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." Never miss a parenting story with TODAY’s newsletters! 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. 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. 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." "Dewdney's Llama Llama series is such a hit with tiny fans that Netflix is creating a new animated show based on the books. "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.
– 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.)