We Don't Eat Our Classmates

Starred review from April 16, 2018
Children do get eaten in this new story by Higgins (Mother Bruce), but only temporarily. Consumed by a young, extremely cute T. rex named Penelope, they emerge unharmed (although goopy and justifiably annoyed) after Penelope’s teacher tells her starchily to spit them out. Penelope has just started school, and eating is a preoccupation; her school lunch is “three hundred tuna sandwiches and one apple juice.” She’s startled to find out that her classmates are all children, “So she ate them. Because children are delicious.” Understandably, this makes it difficult for her classmates to trust her. It takes an encounter with a hungry goldfish to teach Penelope how it really feels to be eaten. Despite the fact that she’s a ravenous carnivore, Penelope’s stuffed-animal snout, her tearful look of distress, and her pink overalls make her too adorable to dislike. It’s clear that she’s doing the best she can, though she does have a few setbacks (“Mrs. Noodleman, Penelope ate William Omoto again!”). Higgins once again delivers sassy dialogue, flawless comic pacing, and faith in the ability of children to learn and grow. Ages 4–8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management.

Starred review from June 1, 2018
When a young T. Rex named Penelope starts school, she learns some lessons about her classmates; most importantly, they are not for eating. Higgins' starts out as most back-to-school books do: A nervous youngster equipped with an awesome new backpack and hearty lunch worries about her classmates. But then the orange-and-white dino, who's clad in pink overalls, is taken aback to find that all her classmates are children--the human kind. And "children are delicious," so she eats them. Mrs. Noodleman forces her to spit them out and reiterates the titular rule. Penelope's classmates, covered in disgusting spit, express their displeasure with hugely expressive faces and postures. Penelope's efforts to make friends are unimpressive to the kids (and will have readers in stitches!). A sad and lonely dino trudges home to some advice from her parents, but the temptation the next day is just too great. "Mrs. Noodleman, Penelope ate William Omoto again!" The whole class is afraid of her, except Walter, the goldfish. But when she extends the hand of friendship to him, he gives her a taste of her own medicine, leading to a change of heart and some new friends. Higgins' illustrations combine scanned textures, graphite, ink, and Photoshop elements, and they feature a wonderfully diverse class that includes a girl in hijab, a tyke in glasses, and a boy wearing a kippah amid classmates of varying skin and hair colors and body types. Fans of macabre, tongue-in-cheek humor (and twist endings!) will enjoy time spent with Penelope. (Picture book. 3-7)

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August 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-Making mistakes is difficult, but maybe it's the best way to learn. Readers can tell from the first page that Penelope, a T-rex, is going to learn a lot at her school, where she is the only dinosaur and the other students are human. Then, ."..she ate them. Because children are delicious." Mrs Noodleman insists that she "spit them out at once!" The days pass, and Penelope really tries, but the children are afraid of her. "Mrs. Noodleman, Penelope ate William Omoto again!, '" a classmate calls out. Walter the goldfish, the class pet, is not afraid, and he gives the little T-rex some of her own medicine-a chomp on the finger. "Once Penelope found out what it was like to be someone's snack, she lost her appetite for children." The narrative is simple, straightforward, and hysterical. Higgins's illustrations in graphite, ink, and Photoshop are bold and cartoonish with plenty of silly touches-a single sneaker hanging by its lace from Penelope's mouth, the slime-covered classmates that Penelope spits out at her teacher's command, the T-rex at the bottom of the slide with her mouth a wide-open cave for the next comer will all garner a laugh. VERDICT For the times when students struggle to understand one another and when impulse control needs a little strengthening, pair this winner with Mo Willems's Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct. An appealing read-aloud selection.-Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter School, Providence

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