If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party
Written by Jill Esbaum
Illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova
Sterling Children’s Books  8/16/2016
978-1-4549-1550-8
40 pages   Ages 4—8

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“If a T. rex crashes your birthday
party, you’ll think it’s all fun and
games. A barrel of laughs, right?
Oh, sure. He’ll stomp those size 45s and
ROOOOAAAARRRRR!
Which is awesome. At first. But
there are a few things you should
know. Because having a T. rex crash
your party can be a little crazy . . .”
[inside jacket]

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Review
If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party, maybe you forgot to invite him. If you decide to let him in. Be. Very. Careful.

This is one boy’s warning to other kids, who might be thinking about forgetting to invite T. Rex to their party. T. Rex crashes this boy’s party and the dinosaur is the crankiest “kid” there. The dinosaur wants to do everything first. He wants to be the first to swing a bat at the piñata—but with his short arms, he never hits it. And then, he stomps, and roars, and gets mad, and then madder until . . . no more piñata. When it is time to play pin-a-tail-on-the-dino, T. Rex needs reminding to stay far away from the board until his turn. He did not listen. T. Rex did roar, but not because he won the game. He didn’t.

There are so many good reasons not to let a T-rex crash your party. Sure, his arms being too short for most everything—he can’t throw a water balloon, hit a piñata, or pin-the-tail-on-the-dino—but the real reason is because T. Rex acts like it is his party. He wants to open your presents, and play with your new toys. He might even scare your guests away.

So take this boy’s advice and be careful when it is time for you to have your birthday party. Do not invite a T. Rex and do not let him crash. Because when it came time to TELL T. to GO HOME . . . well, I suppose you can guess what happened next.

If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party is a very comical picture book for birthday boys and girls, and dinosaur-loving children. But T. Rex is no Puff. He is rude, pushy, cranky, and funny—especially his arms (just do not say that around T.). At first the kids love having T. Rex at the party, but then his true personality starts to shine and ROAR! Though only acting himself, T. Rex’s actions will cause giggles and roars from those reading and listening to his, er the birthday boy’s, story.

Young children will love the situations T. Rex gets himself into at the party. The illustrations, created with pencils, watercolors, and a little bit of computer magic, are cute. T. Rex is a simple blue dragon with multi-color circles running down his spine. The birthday guests are a diverse group of kids, plus one turtle. You could not invite a better crowd.

If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party will entertain kids during story time, whether at a birthday party or bedtime. I am sure kids will want to read this story multiple times, but I am not sure how the lovable dinosaur got through the front door. Once inside, T. Rex causes one laugh after another. Once the time comes for T. Rex to leave, the young boy has had enough. What follows is a sweet twist. The twist is not a huge stretch, but it is the perfect twist for the story.

A T-rex at a party can be dangerously funny; but this T. Rex can be as delicious as birthday cake. What else would you expect, If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party?

IF A T. REX CRASHES YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY. Text copyright © 2016 by Jill Esbaum. Illustrations copyright © 2016 by Dasha Tolstikova. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Sterling Children’s Books, New York, NY.

Amazon—Indie Books—Sterling Children’s Books

Find If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party on Goodreads HERE.
Get Jill Esbaum’s T. Rex Party Kit HERE.
Why Picture Books are Important (by Jill Esbaum). Read it HERE.
Check Out Dasha Tolstikova’s Studio Tour HERE.

Jill Esbaum:  http://www.jillesbaum.com/
Follow on Twitter          @JEsbaum

Dasha Tolstikova:  http://www.dashatolstikova.com/
Follow on Twitter          @heytheredasha

Sterling Children’s Books:  http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/
Follow on Twitter            @SterlingBooks

Sterling Children’s Books is an imprint of Sterling Publishing Company.

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Reprinted with permission from IF A T. REX CRASHES YOUR BIRTHDAY PARTY © 2016 by Jill Esbaum, Sterling Children’s Books, an imprint of Sterling Publishing Company, Illustrations © 2016 by Dasha Tolstikova.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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If a T. Rex Crashes Your Birthday Party
Written by Jill Esbaum
Illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova
Sterling Children’s Books 8/16/2016
9781454915508