T.Rex (Read and Wonder

Nature Storybooks

by Vivian French, Alison Bartlett (Illustrator)

A young boy encounters some fascinating facts -- and even more intriguing questions -- in this lively ode to curiosity."This brief tale simply and succinctly sums up how much is still unknowable in the scientific world, while also acknowledging how much can be proven through study." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)"Budding paleontologists will be inspired." -- BOOKLIST

Genres: Dinosaurs, Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction

29 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Vivian June Isoult French MBE was born in 1945 and educated at Exeter University.
Vivian French was best known in school for being extremely skinny and for talking a lot. At school she developed an attachment to words and later became an actor, then a storyteller, and finally a writer of children's books. She is the author of more than two hundred books. Ms. French lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and has four grown daughters.

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book also has a cd. Read along, songs and some interesting facts. A young boy his grandpa visit a museum and learn a lot about the King dinosaur. But we will never know all the answers, the fossils can't tell us what they sounded like, or if they hunted alone or with their mate. "We will never know, don't forget it was millions and millions of years ago". Fun for budding palaeontologists and enquiring minds.

We cuddled on the bed before bedtime, this kept Indy occupied and holding my hand for ages. Things are going well on the reading front, and he is growing up. He's a cool kid. Mum is happy.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations, and I love there were two reading levels in the books for both older and younger. But the "mights" and the "maybes," though I appreciated the accuracy, were also very annoying.

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A conversation between a grandfather (represented by bold text) and grandson (represented by smaller, italic text) about Tyrannosaurus Rex. As the grandfather describes the characteristics and behaviors of T. Rex, beginning with birth from an egg, the grandson repeatedly asks “why don’t you know?” as the grandfather explains that we don’t know a lot about dinosaurs and mostly have guesses because “it was millions and millions of years ago!”

[Jacqueline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it interesting that throughout the book there were multiple rhymes but inside the illustrations there were short and simple explanations of each dinosaur. If this were to be in a classroom setting it would be perfect for students beginning to learn about dinosaurs!

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always fun and informative

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinosaurs aren't just cool, they exemplify what scientists (paleontologists) can figure out and how much they don't know yet. The world needs more scientists.

[William Cotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for any child who is interested in dinosaurs, or could be used as a book to capture a children’s interest in dinosaurs. It is about a boy who goes to a museum where there are T. Rex fossils. He is accompanied by an adult. The child learns that the T.Rex came from an egg and was a large meat eating dinosaur. This knowledge fuels the child’s interest but he has so many questions to which there are no answers. What colour where they? Did it hunt on its own or with companions? What kind of noise did it make?
The children is frustrated about the lack of facts but is informed by the adult that one day these questions may be answered by the child himself. It is nice story that captures the imagination of a child and encourages children to believe, they themselves may be able satisfy their own questions if they work hard in finding the answers.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two kinds of writing - narrative and informational - make T. rex more attractive to a wider range of readers. Repetition of a refrain (about us not knowing some things for sure because these dinosaurs lived millions of years ago) will get the littlest children singing along, and emphasise the fact that there is still much to be discovered about these interesting and very popular animals. Great to say to the kids at the end that maybe they can become paleontologists themselves. Bright, colourful illustrations - not too gory - finish off this attractive package which is a great introduction to non fiction books for young, curious children.
Walker Books UK, 2008

[Jillian]

This book is a conversation between a grandfather and grandson. If you read this book aloud to a child, then be ready to differentiate your voice to distinguish between the two as they alternate rapidly. Aside from the story there are dinosaur facts in smaller print - while interesting,we found that it distracted from the main story and the book would be better without them.

[Marissa Reyes]

The piece of writing T. Rex by Vivian French captures the true essence of how inquisitive children are when learning something new. The interesting thing about the illustrations by Alison Bartley is that they are created with thick paint in which reminds me of what children would use to finger paint in art class which takes it one step further in making it a child friendly piece.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appealing bright pictures. Good job of conveying that what we do know about dinosaurs is limited and that we're adding to knowledge and educated guesses as new discoveries are made - not a easy feat to get across to a very young audience.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is creative. A grandfather guides his young grandson through a museum, where they look at the T. Rex skeleton and deduce information about how the animal would have lived. The artwork did not suit my personal preference.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at After School Story Time on 9/25/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Margaret Samuels · Rating 5 out of 5]

G 5yrs: "It was very great. I loved it because it was a learning book about dinosaurs."

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

SMART

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mix of narrative and scientific/informative text. 3.5 stars