Children’s Book Review: “We Will Rock Our Classmates” by Ryan T. Higgins

Penelope the dinosaur is back in her second picture book from Ryan T. Higgens, author of the Mother Bruce series. This Disney Hyperion release is a follow up to 2018’s We Don’t Eat Our Classmates. In We Will Rock Our Classmates, Penelope is nervous to share her talent with her classmates.

Mrs. Noodleman’s Kindergarten class is having a talent show and Penelope is the only dinosaur at her school. She really wants to perform her favorite type of music in the show, but she gets nervous when she gets on stage. Penelope will have to find some inner strength if she really wants to put on the best rock concert H. Mitchell School has ever seen.

Like all of his work, Ryan T. Higgens delivers a charming story that’s heartwarming and relatable for parents and children. The character design of Penny and her family is so huggable and he has a lot of fun with the fact that she’s a dinosaur. In the first book, Penelope had a hard time understanding that her classmates aren’t food. In this book, there are some funny moments involving a pony in one of the other acts at the talent show.

A perk of getting the physical copy of the book awaits parents who are fans of classic rock. Underneath the dust jacket is a Penelope homage to Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” where the prism is replaced by the class fish bowl, which houses the pet fish Walter, who Penelope is afraid of. There’s also a funny joke version of The Beetles, with Penelope’s favorite band being named “The Weevles.”

There are two main takeaways for kids from We Will Rock Our Classmates. The first is that Penelope’s friends only see her as a dinosaur and when she wants to play things like being a dentist, they tell her she has to be the dinosaur, which is a relatable scenario that all kids face. The other is that they should be brave about the things they love to do and not let others make them feel bad about it.

We Will Rock Our Classmates is another winner from Ryan T. Higgens, who is quickly becoming a reputable brand through his Bruce and Penelope series. Kids who loved We Don’t Eat Our Classmates will be enthralled with We Will Rock Our Classmates and if they don’t know Penelope yet, they soon will.

Alex Reif
Alex joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and has been a lifelong Disney fan. His main beats for LP are Disney-branded movies, TV shows, books, music and toys. He recently became a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA).