We Don’t Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins
Penelope the dinosaur starts school, and is going through all the emotions that comes with that. On her first day, she felt it was super hard to make friends when her classmates are so delicious! Soon enough, she got a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all. You will love this this hilarious new story from award-winning author-illustrator Ryan T. Higgins.
Daughter’s Reaction
I read this book to my 6-year-old and 2 year-old daughters and they enjoyed it! They were laughing at how silly it was when Penelope kept eating her classmates. At the same time, they were also emphatic at how lonely she must have felt not being able to make friends. The kids loved the illustrations and my older daughter was able to read the book again to herself the second time around. The reading level is appropriate for 6-8 years old.
Overview
I really enjoyed “We Don’t Eat Our Classmates” by Ryan T. Higgins. As silly as the title is, the story is more about making friends and treating people the way you want to be treated. Penelope the dinosaur keeps eating her classmates and then spitting them out. Then she wondered why she cannot make any new friends. Once the classroom pet snapped at her finger, she figured out that eating her classmates is probably not nice and tried harder to be a better friend. This simple lesson is one of the most important and fundamental things children will learn once they start school and I am happy to see it illustrated and told in a way where young children can understand. I highly recommend this book to a child getting ready to start school. The story goes through all the emotions a young child starting a new school would, like being nervous, unsure about the new environment, to learning how to adjust to new situations.
If you enjoy the book, here are some fun Activity Sheets to go with it.
