Tea Rex (A Rex Book)

Sure to be enjoyed by tea-party enthusiasts, and even dino fans with no use for a teapot will find themselves drawn to this clever tale of a not-entirely-civilized beast of the past.

A fine example of how words and pictures can lock horns to charming effect.

Children know how dinosaurs say goodnight, but what's the drill when one of them comes to tea? Idle (Flora and the Flamingo) explains it all, mining the comic chasm between a briskly genteel narrator and a fanciful reality. "When hosting an afternoon tea for a special friend--greet your guest at the door," she instructs, as a girl and her younger brother, dressed in their Sunday best, welcome a huge green tyrannosaurus (its belly fills the doorframe while its beady, eager eyes peer through a half-circle window at the top). This isn't going to be easy, but the creature is game, settling its humongous bottom onto an alarmingly petite chair and pouring with gusto, if not grace. The dainty, uniformly light colors, coupled with the dinosaur's velveteenlike texture, can make some of the story's many funny moments a bit difficult to discern at first glance. But Idle has a gift for comic composition, and her precise pencil linework and tidy borders exude a sense of authority and propriety worthy of Miss Manners, imposing order and decorum on the increasingly chaotic scenes. Ages 3-5. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Apr.)

PreS-Gr 1--A droll narrator gives clear instructions for hosting a successful tea party. Meanwhile the colored-pencil illustrations show a gathering teetering on disaster with every page turn as the guest of honor is none other than an enormous Tyrannosaurus rex. The soft pastel hues and rounded shapes keep this dinosaur more large and bumbling than fierce or scary, but the child's teddy bear suffers a few close calls. Etiquette advice focuses on putting guests at ease: "It's good to have extra cups and napkins on hand... as accidents can happen. But a good host meets these little challenges with a cheerful smile...," and all of the guests survive unharmed, if rather rumpled, and delighted with the return invitation from the dinosaur. The tension between the text and illustrations provides much to amuse the youngest tea-party hosts.--Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA