Tiara Saurus Rex

by Brianna Caplan Sayres, Mike Boldt (Illustrations)

It's time for the Miss Dinosaur pageant and the girls are ready! Patty Saurus puts on her best dress. Stef O'Saurus covers her scales with jewels. Teri Dactyl practices flying and Sarah Topps practices hula hooping on all of her horns. But there's one dinosaur who doesn't need to prepare because . . .

Tina Rex always wins! She's a fierce competitor and her brilliant smile scares away the other girls. But is it really fun to win when you've chased away all of your friends? Tina's not so sure.

This hilarious mash-up of dinosaurs and beauty pageants will delight readers young and old. And Tina Rex might just teach little ones a gentle lesson along the way.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 2015

About the author

Brianna Caplan Sayres used to tell her second graders, "When I grow up, I'm going to be a writer." "But you are grown up, Mrs. Sayres," her students would protest. Well, Brianna is still not sure she's grown up, but she has grown into a writer. Her debut picture book, "Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?" was published by Random House, and her upcoming picture book, "Tiara Saurus Rex," will soon be published by Bloomsbury. Brianna has recently returned to her hometown, Seattle, Washington, where she and her husband are kept busy by their two wonderful boys. You can visit Brianna on the web at www.briannacaplansayres.com or at facebook.com/authorbrianna.

Reviews

[Cosette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gah! I hate rhyming couplets
No! They're such a pain to read
I often think of tennis doublets
All strung up on some wire with bead...

[Alonsonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The names of the dinosaurs 5* the art work is very cute, but the story? Its very weird, and just 1*.

[Tim Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one definitely would have been better without all of the rhyme. The art's okay but I think it would have been funnier if the T-Rex girl had actually eaten all the other beauty pageant contestants. That would have raised about 2 stars for me.

I don't know if that's a reflection on my dark sense of humor or my general dislike of beauty pageants. The kids in my story time will probably still like it though. Their literary palette is not quite as refined as mine.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute premise and pictures (I like the idea of dinosaurs and tiaras) but probably not a go-to story time book for me. A little sing-song-y in the rhyme, and (let's be honest) I'm just not a beauty pageant person.

And on another note, is Tina intentionally chasing the others off? It seems like all the looming threats come from others - the stage hands, the make-up artists, etc. So is Tina a bully or misunderstood? I was a little confused.

[Sherlyn Burkhart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Illustrations: engaging.
Storyline: not in line with my values.
Underlying themes: fear, bullying
Spoiler: the bully wins

[Liam Dawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

My daughters enjoy this book, but it has to do with the combination of dinosaurs and princesses. The story leaves much to be desired as the premise surrounding friendship isn't developed well enough for that message to come across for kids.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just started Tiara Girl and love it. Stacy is my favorite character. And I am not a young adult but feel anyone would like this book. Love it!!

Sue Ann

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story of a beauty pageant of dinosaurs

[Kaylee Harkness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye catching and child friendly art! Fantastic colors and illustrations.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t really understand the story? Is Tina eating the other Dino’s??? I didn’t understand where they went to 😂. My 6 yr old didn’t get it either, wasn’t interested in the book.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tina gives her crown away to a new friend.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We definitely thought she was eating her competitors and were a bit disappointed when instead they were just running away.

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's time for the dinosaur beauty pageant! What starts off as quite a competition grows smaller and smaller as the other contestants are scared off by Tina T-Rex's, um, forceful personality. A cute, rhyming poem. Silly! With dinosaurs in it. Dinosaurs in tiaras. I don't know - what more do you want?

Edited after storytime: A fantastic pick for my pre-K storytime group. They thought the idea of a dino beauty pageant was extra silly. Loved it. The part where I read the whole thing if a very gaudy tiara went over especially well.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute picture book with a nice message about friendship and perseverance. All of the young lady dinosaurs are competing in the Miss Dinosaur pageant. Everyone participating in this contest is warned that Tina always has to win, although no one really explains why this is the case. After each part of the pageant, young ladies are so intimidated that they are heading for the exits. A strange twist at the end will have readers reevaluating their initial judgment of Tina. Clever digital illustrations by Mike Boldt support the story very well. This would be a fun book to have in my classroom library.

[Dione Basseri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love picture books which pair up traditionally separate subjects. Tiaras and dinosaurs. This is the kind of book I'd have lost it over when I was little!

All the dinosaurs are having a beauty pagent, and every year, the t-rex has won! But, perhaps, this time, someone else will take the crown! Or at least overcome their fear enough to stick it to the end!

The ending is pretty cute, giving a nice moral resolution, and then a great gag. A tyranosaur always wins, even when they lose on purpose. ;p

I'm not sure if this will appeal to kids who are rigidly adhering to either male or female gender roles, but if yours is willing to blur a bit, this should really hit the spot.

[Jtimko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiara always has to win the dinosaur pageant. But will that happen this year? Read as all the other contestants drop out leaving only Tiara and Maya Saura to battle it out. Read and discover the winner of the Dinosaur pageant!
Digitally created illustrations contain bright colors and humorous pictures as each participant is introduced and eliminated. Creative names for the lady dinosaurs will amuse the adult readership. The talents of each dinosaur are perfectly matched to their characteristics. Recommended for optional purchase for pre-school through grades 2.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a super-cute book that will delight both princess fans (hello, "Frozen"?) and dinosaur aficionados. I bought copies for all the little girls in my family who like to dress up in tiaras and ball gowns. They'll learn some new dino-related vocabulary while they're at it! I love that the dinos are shown to be fun rather than fierce -- break the stereotypes! :)

[Tin Cheung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinosaurs and Tiaras are not two things I think of together, but in this story they are ingredients to a fun(rhyming)story. The Miss Dinosaur pageant is in full force, but no one wants it more than Tina Saurus Rex (Love all the creative naming of the characters). Will Tina learn that friends are more important than winning before it's too late?

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a quick first read, I thought she'd eaten all the other competitors... Got to then end and was like WHAT KIND OF KIDS' BOOK DID I JUST READ?! On a second perusal, it turns out that she scares everyone away. Better.

[Sweetpea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads Program in exchange for an honest review. A very cute book with beautiful illustrations, Tiara Saurus Rex teaches children the importance of friendship.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this as it first began, but I did not like where the story went. I guess there was a slight message of sharing, but overall, I don't love the message. I think it's supposed to come across as cute or funny, but it fell flat for me. I like the illustrations though.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super cute art. At first I thought that the tyrannosaurus was eating the other contestants, but on a re-read I thought that they were all scared and ran away. It might be good for a story time on friendship and getting to know people for who they are instead of who you THINK they are.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it awhile back (I forgot to update afterwards), and I remember it being ok. I wasn't horribly impressed and I remember something I didn't like, but I don't remember what it was.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and the contestants are cute

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bit of dark humor; strong good rhymes and fun vocabulary--I think it'd make a great storytime read.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are bright colourful illlustrations of beauty pageant competitors - all dinosaurs. Cute names and rhyming. Not sure the theme of friendship comes through as much as I would have liked.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinosaur beauty pageant. Good silly fun in rhyme.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story... it all makes sense in the end, but I was wondering what was happening to some of the contestants in the pageant.

[Courtney Huskisson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title was promising and cute -- however, the illustrations and story wasn't anything spectacular.