Description A Hungry Girl Who Sucks Her Thumb Like Candy Dyna wakes up early in the morning, but she's tired of everything — washing her face, getting dressed, going to school. Because she's always cranky, her father and the people around her already think of her as a troublemaker. No one really looks at Dyna to understand why she acts out or what kind of girl she truly is. When her father sees that she's broken a ladder, he snaps, "Take your thumb out of your mouth!" Whenever Dyna feels down, she always sucks her thumb. It's not because she wants to go back to being a baby, and it's not because she doesn't want to talk. Dyna has no mother and no siblings — her father is her only family. But it isn't the absence of her mother that makes Dyna sad. What truly saddens her is the invisible lack of attention from those around her. Craving a love as sweet as candy, Dyna sucks her thumb like candy once again today. Is there nothing in the world sweeter, more filling, and more delicious than a thumb? A Girl Who Eats a Dinosaur's Packed Lunch... and Turns Into a Dinosaur?! On the day of a school museum field trip, Dyna's father forgets to pack her lunch, so she's left sucking her thumb instead. Just then, something amazing happens — the dinosaur on display picks Dyna up! Not only that, it feeds her the most filling and delicious dinosaur lunch imaginable: a sandwich made of leaves, a bouquet of daisies, crunchy twig snacks, and bright green dinosaur juice! But when night falls, something strange begins to happen to her body. Her skin becomes hard, rough, and itchy; a tail she never had begins to grow; and her back and legs stretch longer and longer. Dyna has transformed into a dinosaur. Suddenly, she catches the attention of the father, teacher, and friends who once ignored her. Frightened, Dyna asks her father to hug her, monster that she's become. Will her father be able to accept the dinosaur Dyna has turned into? "This monster-looking thing is me. You know, I think I really have turned into a monster. I'm scared, Dad, please hug me." — from the story An Emotional Lunchbox That Helps Children Grow Once Dyna becomes a dinosaur, she's no longer bored. Her long tail causes a commotion in the classroom, and even when she sprays water everywhere, her friends don't run away from her. Where she once would have been scolded as a troublemaker, now no one says a word — everyone wants to play with dinosaur Dyna instead. When dinosaur Dyna eats the trees along the street, the neighborhood ends up looking neat and tidy, and her father, instead of using a ladder, climbs onto Dyna's back to wash the windows. Slowly, the people around her begin to change too, learning to accept the transformed Dyna. What helps dinosaur Dyna grow and thrive is warm attention and imagination — a lunchbox filled with a child's deep desire for transformation. Thanks to this emotional lunchbox that gives children a sense of freedom and helps them grow, both young readers and adults will find their hearts — and stomachs — growing warmer and fuller with every page.