How to Be a T. Rex by Ryan North and Mike Lowery

One day in class my teacher asked us "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And I said, "A Tyrannosaurus Rex," because obviously. 

Sal wants to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex. They roar all the time and have awesome teeth and giant bodies. Sal is tiny, never roars, and her teeth are not pointy enough. The choice, she says, is clear. But, her brother says it's impossible for her to be a T. Rex.

That night, she concentrates and becomes a T. Rex (in her imagination). A T. Rex can eat anything and chase people away with a roar. You just have to be fierce, unafraid, and not care what anyone thinks if you want to be a T. Rex.

When Sal pretends to be a T. Rex, she's actually pretty rude -- hogging the pizza, stealing the soccer ball, not being nice to people, roaring all the time. People like rules and there are other downsides to being a dinosaur. So, instead, Sal decides to be a dino/human hybrid.

I've got a secret T. Rex inside me!! 

And, she lets her friends join in. They forgive her for being a jerk when she was pretending to be 100% T. Rex.

Highly recommended - What I love most about How to Be a T. Rex is that it's one of those books that is super fun to read aloud. You can be extremely dramatic with the roars and the claws, but then play the part of Sal's brother, rolling his eyes. It's a hoot. Toward the beginning of the book, you start to wonder if you're encouraging bad behavior by reading about a kid who is acting terribly while she pretends to be a T. Rex. But, then Sal figures out she's making everyone upset and alters her behavior.  So, the story is a good one, too. I'm not a huge fan of the simplistic artwork, but I think it fits the storyline perfectly -- dramatic, expressive, bright, clear. I gave How to Be a T. Rex 5 stars. I can easily visualize myself reading it to a classroom full of wiggly kids or a grandchild and having a blast.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Dinosaur Farm by Frann Preston-Gannon

I'm a little late getting around to talking about Dinosaur Farm by Frann Preston-Gannon because of all that recent blog angst but I don't want to skip it because I adore Preston-Gannon's lighthearted storytelling and cheerful illustrations. I also very seldom hold drawings at Bookfoolery but Dinosaur Farm is worth sharing. Page down for info about the giveaway. It will be a short one so sign up quickly if you're interested and please pass it on if you've got friends with little ones.

Dinosaur Farm is just what the cover indicates, the story of a farmer's day in which the livestock are dinosaurs, perhaps farmed for their eggs:

The reader follows the farmer's day as he feeds his livestock, gives the dinosaurs a scrubbing, cleans out his pond and shovels up dino manure. He also has a garden to tend and the garden has a unique, prehistoric look.

There are hatchlings to attend to and the evening meal to deal with. Then the farmer gets to go home and take a bath, knowing his animals are safe and happy. The farmer forgets to close the gate, though, and some of the dinosaurs sneak inside to sleep with him. Such a cute ending!

You will be happy to know this book is Isabel-approved, meaning it smelled good. I'm sure she'll enjoy it if I ever read the book to her, as well. Cats love it when you read to them.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Two board books I love: Spot the Animals and 1-2-3 Dinosaurs Bite, both illus. by Steve Jenkins

The following books are both board books that would make excellent last-minute gifts or stocking stuffers, if you're in need of ideas for a baby, toddler or preschooler. 

Spot the Animals is a "lift-the-flap" book in which an animal is hidden behind a beautifully illustrated flap, cut to fit the shape of whatever the animal is hiding behind (leaves, coral, rocks).  I couldn't find any decent images online, so I snapped my own.  I think it's best just to show you a little from the inside.  You should be able to click on each image to enlarge.

There are six animals and colors in Spot the Animals.  In the final page spread, there are six stripes -- one of each of the colors of the animals that have hidden -- and each of the colors is labeled.  On the right-hand side, the 6 animals are shown and labeled by name.  The wonderful thing about Spot the Animals is that it's so simple and short that you could easily read the book to a small baby (I read to mine while they were still in the crib and later would prop them in a seated position and read to them while rocking) but Spot the Animals is also educational, so preschoolers and even early readers can get something out of it.  

1-2-3 Dinosaurs Bite is similar in that it's educational and has a special feature, in this case bites chopped out of each page.  You actually count the chunks missing from the book.  How cool is that?  By the time you arrive at 6-7-8-9-10, there's a page that is so bitten there's only about a third left.

The last page spread incorporates counting with other learning tools, for example: 2 horns, 3 sharp claws, 6 footprints, 8 letters in the word dinosaur.  The final words are "Guard all 10 of your fingers -- these DINOSAURS BITE!"

Both books are highly recommended.  Perfect illustrations that are colorful, balanced and interesting with a unique twist (bites cut from the pages; die-cut shapes the animals are hidden behind) and plenty of educational material crammed into a few short pages make can't-miss fun for children and will satisfy a parent's urge to teach.  I absolutely love these books.  Since they're board books, they're also quite sturdy, even with folding pages and chunks missing.

On a side note, because I had trouble finding any images of these books and had to take my own, I got to see a large number of other illustrations by Steve Jenkins.  It looks like he's the kind of artist I would seek out if I still had small children.  I don't, but I'm hoping there are grandchildren in my future.  I'm hanging onto these two board books, just in case.


©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.