Tommysaurus Rex - Doug TenNapel
Grandpa: "A dinosaur is eating my cow."
Ely: "They do that."
Doug TenNapel is also the author/illustrator of Creature Tech and Earthboy Jacobus, and he's shown a talent for telling moralistic fables with bizarre sci-fi premises. This one doesn't have all the weird creatures of the other two books; in fact, it only has one creature, and not even a made-up one: a Tyrannosaurus Rex. While Ely's spending the summer at his grandpa's farm, he discovers a living T. Rex and begins to tame it. Meanwhile, he's also dealing with bully problems, and mourning the recent loss of his dog, Tommy.
It's a kooky but warm-hearted story, and it's also the first chance to see TenNapel draw something realistically—the T. Rex is convincingly real, even when surrounded by cartoony people. (Think of the contrast between Calvin & Hobbes' real world and his imaginary world.) Plus, there's a cameo by Ray "Stop-motion Master" Harryhausen, who notes in a quote on the back cover: "You made me look like Mr. Magoo."
Fed to jonathan's brain | May 16, 2006
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