Review by Booklist Review
Warmly colored with childlike bodies and emotive faces, Ohora's dinosaurs are among the cutest you will come across in children's books. This proves lucky, because one of them does his level best to obliterate the quiet and order of their schoolroom. While Styracosaurus copies, Stygimoloch checks, and Iguanodon picks out a book, Tyrannosaurus what else? wrecks! Running across the crafts table and bashing block buildings, the Tyrannosaurus ruins everyone's day, until they let him know it's not appreciated. The good-natured dino doesn't like feeling left out, so he learns his lesson and tries to be better only to trip on a truck and wreck himself. Luckily, his friendly classmates pitch in to support him. All schoolboy shorts, striped shirt, and mischievous glare, this troublemaker is impossible not to root for, and his transformation from agent of chaos to (slightly clumsy) bringer of order will echo many a schoolroom drama for little readers. With a pronunciation guide on the endpapers and clear dinosaur shapes, this also makes a nifty little primer for burgeoning dino experts.--Karp, Jesse Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bardhan-Quallen and OHora may not have the monopoly on the pun around which this book is based, but that doesn't stop them from having a blast with it. They take readers to a classroom where Apatosaurus colors a picture of a volcano, Gallimimus helps build a block tower, an overalls-wearing Iguanodon reads quietly, and Tyrannosaurus-well, you can probably guess. Ohora (No Fits, Nilson!) paints this antihero as a small orange terror in a striped shirt and sneakers, but his bad behavior quickly catches up with him, and his classmates shun him: "Tyrannosaurus leaving-/ Dinosaurs are glad./ Tyrannosaurus lonely,/ Miserable, and sad." Bardhan-Quallen's (Duck, Duck, Moose!) verse stomps along like T-Wrecks himself, but she makes it clear he's not a bad guy; he tries hard to make amends, and the final scene proves he's not the only tiny dino capable of making a mistake. Punchy writing, an equally in-your-face palette, and Ohora's characteristically brash painting style make this as much a stompalong as a readaloud. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. Illustrator's agent: Sean McCarthy, Sean McCarthy Literary Agency. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-While all of his other dinosaur friends are hard at work in the classroom, Tyrannosaurus wrecks everything! Students will get a kick out of the play on words with the perennial favorite dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex. The story has a sing-songy flow that's perfect for a read-aloud. The story is narrated by L. J. Ganser, who creates a laugh-out-loud experience when Tyrannosaurus gets up to his classroom shenanigans. Young students will love to listen this story, which has lots of child appeal, while learning about some new dinosaurs at the same time, though they'd benefit from having the book in front of them while they listen. Surely the play on words will stir up some fun classroom conversation, too.-Jessica Gilcreast, Bedford School District, NH (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
All is peace and harmony in the dinosaur classroom, except for one member with a frustrating self-control issue: "Apatosaurus colors. Pteranodon inspects. Velociraptor glitters. Tyrannosaurus...WRECKS!" Naively drawn dinosaurs with bold outlines and flat, digitally added bright colors pop from the thick white pages. A chanting text, consisting primarily of simple subjects and verbs, builds the classroom tension until the students band together on a page with an ominous black background to exile the disruptive dino. Later a sad and lonely Tyrannosaurus gets an opportunity to redeem himself and finds that his classmates are more forgiving of accidental "wrecks" than deliberate ones. Helpful endpapers highlight each featured dinosaur as a chalkboard drawing labeled with its name and pronunciation. Together the chanting rhythm, ragged lines, and setting of an un-chaperoned dinosaur class create a satisfyingly high-energy, primal read-aloud strongly reminiscent of Bob Shea's "Dinosaur vs." series. julie roach (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Primary socialization and cooperation in actionwith dinosaurs, and no grown-ups in sight. Whether at the art table, doing work at the board or using blocks"Stegosaurus stacks. / Triceratops erects. / Gallimimus builds it up"the result is the same: "TYRANNOSAURUS // WRECKS!" But not only does a room full of angry faces cause a change of heart in the hyperactive theropod, when his efforts to repair the damage founder on his own clumsiness, his classmates pitch in. They don't do the cleanup themselves, but they work to enable his success. That doesn't spell an end to disasters, as bulky Apatosaurus doesn't see contrite T. Rex carefully balancing a tray of juice cups and snacksbut at least this time it's not his fault. OHora adds digital color to simply drawn classroom scenes in ways that produce a flat, screen-printed look, depicting the dinos in human clothing but with recognizable attributes (they're also identified on the endpapers). Just for fun he also slips in a view of Styracosaurus practicing his "C"s by repeatedly writing "Climate Change" and a few other visual gags. Along with the pleasure of pronouncing those multisyllabic dino names, young audiences may find food for thought in the behavioral dynamics on display. (Picture book. 4-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
