Tyrannosaurus Tex [Hardcover]

Betty G. Birney (Author), John O'Brien (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 1994 | Age Level: 5 and up

Tyrannosaurus Tex, with his ten-thousand-gallon hat and his stories about Texas before the people came, proves himself a loyal friend to a group of cowboys out on the range leaving behind a new legend to be told around the campfire.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his wispy lines and pebble-toned watercolors, New Yorker cartoonist O'Brien ( Six Creepy Sheep ; Six Sleepy Sheep ) adds a quirky charm to this disjointed tale of a toothy dinosaur cowpoke named Tyrannosaurus Tex. Here, five cowboys meet up with big galoot Tex while riding the range, and after the fellas get over their surprise, the dino tells them "about Texas before the people came." That night, as Tex and his new bunkies sleep, rustlers set fire to the prairie; it's up to Tex et al. to round up stampeding cattle and put out the blaze. Despite some nice touches, such as giving Tex a "ten-thousand-gallon hat," and some chuckle-worthy chatter ("You're getting too old to beat a biscuit. And Pete's too young to bend a bean"), Birney's narrative is wordy and fails to answer obvious questions. After Tex vanishes into the desert from whence he apparently came, the story limps to a close with the suggestion that the "boys" have simply been swapping tall tales around the camp fire. The art, however, might rope in the reader--the spread of Tex reclining, Odalisque -style, near the cowboys in their bedrolls is plumb wonderful. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-What do you get when you mix dinosaur mania, a tall tale, and Texas lore? A story about Tyrannosaurus Tex, who saves the day for the Bar Double U gang. When lowdown, dirty varmints set a prairie fire in order to steel Double U's cattle, Tex wipes out the rustlers and puts out the fire with water dumped from his ten-thousand-gallon Stetson hat. O'Brien's large, earth-toned, lariat-bound watercolor illustrations with ink crosshatching create a mosaic effect. Birney skillfully lavishes her fast-moving tale with alliterative cowboy jargon ("...too old to beat a biscuit...too young to bend a bean"), making oral group reading a delight. A tumbleweed-tumbling, rip-roaring good tale.
Claudia Cooper, Ft. Stockton Independent School District, TX
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1St Edition edition (March 28, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395676487
• ISBN-13: 978-0395676486
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,932,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Betty G. Birney lives in Los Angeles, California. Her web site is full of fun Humphrey activities and information.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A TALL TEXAS TALE FOR YOUNGSTERS, April 6, 2004

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Tex (Hardcover)

When a critter halfway as high as Butterfly Butte comes upon some cowboys and their chuck wagon, he devours not only the beans but the pot, too. Now, that's an appetite.

This rip-roarin' saga about the unlikely alliance between the giant Tex and the cowboys will keep children smiling. Together, they outsmart the rustlers.

Then, "with a trembling of the tumbleweed," the giant of the prairie is gone. But, not forgotten.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun, September 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Tex (Paperback)

Tyrannosaurus Tex is my 4 1/2 year old daughter's favorite book. The story and illustrations are wonderful and the combination of dinosaurs and cowboys is ingenious.

5.0 out of 5 stars My son's favorite book!, April 9, 2002

By 

Kenneth French (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tyrannosaurus Tex (Library Binding)

My son & I found this in the library and subsequently bought our own copy, we love it so much. A lot of fun, especially when Tex arrives and eats the pot of beans, pot and all!