Santa Rex

September 4, 2017
The dinosaurs and young humans from Tea Rex and subsequent picture books deck/wreck the halls in a holiday companion tale that juxtaposes Idle’s elegant illustrations and decorous narration with the kind of chaos one might expect when four prehistoric creatures descend on a household. Curtains are snipped into giant snowflakes, the mantel gets smashed to pieces, cookies are baked and promptly devoured, and the tree goes down for the count, but T. rex makes it up to the children in a big way, as a vertical foldout reveals. Mischievous and sweetness go hand in claw in Idle’s story—just the right mix of naughty and nice. Ages 3–5. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

September 1, 2017
Idle continues her series about a sister and brother and their dinosaur friends (Sea Rex, 2015, etc.) with a tongue-in-cheek manual on how to prepare for the Christmas holiday. The children, who are white, are entertaining guests: four dinos, including a gigantic, golden-brown T. Rex. The group works together to make decorations, bake cookies, hang stockings, and trim the tree. One dino destroys the fireplace trying to hang stockings, and when the T. Rex tries to add the star to the top of their tree, it knocks the tree over and crushes it. But in this cheery story, there are no grown-ups around to object to decorating disasters. On Christmas morning, the children are surprised by a new sort of Christmas tree: T. Rex decorated with lights, paper chains, snowflake ornaments, and a pterosaur on top. This Christmas-morning surprise is given extra panache by a gatefold page that opens upward, adding height to the inventive dino-tree effect. The final double-page spread shows the children and dinos spending time together, enjoying "the real magic of the season." Glowing illustrations in Prismacolor pencils use a vibrant palette of fruity hues with an overall ambiance of radiant light, and it is the visual counterpoint they lend to the deadpan text that gives the story its humor. The bright colors, flattened perspective, and old-fashioned clothing worn by the children lend a retro vibe. Fans of the T. Rex series and all dinosaur devotees will enjoy this merry celebration. (Picture book. 3-5)

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October 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1-Cordelia and her brother are back. This time they are celebrating Christmas with their dinosaur friends. There are a few accidents while making the holiday preparations: the triceratops breaks through the fireplace while trying to hang a stocking, T. rex knocks down the tree, and more. Despite the mishaps, the friends have a beautiful holiday, and they discover the true magic of Christmas is how it brings everyone together. The illustrations are done in pastel colors and are so adorable readers won't be able to stop themselves from oohing and aahing. There is one vertical foldout page where T. rex takes the place of the Christmas tree he accidentally destroyed. Fans of the series will love this holiday edition. VERDICT This book is great for individual and small group sharing where everyone can see the beautiful illustrations.-Sara Rebman, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2017
Preschool-K Rex is back once again! This time he brings along his dinosaur friends to help the little girl and her brother prepare for Christmas. With everyone helping, all your holiday preparations will be done in no time. Well, not quite . . . paper snowflakes get a little out of hand, and the trimmings (paper chains and holly) don't seem to get hung up correctly. And then there's cookie making: Everyone loves to help bake Christmas cookies. / So delicious, they're sure to disappear quickly. Once everything is done, It's best to go to bed early . . . / because Santa Claus won't come until you're fast asleep. Although a magical moment awaits them the next morning, the cheery Christmas crew realizes that the best part of the season is how Christmas brings everyone together. Minimal text punctuates Idles' whimsical full-page illustrations. Soft pencil pastels nicely render the playful and cuddly-looking prehistoric critters, while their facial expressions capture the hilarious calamities of holiday preparations. A welcome addition to Christmas collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
If you believe the text in Idle's fourth Rex book, four dinos make their young human friends' Christmas preparations quick and easy. But behold in the varied colored-pencil illustrations: chewed curtains, disappearing cookies, toppled tree, etc. The solution to the destruction brings gatefold-size glory to the celebration. The more closely you look, the funnier this book gets, and its ending is merry and bright.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2017
If you believe the text (which, as usual for Idle's Rex books, is spare and on some spreads completely absent), four visiting dinos make their young human friends' Christmas preparations quick and easy. But behold in the varied colored-pencil illustrations: chewed curtains, disappearing cookies, a toppled tree. If you don't have a fireplace, the text calmly advises after an unfortunate fireplace/triceratops encounter, you can hang [stockings] anywhere you like. There's a solution to the destruction, of course, one that brings gatefold-sized glory to the celebration. The more closely you look, the funnier this book gets, and its ending is merry and bright. shoshana flax

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)