ABC T-Rex (Hardcover)

by Bernard Most (Author) "There once was a T-Rex who loved his ABC's so much, he ate them up..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-Using his characteristic thick-lined cartoons, Most incorporates the ever-popular dinosaur motif into this concept book in which an alphabet-loving T-Rex eats each letter in turn. Using mostly adjectives instead of nouns, the author describes the qualities of each letter as T-Rex devours it: "I was irresistible, "J was juicy." The accompanying illustrations highlight the ravenous reptile as he feasts, surrounded by foods and objects that begin with the featured letter. While readers will enjoy spotting these items, some of the adjectives will be challenging for young children, such as "luscious" and "quenching." Additionally, the unnamed objects are sometimes hard to identify, such as "quart jars" for the letter Q. The author does provide an appendix of "Some extra things to look for," arranged alphabetically, which will help children to make the connection between letter and word when the text does not. Purchase for fans of Most's work or of Jean Marzollo's "I Spy" titles (Scholastic) more than for the alphabet concept.
Holly Belli, Bergen County Cooperative Library System, West Caldwell, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
A young dinosaur, living a comfortably suburban lifestyle, eats his way through the alphabet in this genial ABC picture book. Each page (except for the double-page spread for "W"), features a new letter and a new setting for the hero, who in one scene wears footed pajamas and a bib, but in another operates a barbecue grill on his own. Oh well, who can say what's age-appropriate for the young of an extinct species? In any case, young humans will enjoy little T-rex's enormous gusto, plowing through a variety of foods, although "U upset his tummy" and slows him down for the denouement. On a typical page, "F was feast" finds him forking down French fries, fried chicken, and the letter "F" itself, while fruit salad, fish, fried chicken, and fudge wait to be devoured. Heavy black lines define the cartoonlike drawings, brightened with a colorful palette emphasizing shades of green, purple, and orange. Fun for alphabetically inclined preschoolers. Carolyn Phelan

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (March 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152020071
• ISBN-13: 978-0152020071
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,029,584 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A refreshingly unique presentation of the alphabet, February 11, 2004

By	Great Learners' Mom (Cleveland , Ohio) - See all my reviews

My son already liked alphabet books when I selected this one for his second birthday. We didn't need yet another alphabet book, but this one has become his favorite.
At 2 years and 3 months, he can recite the entire thing. It has a few "big" words like "nutritious", "quenching", and "irresistible", which is great for beginning speakers. It is a stretch for my son to pronounce those words, but that's where the learning is, and he's proud of himself.
As we talk about the bats, balls, boats, bananas, blueberries (and much more), he broadens his vocabulary, fine-tunes his pronunciation, and registers the concept of the "b" sound. He acts out this book by taking our plastic letters, quoting each page, ("A was appetizing"), and pretends to gobble the letter as the T-Rex does. The T-Rex puts the letter "R" in the refrigerator, so my son finds his "R" and wants to put it in the refrigerator too.
It is a colorful, visually appealing book, for toddlers through kindergarteners. My older son likes to help point out the items (that begin with the designated letter) on each page for his little brother. Some are obvious; some more challenging.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and educational, too!, April 12, 2000

By	S Michelle Wagoner (Keyser, WV United States) - See all my reviews

The educational content of this book is disguised by colorful illustrations and witty passages. With each new letter comes the opportunity to name many objects that begin with that letter--C has clown, cotton candy, a carousel. And the letter that is being presented is always in bold type in every word in that particular passage. A wonderful tool to teach a little one their letters in both capital and lower case form. I chose this book because my son loves dinosaurs. However, I feel this book is wonderful for any child. So enjoyable!