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Rex Wrecks It!
Look out! Here comes Rex! Children who love to construct — and those who love to destroy — will relate to this kid-pleasing tale that builds to a smashing finale.
Gizmo, Sprinkles, and Wild are fed up. Every time they build something with their blocks, Rex wrecks it! Whether it’s an out-of-this-world rocket, a magical heart, or the biggest, strongest, most awesomerific castle ever, Rex sends it crashing down with a "Rawr!" (and sometimes a sheepish"Rawry!"?). Isn’t there any way to make playtime fun for everyone? With Rex-size humor, Ben Clanton explores the challenges of friendship, the benefits of working together, and the joys of destruction.
Gizmo, Sprinkles, and Wild are fed up. Every time they build something with their blocks, Rex wrecks it! Whether it’s an out-of-this-world rocket, a magical heart, or the biggest, strongest, most awesomerific castle ever, Rex sends it crashing down with a "Rawr!" (and sometimes a sheepish"Rawry!"?). Isn’t there any way to make playtime fun for everyone? With Rex-size humor, Ben Clanton explores the challenges of friendship, the benefits of working together, and the joys of destruction.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published September 23, 2014
2 people are currently reading
484 people want to read
About the author
Ben Clanton
51 books458 followersBen Clanton is the author/illustrator of the Narwhal and Jelly series as well as a number of other books as IT CAME IN THE MAIL, MO'S MUSTACHE, and TATER TALES. When Ben isn't doodling up stories (and often when he is) he likes to cook, explore outdoors, and play basketball. Ben lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and kids. Find out more about Ben at www.benclanton.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
December 31, 2017
Rex loves to wreck anything he can get his tiny hands upon. The larger the mess, the more fun he has. When Rex angers each of his friends with his antics, they are left baffled as to how they will handle this rude young dinosaur. Hatching an idea, his three friends wonder if he might like to build something with them, which seems to interest Rex a great deal. Together, they erect a wonderful piece of block architecture, which all can admire. Might this have solve Rex's wrecking issue? Neo liked the story, more for the dinosaur than the block buildings. However, he did ask how all four together could have built something that has block dangling upside down... so there may be some inquisitiveness inside him after all.
February 19, 2018
Perfect for tiny humans who love to smash things.
October 4, 2014
From a very early age, children love to play the "I drop it, you pick it up" game. They then graduate to "I/you build it, I knock it over." Very young children will relate to main character Rex who holds on tight to the fun of toppling towers. The repeatable line that runs through this text will delight very young children and stand up to multiple rereadings. Your child will likely see themselves in one of the four characters and even learn something about teamwork, sharing, friendship, and accepting differences. The illustrations stand out as funny, playful, and colorful. The facial expressions are priceless.
February 27, 2019
I don't see the motivation for the others to include Rex since he wrecks everything they build and they're angry at him. Though Rex does say, "Rawry," it's clear as he eats the blocks that cooperative play isn't his thing.
July 17, 2017
If you can't get Rex to stop destroying everything maybe you can get him to stop by including him in everything.... That's the plan in this book about Rex who destroys everything.
Another book read at the market and it was a hit thanks to little ones making dino sounds!
Another book read at the market and it was a hit thanks to little ones making dino sounds!
January 29, 2019
Cute! Fun wordplay! Should work well for storytime.
May 21, 2025
Cute. Good for kids who are or dealing with destructive playmates. Like younger brothers. 👀👀👀👀
May 2, 2018
Rawry?
June 19, 2017
Cute. A fun read aloud with a cute message at the end. Good for friendships, monsters, working together.
P.S. The Pink Rabbit unicorn says Neigh?
6/15/16 Used in R is for... theme. I decided that since this was so repetitive, I would get the kids involved. Every time Rex said Rawr, I pointed at them so they would give me a Rawr sound. They loved it! We had such fun on the book and they liked seeing all the stuff Rex wrecked. I think they really enjoyed the illustrations, too. A definite hit. Yay!
2/28/17 Used in Movement storytime with the pointing, which they loved. Forgot about the unicorn saying neigh. My confusion on that made the parents laugh. Entertainment all around!
6/14/17 Used in R theme. They weren't as loud at the Rawr-ing, but it was still a lot of fun. Kids really liked the story.
P.S. The Pink Rabbit unicorn says Neigh?
6/15/16 Used in R is for... theme. I decided that since this was so repetitive, I would get the kids involved. Every time Rex said Rawr, I pointed at them so they would give me a Rawr sound. They loved it! We had such fun on the book and they liked seeing all the stuff Rex wrecked. I think they really enjoyed the illustrations, too. A definite hit. Yay!
2/28/17 Used in Movement storytime with the pointing, which they loved. Forgot about the unicorn saying neigh. My confusion on that made the parents laugh. Entertainment all around!
6/14/17 Used in R theme. They weren't as loud at the Rawr-ing, but it was still a lot of fun. Kids really liked the story.
May 21, 2023
I have loved this book ever since it came out in 2014, and I had so much fun reading it for storytime! The illustrations are cute and energetic, the text flows really well, and there is great dramatic tension with the page turns. One little girl really got into the roaring with me, and the book has a satisyfing ending. This is a good book for discussion cooperation and boundaries, but it's also just fun.
January 26, 2015
Makes a nice read-aloud. Children can participate with the anticipated repeat of: Rex wrecks it! A story of friendship, cooperation, and problem-solving.
July 12, 2017
Beautiful artwork and a nice little story about an annoying little dinosaur who stops wrecking things when he feels included, and learns it is okay to wreck something if everyone wants to wreck it.
December 20, 2015
A great book about kids working together!
September 28, 2025
Rex the tyrannosaurus keeps knocking over his classmates' block creations.
I had hoped that this book could help a preschooler who is rough on toys and can struggle to play nicely with others reflect upon his behavior. But the story took an unhelpful turn and never properly addressed Rex's bad behavior.
As a parent and caregiver, I was disappointed that the solution to Rex's behavior was for the other children to allow Rex to help them build with blocks before knocking the blocks over. Rex never understood the problem with his original behavior. It is not unreasonable to expect children not to touch, damage, and/or knock down other children's toys or to insert themselves into another's play uninvited. Rex needed to learn when it was not appropriate to launch himself into others' space and knock over their toys. He should have lost the privilege of playtime or been put in parallel play until he was able to play well with others and respect boundaries.
The hyper-individualization of Western -- particularly American -- culture would have one believe that everyone must be included in everything all the times no matter what. This is not true. Unpopular opinion, not all exclusion is bad. If a child cannot play with others without being aggressive, disruptive, and destructive and upsetting the other children, then that child should play alone or not at all. If someone is unwilling or unable to conform to basic social expectations, then that person has forfeited the right to be included in said situation, activity, event, location etc ...
As a parent and caretaker, I was disturbed that Rex actually broke his classmate's glasses, which is legally assault, and yet had no consequences whatsoever for his action and showed no remorse for physically harming his classmate or making the other children cry. Rex's behavior seems to have been given a free pass based on idea that's just who he is. However, the idea "that's just who I am" is a misbelief. Who one is is the random amalgamation of one's inborn personality traits, primary socialization, family unit, acquired adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, and life experiences thus far. It is mostly the result of random chance; it is not some curated fate intentionally bestowed upon one by a deity. Excusing and rationalizing unacceptable or undesirable behavior based on this false idea does a disservice to the person because s/he is never accountable for his/her actions and held to higher standard and is harmful to society as a whole.
The illustrations were done in ink, pencil, watercolor, and digital.
I had hoped that this book could help a preschooler who is rough on toys and can struggle to play nicely with others reflect upon his behavior. But the story took an unhelpful turn and never properly addressed Rex's bad behavior.
As a parent and caregiver, I was disappointed that the solution to Rex's behavior was for the other children to allow Rex to help them build with blocks before knocking the blocks over. Rex never understood the problem with his original behavior. It is not unreasonable to expect children not to touch, damage, and/or knock down other children's toys or to insert themselves into another's play uninvited. Rex needed to learn when it was not appropriate to launch himself into others' space and knock over their toys. He should have lost the privilege of playtime or been put in parallel play until he was able to play well with others and respect boundaries.
The hyper-individualization of Western -- particularly American -- culture would have one believe that everyone must be included in everything all the times no matter what. This is not true. Unpopular opinion, not all exclusion is bad. If a child cannot play with others without being aggressive, disruptive, and destructive and upsetting the other children, then that child should play alone or not at all. If someone is unwilling or unable to conform to basic social expectations, then that person has forfeited the right to be included in said situation, activity, event, location etc ...
As a parent and caretaker, I was disturbed that Rex actually broke his classmate's glasses, which is legally assault, and yet had no consequences whatsoever for his action and showed no remorse for physically harming his classmate or making the other children cry. Rex's behavior seems to have been given a free pass based on idea that's just who he is. However, the idea "that's just who I am" is a misbelief. Who one is is the random amalgamation of one's inborn personality traits, primary socialization, family unit, acquired adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, and life experiences thus far. It is mostly the result of random chance; it is not some curated fate intentionally bestowed upon one by a deity. Excusing and rationalizing unacceptable or undesirable behavior based on this false idea does a disservice to the person because s/he is never accountable for his/her actions and held to higher standard and is harmful to society as a whole.
The illustrations were done in ink, pencil, watercolor, and digital.
March 22, 2021
This was fine. Got it in a grab bag at the library and my 3.5 year old liked something about it enough to sleep with it in her room, but was never that enthusiastic about reading it. Knd of as expected where rex is a high energy dino who loves maashing stuff, but then he makes weveryone else sad as a result. Works out well in terms of the characters working together to build and smash something in the end, but nothing special really. Also it's one of those stories where there are all these different characters set up up like they are trying to build a world you may come back to, but there just wasn't enough there for me to want to come back.
July 7, 2018
Such a cute book about working together and including everyone.
Did you ever just want to build the tallest most awesome tower ever, but your friends kept knocking it down? That's what happens in this book until they all work together! Rex has so much fun knocking down ALL the blocks - and making louder, and louder dino sounds each time. (The kids loved that part and chimed along! - My boy even stood up and stomped around towards the end as the things Rex wrecked got bigger!) Rex wrecks everything - until they all get to build and wreck everything together! Together - everything is better!
Did you ever just want to build the tallest most awesome tower ever, but your friends kept knocking it down? That's what happens in this book until they all work together! Rex has so much fun knocking down ALL the blocks - and making louder, and louder dino sounds each time. (The kids loved that part and chimed along! - My boy even stood up and stomped around towards the end as the things Rex wrecked got bigger!) Rex wrecks everything - until they all get to build and wreck everything together! Together - everything is better!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 25, 2018
Gizmo, Sprinkles and Wild love to build ... Rex loves to destroy, much to the distress of the others.
Nothing is safe: not Gizmo's out-of-this-world rocket or Sprinkle's magical heart or Wild's Wooden Wonder of Wowdom. Until Gizmo, that brainy bot, comes up with a solution: include Rex in the construction of the most awesomerific building yet. And let the fun begin.
Kids will be able to relate ... and a wonderful way to solve the problem.
Nothing is safe: not Gizmo's out-of-this-world rocket or Sprinkle's magical heart or Wild's Wooden Wonder of Wowdom. Until Gizmo, that brainy bot, comes up with a solution: include Rex in the construction of the most awesomerific building yet. And let the fun begin.
Kids will be able to relate ... and a wonderful way to solve the problem.
June 21, 2021
The characters in this book are cute, but I think the message is all wrong. Rex destroys everything the other characters build, which understandably upsets them. Then they decide to include him in their building project. From this, I expected Rex to learn to appreciate the effort that goes into planning and building something and, therefore, would want to respect the product of the work. Instead, everyone participates in the destruction leaving the message that it's more fun to destroy.
December 28, 2023
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5/5)
Gizmo, Sparkles, and Wild are building beautiful things with their blocks, but then Rex comes and wrecks everything! Is there a way for everyone to have a fun time playing with blocks?
Highlights: PE, KE, and Force equations on chalkboard. RAWR!
Lowlights: The message of the book is to play in a way that includes everyone, but allowing Rex to wreck everything in the end doesn't teach him that sometimes others don't want things to be wrecked.
Gizmo, Sparkles, and Wild are building beautiful things with their blocks, but then Rex comes and wrecks everything! Is there a way for everyone to have a fun time playing with blocks?
Highlights: PE, KE, and Force equations on chalkboard. RAWR!
Lowlights: The message of the book is to play in a way that includes everyone, but allowing Rex to wreck everything in the end doesn't teach him that sometimes others don't want things to be wrecked.
March 27, 2017
Oh Ben Clanton, you are a wonderful friend to children everywhere. This book is the perfect length, subject matter, and illustration style for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Clanton, per usual, seems to know just what content will reach kids-- and how to present it most effectively. This book teaches empathy and introduces some basic social skills in a new and accessible way. Loved it!
July 22, 2017
This book was a special treat my husband brought home to our baby boy who had been home sick all day with his first flu. Well, he loved it! It got him to finally crack a smile. As someone who knows the best part of building a block tower is knocking it down, Ben really identified with Rex's penchant for wrecking everything. We give it 5 RAWRs!
January 31, 2019
Such a fun read aloud about a classic childhood moment. You know that kid who knocks down everyone else's towers? That's Rex. Told with simple phrases, threaded with humor, and framed with a repetitive structure this is a great one to read aloud with young preschoolers who will identify with the problem and learn from the solution.
September 7, 2019
Rex Wrecks it follows Rex in his journey of creation and destruction, both being equally engaging experiences which would be great for an energized reading with young children. This picture book with light narration is great to introduce young children to the idea of building something they work at, while also showing it is okay to have fun deconstructing.
April 2, 2018
I really enjoy this series. These four friends get into all sorts of hijinx. I mean, it's a robot, a dinosaur, a generic monster, and a...bunnycorn? Maybe a one-horned jackalope? With socks? How am I more confused by the rabbit character than any of the others?
May 23, 2019
This book is nothing special. (Though dinosaurs and the opportunity to "ROAR!" are always beloved in storytimes.) However, it tackles bullying and only looking out for your own interests....which I think is something essential to touch on with kids.
I do think the illustrations are delightful.
I do think the illustrations are delightful.
April 24, 2021
Rex loves to wreck everything, but it makes his friends unhappy. Little ones can easily relate to Rex and his friends and can figure out how to solve the problem on their own. But this is a fun picture book that models cooperative conflict resolution.
June 21, 2023
The illustrations are very cute in this book. I get that Rex (great name for the dino) destroys everything, but I didn't care for the end of the book that is more wrecking but with a friend. Probably kids would find it very funny but it encourages wrecking.
December 18, 2023
My boys both relate to Rex who likes to knock down everyone's blocks! I love how this book helps them see how other people might feel about having their block creations knocked down and also shows how everyone can cooperate and have fun together!
February 19, 2025
I really like to read this book with my kids, especially when we are going through bumps of breaking friends constructions or taking/ adding without asking first.
The art is cute and the story is simple yet gets across an important message.
The art is cute and the story is simple yet gets across an important message.
February 28, 2017
Nice read-a-loud. Kids will relate to it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews