is convinced that dinosaurs are extinct, that Edwina simply cannot be. He doesn’t play with Edwina, and he never eats her cookies.
As always, Willems’ illustrations are simple and striking and hilarious. His words are just the same. He takes Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie from a state of solitary indignation to one of baffled acceptance. Reginald embraces the mystery of Edwina’s existence. His empty belly is finally filled with chocolate chip cookies, and he is delighted. Doubtless, Willems’ readers will be equally thrilled when they discover this insightful story.
She never saw any of this coming.
She also had no idea of becoming either a mother or a writer, yet here she is, living in Nashville with a husband and two kids and three published books to her name. She ponders the humor of God and the strange adventure of living while she drinks kombucha on the porch, or plans new homeschool units, or reads everything from Emily Bronte to Dave Barry to Betty MacDonald.
You can find her books and an occasional poem or some such at www.helenasorensen.com.
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Oh my goodness, what parent hasn’t lost a knuffle bunny at some point? The results are always disastrous.
Isn’t it the worst? Our daughter was obsessed with a CLEAR pacifier for about 18 months. I can’t tell you the nights we’ve cursed that colorless little torment (I’m referring to the pacifier) while rifling through bedclothes.
We ended up with multiples of the favorite kind of pacifier (or “bippee,” in our family’s parlance) strategically placed right next to the crib. Nothing worse than trying to find one at 3:17 a.m.
We can soooooo relate.
We’re weaning our youngest off of them, which means snipping the tip of the pacifier. You should’ve seen the look on that little face the first time she tried a “fixed” one.
“I’m referring to the pacifier.” <–Good one.
Our favorite Mo Willems book is “Listen to My Trumpet” (an Elephant & Piggie book). My kids automatically go to the W section of the library to find his books.
Need to check that one out. We really love “Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.” Totally hilarious.
Mo Willems is one of my favorites. His books are so fun to read out loud, creative and smart. I will be looking this one up. Thanks for the review!
You’re welcome, Megan! Hope you enjoy.
Thanks for this, Helena. I’m not familiar and I need to catch up. I bet /hope my kids are.