T. Rex

PreS-Gr. 2. In a sprightly picture book that's as much about the mysteries of science as it is about dinosaurs, a boy and his grandfather visit a natural history museum's T. rex exhibition. The imagined life cycle of the much obsessed over carnosaur is explained in a friendly, rhythmic conversation between boy and grandpa: It began with an egg! / What size was the egg? / The egg was as big as your head . . . maybe. Variations on the following question-and-answer refrain echo throughout the book: And how did he grow? Or don't you know / It was millions and millions of years ago! More dinosaur speculation abounds in captions that curl around the lively pages. Bartlett's endearing, color-saturated paintings of the museum's T. rex dioramas reflect and enhance the author's playful, vivacious approach to scientific exploration. Budding paleontologists will be inspired by all the detective work that remains to be tackled in the perennially popular world of dinosaurs. --Karin Snelson Copyright 2004 Booklist

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. In a rollicking, rhyming dialogue with his grandfather, a boy discovers the thrill of the intellectual hunt while touring a T. Rex exhibition. "Did he rip and tear as he charged and leapt,/ as he thundered after his panicking prey?" asks the boy, as Bartlett (who teamed up with French for Growing Frogs), working in saturated acrylics and bold shapes, travels back to the era when T. Rex was indeed king. "Maybe yes, or maybe no," says the grandfather, a response that serves as the book's refrain, "it was millions and millions of years ago." The text eschews quotation marks; the boy's questions appear in italics, while boldface type connotes grandfather's responses. Grandfather is not clueless; rather, he points out how paleontologists can agree on many matters (brief, digestible facts annotate many of the pictures), while contending others, such as whether T. Rex was an aggressive predator, or if "he might have hunted for secondhand prey,/ a scavenger clearing the dead away." French understands that uncertainty can feel frustrating and even overwhelming to children ("How can I know what's really true?" the boy finally demands). But the author eloquently makes the case that a willingness to seek answers, rather than merely receive them, has its own rewards: "Maybe one day we'll really know,/ Maybe we'll know what's really true./ The person to tell us/ might just be you!" Ages 5-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

PreS-Gr 1-On a visit to a museum, a grandfather and grandson share a conversation about the great Tyrannosaurus rex. As the man tries to describe the world and life of this carnosaur, he finds that he is often unable to provide definitive responses to the boy's questions. When the child wants to know why he doesn't know the answers, the granddad offers the rhythmic reply, "It was millions and millions of years ago!" He encourages the youngster (and readers) to read, learn, and wait for more information and, perhaps, someday make their own discoveries about dinosaurs. The acrylic artwork features simple blocky figures and bright colors, and children will pore over the pictures as they gather facts about this perennially favorite reptile. Throughout the book, French sprinkles information in small type that becomes part of the illustrations. Young dinosaur lovers will enjoy the story and return to the book often to pick up and puzzle out facts about the "tyrant lizard king."-Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(Primary) When a grandfather and grandson visit a natural history museum, the Tyrannosaurus rex exhibit prompts a discussion about what we know and don't know about dinosaurs. The child's many questions about dinosaur behavior, care of young, and eating habits are answered by his grandfather with the best facts available, and more fully by the vibrantly colored, kid-friendly illustrations that give an imaginative representation of how the fierce (but not frightening) T. rex may have looked and acted. French chooses to emphasize how much scientists don't actually know about dinosaurs with the oft-repeated statement ""it was millions and millions of years ago."" Although this emphasis levels the scientific playing field and encourages young readers to think about the answers themselves (perhaps as future paleontologists), it oversimplifies scientific theory development. Scientists are not ""just guessing"" about the past, as the endnote states; they are carefully collecting evidence to develop reasoned explanations. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Representing all children who must know everything about T. rex, a lad grills his granddad as they take in a dinosaur show at the museum: "How were his teeth, his terrible teeth? / Were they sharp? Were they long? / Were they terribly strong?" Granddad answers as best he (and modern paleontology) can, but often he's forced to protest that, "It was millions and millions of years ago!" Using intensely hued acrylics applied in broad, visible brushstrokes, Bartlett depicts the two visitors examining dioramas of toothy carnivores in action (even engaged in a rather gory meal), then moving on to fossils, smaller scenes, and, at last, the inevitable dinosaur gift shop. French intersperses brief prose commentary to fill in some of the blanks, and has Granddad turn the tables on his young interrogator by suggesting that he--and by extension, readers--might one day themselves answer some of the many questions remaining about T. rex. That's an energizing idea for young dinosaur fans. (index) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.