Thesaurus Rex

by Laya Steinberg, Debbie Harter

Follow this mischievous dinosaur as he frolics, rollicks, frisks and romps. Each colorful page introduces simple synonyms and a fun-filled way to build vocabulary and word recognition.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Animals, Writing, Storytime, Fiction

24 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ember Air]

I love the idea of this book, and am glad it was made; however, I didn't love it. I feel like this has so much potential, but fell a hair short. I think that even a brief description of what a synonym is at the beginning of the book would have taken care of the issue, because without knowing (and as a tool to introduce children to the concept), the book just seems like a bunch of random words linked together. It was fun enough, but it could have been so amazing.

[Gabriela Francisco]

Synonyms galore! Although there was one problematic word: "poking" isn't a synonym for "exploring." Hehe. But it's a wonderful way to introduce children to words like "gnaw." Illustrations are pretty and humorous. Kids love the part where the dinosaur's shorts rip after too much bending and stretching. Fun to read!

[Chinook]

This is a great introduction to the concept of synonyms. Maddie really liked it - the split your pants humour is right on target for her just now. Kait liked it as well.

[Barbara Band]

Grandson (age 2) is obsessed with dinosaurs so picked this up at the library to read with him.

Baby T rex does all the things children would do … drinking milk, exploring the garden, getting messy, having a bath, going to bed … so lots children can relate to. Bright, simple colourful illustrations. Each activity is accompanied by words connected with it such as "Thesaurus Rex goes exploring: hunting, searching, foraging, poking, splish, splash, his feet are soaking" - a good way to introduce new and more unusual words.

Must admit, I didn't call the character Thesaurus Rex as I felt this would be a bit confusing so he was "Baby T Rex" all the way through!

[Ellen]

A cute introduction to the concept of synonyms.

[Chrissy]

Such a cute book! I loved reading it with my little guy and I think I’m going to add it to my storytime rotation 😁

[Wlitner]

This book is fun, lively, entertaining, amusing, enjoyable...

[Nancy]

How can I say this the book was good, satisfying, superb, positive, marvelous, favorable, exceptional and I enjoyed it!

[Ann]

Super cute book to teach synonyms or using a thesaurus!

[Ms. B]

Synonyms for the very youngest.

[Sherrie]

Good book for a lesson

[Lisa]

Great synonyms in the context of a fun story.

[Dolly]

Cute story with rhyming narrative about a dinosaur and his activities throughout the day. The words used for each activity have several synonyms, which is a nice introduction for children for the purpose of a Thesaurus. And of course, it's cute that Thesaurus sounds like a kind of dinosaur, so it really makes this a fun book for children.

[Robert]

Very cute and clever story. Thesaurus Rex does things. Beneath what he does are several synonyms for what he just did.

"Thesaurus Rex starts to slip: slither skid slide and glide. Whee! What a speedy ride!"

The illustrations are as good as the text. Very clever. This will be a mentor text I use when I teach word choice in the writing process. Nice book!

[Meghan Hunt]

This is a clever and fun book. The author provides several synonyms for each of the Thesaurus Rex's activities.

Excerpt: "Thesaurus Rex likes to play: frolic, rollick, frisk, and romp. Wow! He's found a muddy swamp."

The book is instructive and the rhythm and rhyme help make it fun to read. This would be a great book to read for a dinosaur storytime.

[Mills]

A fun - and funny - way of looking at synonyms. Not on the same level as the The Great Grammar Book, but still a way of making language interesting to children.

[Ronda]

Cute rhyming book that introduces synonyms--though not in a preachy, teachy, overt kind of way. Not happy with how I used the book this go-round. Am thinking I need to use it with my younger students--read story first, then go back and discuss synonyms.

[Julia]

Very cute and toddler/pre-schooler friendly book about a playful dinosaur. The text uses rhyming and synonyms for word development skills.

[Carrie]

This is a fun little book with lots of dino action and synonymns. :)

[Kathy]

Cute picture and rhyming.

[Deborah]

really weird

[Brittany]

Great book to use when teaching synonyms!

[Susan Kennedy]

excellent for Thesaurus Thursdays

[Theresa]

Thesaurus Rex
by Laya Steinberg
a silly story about dinosaurs being able to learn more about words and word usage

[Sandybear76]

Read this book to two classes of first graders.

[Lbrown107]

Thesaurus Rex has a wonderful day having fun and sometimes getting onto mischief! This is a really cute book about an adorable little dinosaur who uses synonyms and rhyming to define his actions.

[Nancy Jo Lambert]

This would be a good book for teaching synonyms. The easy text makes it more suitable to younger children though. The illustrations are also more appealing to young kids.

[Greggd]

Favorite SHORT bedtime story when M & O were little and we were exhausted

[David]

What a fun little idea for an educational picture book. I may use this for storytime and how it goes with children.

[Keely]

This is a fun find for any primary classroom.