Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
McCarty, creator of Hondo and Fabian, crafts an ominous T. rex tale, whose title refers to the word "dinosaur," meaning "terrible lizard." "I do not know why I am so terrible," confesses the hulking narrator, whose smooth blue-gray back is lined with delicate blood-red stripes. When herbivores scatter at his presence, the T. rex frowns with disappointment-but it is unclear whether he is lonesome or peckish. "I cannot help that I grew so enormous and so enormously hungry," he sighs. He expresses poignant misgivings for his appetites but makes no apologies: "If I could, I would be a vegetarian. But I am Tyrannosaurus Rex, and I do not eat trees." Without warning-in a wordless spread that sets all hand-wringing aside-he rampages into the airy green brush with his toothy mouth agape, sending smaller lizards diving for cover. McCarty plays the T. rex's reasoned comments against its bloodlust, creating a sociopathic hero. Older readers could find the first-person perspective troubling, because it makes "I can't help it" seem a valid excuse. The soothing visual style, all ethereal pencil lines and tissue-thin veils of color, enhances the irony too. Dewy white flowers glow as the T. rex crushes them under his clawed, three-toed feet, and the sinuous dinosaur might seem sympathetic if not for those intent beady eyes. Dinosaur-crazed preschoolers will adore the whimsical account of a predator's logic, and McCarty's impressive, diaphanous art helps make up for ambiguities in the narration. Ages 3-6. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Written and illustrated by Peter McCarty (Holt, 2004), this is the tale of a Tyrannosaurus rex who doesn't know why he is so terrible. He wonders if maybe things would be better if he were pink or blue. He was hatched from an egg and had a mother just like the other dinosaurs, yet he is still scary. He wishes that he could be a vegetarian, but in the end understands that because he is a T-rex, he must be terrible. The pencil on watercolor-paper illustrations give the dinosaur a soft edge. David de Vries's growly, gruff narration is appropriate for the T-rex, yet a little scary at the end of the story. The illustrations are brought to life with slight animation. Original music features oboe, flute, and clarinet, calling to mind the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth. The music appropriately changes with the mood of the story and continues during the times when there isn't any narration. A solid addition to dinosaur collections for young children.-Veronica Schwartz, Des Plaines Public Library, IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
A Tyrannosaurus rex bemoans his bad-guy image and makes a bid for sympathy in this imaginative portrayal of a dinosaur's perspective. Shadowy pencil drawings in muted tones accompany the succinct text, capturing the wistfulness in the expression of the ""terrible lizard"" as he tries to convince readers that he can't help being the way he is. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
McCarty uses the soft, rounded forms and muted colors of his Caldecott Honor-winning Hondo and Fabian (2002) to similarly tongue-in-cheek effect. Here, Tyrannosaurus Rex makes a bid for sympathy: didn't he come from a humble little egg? Didn't he too have a mother? Can he help it if the ground shakes when he runs, or that he's just not cut out to be a vegetarian? Children may chortle at the repeated scenes of T. Rex toothily attempting to justify himself to smaller, cowed-looking prey--or maybe not: the humor of the disconnect between the art's harmonious, gentle look and the true nature of the creatures portrayed may be more apparent to sophisticated sensibilities. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
