How Did Humans Go Extinct?

Ten billion years after humans disappeared from Earth, young Plib finds them immensely appealing. A member of now dominant species the Nøørfbløøks, purportedly descended from frogs, Plib loves the book How Do Humans Say Goodnight?, and “his favorite stuffie was a human named Frank,” writes Marciano (the Witches of Benevento series). A field trip to the human exhibit at the Natural History Museum is right up Plib’s alley (“Humans came out of their mothers ALREADY ALIVE!”). Hoppe’s (Good Vibrations) fine-lined, futuristic pages take on a surfeit of sly detail, showing people sporting a mishmash of costumes—a feathered and furred figure wears a jacket, kilt, swim flipper, and ski. But Plib is deeply unsettled by the mystery of human extinction, and his mother’s initial explanations—climate change, war, greed—seem to upset him even more. Mom’s own belief, however, is that humans actually “learned how to survive in peace and harmony” until a giant asteroid crashed into Earth and wiped them out—an answer that gives Plib the closure he needs to fall asleep. Readers will undoubtedly see the parallels with their own dinosaur fandom, but it’s a toss-up as to whether the ending will be a source of giggles or hit a little too close to home. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)