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 Parents and children who love the "Llama Llama" books — featuring a little llama famous for his red pajamas and being mad at his mama — are in mourning for the books' author and illustrator, the original Mama Llama, Anna Dewdney. 
 
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 Dewdney passed away at her home in Vermont on September 3 after a 15-month fight against brain cancer, Publisher's Weekly reported in an obituary for the author. She was 50 years old and is survived by partner Reed Duncan and two grown daughters. 
 
 Publishing house Viking first published "Llama Llama Red Pajama," written and illustrated by Dewdney, in 2005, and its warm and relatable rhyme about a little llama at bedtime was a hit: "Llama, Llama red pajama/waiting, waiting for his mama/Mama isn't coming yet./Baby Llama starts to fret." 
 
 "Her books are so special and play a huge role in our bedtime routine," said Sarah Cottrell, a mother of boys ages 6 and 3 in Bangor, Maine. "Right now, my youngest LOVES 'Llama Llama Mad At Mama,' because the llama gets to throw a fit in a grocery store." 
 
 Dewdney was described as an "outspoken advocate of literacy," and her final request reflects that passion: in lieu of a funeral service, Dewdney asked that friends and fans read a book to a child instead. 
 
 News of Dewdney's death created a flood of posts on social media in her honor. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, an organization that sends books to children who might not otherwise have them, posted, "In Anna's memory, read a book to your child tonight." 
 
 In a press release, Penguin Young Readers president Jen Loja said, "The entire Penguin Young Readers family is heartbroken. And as we grieve, we also celebrate Anna's life, in dedicating ourselves to carrying forward her mission of putting books into as many little hands as possible." ||||| Llama Llama Red Pajama Author Anna Dewdney Dies at 50 
 
 Remembering and honoring Anna Dewdney tonight. Thank you for your stories. pic.twitter.com/Qmr0s6AISw — sarahdessen (@sarahdessen) September 6, 2016 
 
 The world lost a great children's author this week. For all of us who have read @AnnaDewdney books, we will miss you pic.twitter.com/uzI9q7NVfF — Stephen Kellogg (@Stephen_Kellogg) September 7, 2016 
 
 Llama Llama Red Pajama author Anna Dewdney had one final request before she died at 50 on Sept. 3 after a battle with brain cancer. The children's book author and illustrator didn't want a funeral. Instead, she asked fans to celebrate her life by reading a book to a child.This last wish was in keeping with Dewdney's lifelong mission – educating children. The author, beloved by toddlers and adults alike, is best known for her heartwarming Llama Llama books – a series that has sold a combined total of 10 million copies. Before she became a full-time author, Dewdney was a daycare provider and teacher. She always believed that reading was one of the best ways to relate to and foster empathy in children."By reading with a child, we are teaching that child to be human," wrote Dewdney in a 2013 op-ed for The Wall Street Journal about the importance of reading. "When we open a book, and share our voice and imagination with a child, that child learns to see the world through someone else's eyes."Dewdney's Llama Llama series is such a hit with tiny fans that Netflix is creating a new animated show based on the books. Jennifer Garner will voice the Mama Llama character in the series, which will premiere in 2017.Since Dewdney's death, readers, fellow authors and friends and family have found special ways to remember her."The entire Penguin Young Readers family is heartbroken," said Jen Loja, president of Penguin Young Readers, in a press release. "And as we grieve, we also celebrate Anna's life, in dedicating ourselves to carrying forward her mission of putting books into as many little hands as possible. We will miss her so, but consider ourselves so lucky to be her publishing family and her partner in her legacy."And what a legacy is is.In her Wall Street Journal op-ed, Dewdney urged adults to "sit down, put a child on your lap, and read a story.""Have fun. Read in character and use funny voices … laugh and cry. Be human, loving, and strong, and that will allow the children in your care to be human, loving, and strong," wrote Dewdney. "Perhaps, the next time those children feel like hitting or pinching someone, they’ll hold off and ask for a hug from you instead." ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period.
– A popular children's author had one final wish when she died Saturday after a battle with brain cancer: Instead of holding a funeral, read to a child. Today reports that 50-year-old Anna Dewdney became a household name with parents when she published her first Llama Llama book—Llama Llama Red Pajama—in 2005. The Llama Llama series—about a baby llama who's usually upset with his mama—has gone on to sell more than 10 million copies, according to Publishers Weekly. And Netflix is producing a cartoon based on the books. Dewdney, a former daycare provider and teacher, believed reading to children was the best way to teach to empathy, People reports. “When we read with a child, we are doing so much more than teaching him to read," Publishers Weekly quotes Dewdney as saying. "We are teaching that child to be human." Dewdney's publisher notes she had a "mission of putting books into as many little hands as possible." Dewdney's final book, Little Excavator, is scheduled to be published next year. (A publisher is looking for the heirs of this crime writer.)