Tadpole Rex
Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 3—In a primordial swamp, "One little polliwog swirled in the soup,/bouncing off bubbles—/Bloop./Bloop./Bloop." From that point, the author follows the development of one intrepid tadpole: "somewhere inside him deep in his core,/there slumbered an inner tyrannosaur." The rhyming text is image-rich, informational, and fun to read aloud: "Gone are the dinosaurs. Gone are the stompers,/the rippers, the roarers, the bone-crunching chompers./Gone are the dinosaurs, swept away…./But hoppers and croakers are here to stay." Cyrus's oversize artwork conveys information spectacularly, beginning with a dramatic wrap-around cover and continuing with interesting perspectives of dinosaurs and the prehistoric environment. Created in scratchboard and then colored digitally, the illustrations are luminous and striking. In "A Note from the Author," Cyrus gives additional background about frog fossils, their evolutionary development, and the impact of climate change on their survival. This is an exciting blend of science and literature that children will appreciate.—Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.