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Idle’s (Tea Rex, Camp Rex) new picture book is about a Sea Rex. He looks like a T-Rex wearing a sailor cap and inflatable tube. He joins a family as they go to the beach for a day of swimming, tanning, and picnicking.
The narration contains good advice or helpful tips about enjoying oneself while at the beach and playing safe, but the Prismacolor pencil illustrations show the opposite. This is where the humor comes into play.
Cordelia cannot eat because sea gulls fly away with the picnic basket. Her brother swims out to save it, but it’s being guarded by sharks. The Sea Rex and the pterodactyl lifeguard are there to rescue him. Other dinosaurs can be seen at the beach snorkeling and on the last page, enjoying the sunset.
I like the contrast between the brother and sister. Cordelia tiptoes into the shallowest of water while her brother cannonballs into the waves. The treasure she finds in the sand pinches her nose, but her brother uses his to beautify his sand castle. Cordelia, the older sibling, bounces back, though, and she doesn’t let the setbacks stop her from enjoying her day at the beach with her dinosaur friends.
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Sea Rex