Tea Rex-Book Review

Title:  Tea Rex

Author and Illustrator:  Molly Idle

Ages: 3-5 years

There is an average of five words a page in this incredibly beautiful illustrated book.  Each page is like looking into a painting and finding all the glorious details brushed onto the canvas and the words etched like a signature across the masterpiece.  The perspective of the dinosaur is huge, won't even fit on a page, so that in itself is a fun factor for kids to absorb.  The images contrast with the words. Humour, wit and laughter are sprinkled throughout the story making it very entertaining indeed.  Two siblings dress up and host a very formal tea party.  They invite a t-rex to the tea and explain to him the etiquette rules.  Emily Post would have been very impressed with the protocol passed on to this huge beast.  The dinosaur is asked to join them, sit in a comfy chair and enjoy his tea. The picture of him sitting in a teeny, tiny chair (the most uncomfortable piece of furniture imaginable) is terribly funny.  The whimsical illustrations are powerful as well as pleasing to the eye, and could almost speak for themselves without the aid of the text.  Chaos and pandemonium ensue as this big clumsy beast tries to follow all the refined, delicate rules for tea and doesn't quite measure up to human standards of the event.  When he finally leaves, the very room itself is trashed and the wallpaper is even peeling off the walls.  All in all it is a very excellent book to read aloud and share with your kids.

About the author:

Molly Idle has been drawing ever since she could wield a pencil. But while she started scribbling before she could walk, her professional career as an artist began slightly later…

It was upon her graduation from Arizona State University, with a BFA in Drawing, that Molly accepted an offer to work for DreamWorks Feature Animation Studios.  After five years, a number of film credits, and an incredibly good time, she left the studio and leapt with gusto into the world of children's book illustration!

Molly now lives in Arizona with her brilliant husband, two wonderfully mischievous sons, and two snugly cats. When not making mischief with her boys or watching old Technicolor musicals, she can be found at her desk scribbling away, with a pencil in one hand and a cup of espresso in the other- creating a plethora of profoundly whimsical picture books!

Book Review Rating:      9   (Close to Perfection!)

Read on and read always!