We Don't Eat Our Classmates: A Penelope Rex Book

"We Don't Eat Our Classmates: A Penelope Rex Book" is a captivating and humorous children's book authored by Ryan T. Higgins. This delightful story brings together humor, relatable experiences, and important lessons in a way that engages young readers and keeps them entertained.The story revolves around Penelope Rex, a young dinosaur who is about to start her first day of school. The twist is that Penelope is a carnivorous dinosaur, and her classmates are all children. The book humorously addresses Penelope's struggle to resist the urge to eat her classmates, as well as the challenges she faces in making friends and fitting in.The brilliance of this book lies in its ability to tackle a seemingly unusual scenario with humor and relatability. Penelope's dilemma of wanting to fit in while dealing with her primal instincts creates a lighthearted and engaging narrative. The book's humor appeals to both children and adults, making it an enjoyable read for all ages.Beneath the humor, the book also carries valuable lessons about empathy, friendship, and understanding. Through Penelope's experiences, young readers learn the importance of treating others with kindness and overcoming their own impulses to form meaningful connections.The illustrations by Ryan T. Higgins perfectly complement the text. The expressive and colorful artwork captures the emotions and actions of the characters, adding depth and visual appeal to the story. The illustrations play a crucial role in conveying the humor and heart of the book.In conclusion, "We Don't Eat Our Classmates: A Penelope Rex Book" is a wonderfully crafted children's book that strikes a balance between humor, relatable experiences, and important life lessons. Through the eyes of Penelope Rex, young readers are entertained while learning about empathy, friendship, and the challenges of fitting in. This book is an excellent choice for sparking discussions about behavior, treating others with kindness, and the value of understanding differences.

My granddaughter and I read this together. We laughed, enjoying the story immensely. We loved the illustrations, too.This is a fun book for young readers. Caregivers will like sharing it with their kids. It is a good title for all ages.I recommend this book. It is charming and made me smile. I will definitely read more from this author.

Amusing book with a subtle message. Nicely written

My son cracks up every single time we read this book. Definitely recommend.

Penelope Rex is surprised her classmates are all human. They’re delicious, so she eats them. The teacher makes her spit them back up, and she is frustrated that it’s tough to make friends. She even eats one kid again. And spit him back up again. It’s not until the class goldfish bites Penelope Rex that she starts to develop empathy, and a touch of impulse control.I’ve read this now several times with my preschool aged son and first grade daughter and they love it. The illustrations are detailed and draw kids in. Penelope’s bedroom and classroom are interesting and detailed, and kids want to talk about what’s the same and different to their little worlds. She has chosen a pony lunch box and fills it with 300 tuna sandwiches. The details matter more the more times you read a book like this. And while this book is about a dinosaur, I really appreciate the diversity of students in the class. There are students who present as Black, White, and Asian and wear headscarves and a Yamaka. My daughter noticed the headscarf right away and talked about the heroine in one of her favorite books and made the connection to religious practice.Finally, while preschoolers don’t actually eat each other, they are learning empathy and impulse control. And this book is a beautiful entry to conversations about it with kids. A perfect book for every 3-7 year-olds’ “read again and again” library. And fantastic for classroom and school libraries everywhere!

Read this as mystery reader for my daughter's second grade class and it was a hit! Both my 5 (in preK) and 8 year old (2nd grade) really love this book, but I think it might be too much for *some* preschoolers, since the gist of the book is the dinosaur eating her classmates...she does spit them back out, but for little ones who maybe can't understand context, I could see it being upsetting for really empathetic kids, particularly if they're already scared or nervous about starting kindergarten. That said, it is clever and a funny book! I think early elementary is the best age for this book (K-3). We originally borrowed this book from the library but we all enjoyed it so much (and wanted to keep re-reading it so often) that I bought it so we could have our own copy.

Our grandchildren giggled from the time they heard the title all the way through the book! We read it 3 times that first night and they still laugh and ask to read it. Highly recommend this book

Teacher here! My kindergartners looove this story! It’s a hit during those first weeks of school! Fun way to introduce classroom rules.