Tyrannosaurus Rex vs. Edna the Very First Chicken

by Douglas Rees, Jed Henry (Illustrator)

Overview

Tyrannosaurus Rex wants breakfast. He stomps and he roars and he gnashes his teeth—and he scares all the other dinosaurs right out of the forest.

Only Edna, the very first chicken, is unafraid. She won't let that bully T. rex push her around! But will Edna's mighty beak and terrible flapping wings be a match for T. rex's mighty claws and terrible jaws?

This hilarious tale of bravery will have readers clucking in triumph!

Jed Henry's charming illustrations accompany Douglas Rees' upROARious tale.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627795104
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	09/26/2017
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	406,638
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD440L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Douglas Rees is an author and librarian from the San Francisco Bay Area. He is best known for his Uncle Pirate books and Vampire High young adult series.

Jed Henry has illustrated many books for children, including El Perro con Sombrero, written by Derek Taylor Kent, and his own Cheer Up, Mouse! and I Speak Dinosaur. He lives in Utah with his wife and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

07/03/2017
This is alternative paleontological history played strictly for laughs. Rees (the Uncle Pirate books) and Henry (Time for Cranberries) imagine that a T-rex that terrorized the Cretaceous is finally bested by a petite, doe-eyed hen named Edna. “I am big and fierce and you should be afraid of me,” says Tyrannosaurus. “I am small and brave and you should be afraid of me,” retorts Edna, literally eye-to-eye with him. But Edna is more than just talk: as a savvy underdog, she knows that the right tools, strategically employed—sharp beak and claws, sneeze-inducing feathers, airborne nimbleness—can rout a lumbering lout. Henry’s digitally tweaked watercolors, which have an approachable vividness reminiscent of the Land Before Time films, are rendered in radiant hues and punctuated with crowd-pleasing proclamations (“Beware my pointy claws and many feathers,” says Edna) and interjections (“Schnorch!” is the sound of a T-rex sneeze). Emily Dickinson called hope “the thing with feathers”; Rees and Henry prove that “fierce” can have feathers, too. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Laurie McLean, Fuse Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Justin Rucker, Shannon Associates. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"This title is a delight . . . Funny, colorful, and different." —School Library Journal

"Roaring to the forest at large that he's after his breakfast, Tyrannosaurus sends Ankylosaurus, Parasaurolophus, and the rest of the heavily armored dinos fleeing in panic. But not Edna. . . . Readers will join the chorus of grateful herbivores in proclaiming that Edna is 'awesome.'" —Kirkus Reviews

"Rendered in radiant hues and punctuated with crowd-pleasing proclamations. . . . Rees and Henry prove that 'fierce' can have feathers, too." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2017
PreS-Gr 1— This prehistoric romp opens with Tyrannosaurus Rex throwing his weight around as usual, terrifying other dinosaurs as he searches of a suitable breakfast. As the other dinos flee in terror, Edna, the very first chicken, stands her ground, and when the "lord of the forest" tries to eat her, he gets a nasty surprise. This title is a delight. Edna adds a quirky element to the usual dinosaur book fare, and the voices of the various characters here—especially the T. rex after Edna sinks her pointy claws into his tongue—will make for a hilarious choice for bedtime read-alouds and library storytimes. The audience will also appreciate the colorful visual gags such as Edna's feathered behind disappearing off the page as she torpedoes from the T. rex's mouth. VERDICT Funny, colorful, and different. Try this with Rachael Mortimer's The Three Billy Goats Fluff for a pairing featuring wily animals that save the day.— Henrietta Verma, National Information Standards Organization, Baltimore

School Library Journal

2017-06-27
T. rex meets his match. Actually, he never has a chance.Roaring to the forest at large that he's after his breakfast, Tyrannosaurus sends Ankylosaurus, Parasaurolophus, and the rest of the heavily armored dinos fleeing in panic. But not Edna, who looks like a garden-variety white barnyard chicken with enormous, long-lashed eyes and a perky beak. She stands firm, responding defiantly to his blustering "I am big and fierce and you should be afraid of me," with a firm "I am small and brave and you should be afraid of me." And indeed, when he snaps her up what she does inside his mouth with her "pointy claws" and "many feathers" leaves him a sneezing, pathetic wreck: "I am Ahanasawus Ex….I am ing of e orest." With a severe "CLUCK!" she chases him away, never to be seen again—and that, children, "is why today there are no Tyrannosaurus Rexes but plenty of chickens." Using warm tones and pastels to illustrate this altogether reasonable theory (though the author discounts it in his afterword), Henry's amusing prehistoric scenes feature a variety of recognizable dinos (all save Edna sans feathers) with anthropomorphic expressions. Readers will join the chorus of grateful herbivores in proclaiming that Edna is "awesome." (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews