Tea Rex by Molly Idle

Dear Mr. Rex,

It has been so long since I have seen you.

Do drop by on Friday afternoon for a cup of tea.

Your friend,
Cordelia

When children play "tea party" it is very often one of the few times you observe them behaving quietly and minding their manners. Which is why Molly Idle's Tea Rex is such a fun, hilarious read. The children in the story are minding their manners and following all the proper proceedings of a dignified tea, but their guest, Mr. T-Rex, can't help himself. He's trying to very hard to be mannerly, but he just can't help what he is: a carnivorous beast.

And yet, despite being a carnivorous beast, there is something so endearing and almost gentle about Mr. Rex. It isn't presumptuous to say that readers of all ages will fall in love with him. The second person point-of-view and "fish out of water" main character immediately put me in mind of my favorite picture book of all time, Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick. I could see using this book as a mentor text to have students write their own "fish out of water" stories.

Books similar to Tea Rex:
Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle
Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten? by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Daniel Jennewein
Teach Your Buffalo to Play Drums by Audrey Vernick, illustrated by Daniel Jennewein
Dragons Love Tacos by  Adam Rubin, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri
Boy and Bot by Ame Dyckman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira, illustrated by Poly Bernatene


Tea Rex by Molly Idle
Published: April 9, 2013
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 40
Genre: Picture Book/Fantasy
Audience: Primary
Disclosure: Purchased Copy