Rex Finds an Egg! Egg! Egg!

December 15, 2014
Rex, a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex whose bucktoothed grin and bowling-ball head wouldn’t be out of place in the Flintstones household, spots a spotted prize next to a nestful of dinosaur eggs: “Rex finds an... Egg? Egg. Egg!” He holds it close when a nearby volcano starts smoking and he has to “Run. Run! Run!” (This ritual repetition, which continues throughout, is guaranteed to fuel readaloud energy.) Weinberg’s (To Timbuktu) artwork grabs attention from the first page. Big, loose outlines in hot vermilion leap out against the soft pastels that tint the rest of the prehistoric landscape. It’s all about action as Rex falls off a cliff, tumbles into an ocean filled with marvelous prehistoric life (a moment of genuine beauty), is lifted into the sky by a pterodactyl and keeps on moving. After Rex’s egg survives a tense and terrible fall, the truth dawns—it’s a rock, not an egg, and Rex’s attention quickly moves elsewhere. This discovery registers more as a disappointment than a punch line, but it remains a visually striking story that moves fast, fast, fast. Ages 4–8. Agent: Marcia Wernick, Wernick & Pratt.

November 1, 2014
An exploding volcano, an unseen cliff, flying predators and other hazards challenge a dimwitted young T. Rex with a precious burden and a monosyllabic vocabulary.Coming upon a large spotted ovoid, Rex's delighted "Egg? Egg. Egg!" turns to "Run. Run! RUN!" when a volcano rumbles nearby. Serial, madcap mishaps ensue as Rex struggles to carry his find back to the nest and safety-only to trip at the last moment and send it flying. But then, seeing it lying on the ground undamaged (aside from a large crack, there from the beginning), Rex entertains a new notion: "Rock?" Using garish colors and a thick, red crayon for the scribbly linework, Weinberg crafts a mad cartoonist's vision of a prehistoric setting that, seemingly on the verge of shaking apart at any moment, ratchets Rex's flight into a giddy scramble. In contrast to Bob Shea's fierce little scenery-chewer (Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, etc.), Rex is drawn as a comical figure with a dopey expression and big buck teeth. Still, nature will out. In the end, a smaller dino's arrival offers Rex the prospect of a new "[f]riend!" Stomach rumbling like that volcano in the background, Rex decides instead that it's time for some "[l]unch! Lunch! Lunch!" Young dinosaur fans will like this solo debut for Weinberg a bunch, bunch, bunch. (Picture book. 5-7)

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January 1, 2015

PreS-K-Rex finds what he thinks is an egg and protects it when he falls off a cliff into the ocean and meets with other calamities. Back at his nest, it breaks when he drops it, and he discovers that his treasure is really a rock. The text is very easy and repetitive: "Now he must.../Run./Run!/Run!" In the end, he chases a smaller dinosaur for "Lunch! Lunch! Lunch!" The endpapers show drawings of various dinosaurs, identified by name. The illustrations are done in a vibrantly colored cartoon style in both watercolor and crayon. Perfect for preschool storytimes and multiple readings with dinosaur-obsessed toddlers.-Sarah Wilsman, Kent Free Library, Kent, OH

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