Tyrannosaurus Drip

by Julia Donaldson

Whoever heard of a vegetarian T. Rex? Everyone knows that tyrannosauruses are big and scary, so when a placid duckbill dinosaur's egg ends up in the wrong nest confusion is sure to ensue! When the baby dinosaur hatches out, he's so out of place that his grisly big sisters call him Tyrannosaurus Drip. Poor little all he wants is a quiet life munching on water weed . . . Written by the acclaimed Julia Donaldson and illustrated by the award-winning David Roberts, Tyrannosaurus Drip is a rhyming story that's full of fun!

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Poetry, Family

32 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2007

About the author

Growing up
I grew up in a tall Victorian London house with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle, younger sister Mary and cat Geoffrey (who was really a prince in disguise. Mary and I would argue about which of us would marry him).

Mary and I were always creating imaginary characters and mimicking real ones, and I used to write shows and choreograph ballets for us. A wind-up gramophone wafted out Chopin waltzes.

I studied Drama and French at Bristol University, where I met Malcolm, a guitar-playing medic to whom I’m now married.

Busking and books
Before Malcolm and I had our three sons we used to go busking together and I would write special songs for each country; the best one was in Italian about pasta.

The busking led to a career in singing and songwriting, mainly for children’s television. I became an expert at writing to order on such subjects as guinea pigs, window-cleaning and horrible smells. “We want a song about throwing crumpled-up wrapping paper into the bin” was a typical request from the BBC.

I also continued to write “grown-up” songs and perform them in folk clubs and on the radio, and have recently released two CDs of these songs.

One of my television songs, A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE, was made into a book in 1993, with illustrations by the wonderful Axel Scheffler. It was great to hold the book in my hand without it vanishing in the air the way the songs did. This prompted me to unearth some plays I’d written for a school reading group, and since then I’ve had 20 plays published. Most children love acting and it’s a tremendous way to improve their reading.

My real breakthrough was THE GRUFFALO, again illustrated by Axel. We work separately - he’s in London and I’m in Glasgow - but he sends me letters with lovely funny pictures on the envelopes.

I really enjoy writing verse, even though it can be fiendishly difficult. I used to memorise poems as a child and it means a lot to me when parents tell me their child can recite one of my books.

Funnily enough, I find it harder to write not in verse, though I feel I am now getting the hang of it! My novel THE GIANTS AND THE JONESES is going to be made into a film by the same team who made the Harry Potter movies, and I have written three books of stories about the anarchic PRINCESS MIRROR-BELLE who appears from the mirror and disrupts the life of an otherwise ordinary eight-year-old. I have just finished writing a novel for teenagers.

When I’m not writing I am often performing, at book festivals and in theatres. I really enjoy getting the children in the audience to help me act out the stories and sing the songs. When Malcolm can take time off from the hospital he and his guitar come too. and it feels as if we’ve come full circle - back to busking.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining dino-spin on the "Ugly Duckling" tale, this story features the placid, water-dwelling, vegetarian duckbill dinosaurs and the mean, meat-eating, sinister T-Rex dinosaurs (cliched, yes, but oh well) who wish they could cross the river to eat the duckbills. When a hungry Compy steals a duckbill egg and accidentally drops it near the T-Rex nest, confusion and much angst ensues. In the end, the poor little "Tyrannosaurus Drip" gets a chance to prove himself to his true family and become a hero. The illustrations are fun and the rhyme scheme is engaging. I think children who like dinosaurs will really enjoy the tale, especially if they are already familiar with "The Ugly Duckling" and are "in the know" on where this story is headed.

[Alberto Martín de Hijas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una variación curiosa de El patito feo, con un punto de humor y muy buenas ilustraciones.

[Trelawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was brilliant and at times really funny, mostly because I didn't read this one which is just as well because at points it borders on tongue twister. More Julia Donaldson fun, this time for dinosaur fans. The little guy loved it.

[Franci · Rating 4 out of 5]

#36 of 2021

Read in Afrikaans as "Tyrannosaurus Sot".

Like The Ugly Duckling, only a bit scarier, for a 3 and 4 year old that is.

As for me, I enjoyed it quite a lot. Especially the wonderful rhyming.

[Shanaya KHAKH · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how it rhymes and when it rhymes it is descriptive. But I don’t like how it is to much rhyming though. “ did she take ideas from ugly duckling”- shanaya



I would recommend this book because, the illustrations, and how it rhymes, it is also very descriptive. It is probably suitable for 8 and under! I love the engaging and descriptive rhyming as well! - Zahli

[Leon Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Tyrannosaurus Drip is another good work by Julia Donaldson I found that it didn't quite reach the same level as some of her other picture books. It's probably because she's written some fantastic prose in her other picture books, like The Highway Rat, that I found the mechanics of the prose a little disjointed at times. An example of this is the songs that either dinosaur family sing in the beginning of the book doesn't really continue or evolve through to the end - it's sort of left behind as an idea as the story moves along.

I think Donaldson has thrown too many linguistic acrobatics at this one, making the storyline slightly vague midway. The illustrations help convey the story, and the story is generally good, but its not as harmonious as it could have been.

[Amelia HOLGATE · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book mainly because of the engaging and descriptive rhyming words that helped me better understand and enjoy the book another thing was the creative, colourful and fun illustrations, this book was awesome definitely recommend.

[Ben Ramsden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struggled with the plot tbh

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had expected something totally different from this book. I can't say what, as that would spoil the book, and for such a short review I don't feel like spoiler-tagging stuff. I was hoping for one ending, but I got a totally weird and not even close to what I wanted ending. An ending I didn't see coming.

I also had expected something to happen when our little dinosaur found his real family.
I had a lot of expectations and none of them were met. The book was mostly boring, T-rexes are angry, carnivorous dinosaurs and nothing will change them from that. The Duckbill dinosaurs were just boring and didn't do much. They only cared for water and eating weeds, nothing more. At one point I was even cheering for the T-rexes, because at least they showed emotion and had a goal.

The little Duckbill was interesting, but I found him a bit too boring and too easily seen as some kind of hero.

The chanting got a bit boring, one time or two times is nice, but almost every other page with the chanting? No, no thank you.

The art was really nice and that is why this book gets a 3 stars instead of the planned 2 stars.

Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Isobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tyrannosaurus drip is told with repetitive phrases to describe what the dinosaurs eat. The duckbill dinosaurs hooted “Up with rivers” and they hooted, “up with reeds!” And they hooted, “up with bellyfuls of juicy water reeds.” The tyrannosaurus shouted “up with hunting!” “up with war!” And they shouts “up with bellyfuls of duckbill dinosaurs.” The repetitive phrases are good because they can encourage children to join in with the story.

The story uses a lot of punctuation: speech marks, exclamation marks and commas. It could then be used for teaching children about a variety of punctuation.

[Jake Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I checked this out from the library for my kid at the same time as Jurassic Park for myself, and I have a strong suspicion that Julia Donaldson wrote this after also reading Jurassic Park.

The opening chapters of Jurassic Park involve paleontologists excavating duckbill dinosaur eggs near a former body of water. And then they encounter a compsognathus, which is apparently an obscure enough dinosaur that the archeologists doubt its bones are fraudulent because it would be too obscure for an amateur to even know about, much less fake.

So for this to be about duckbills who live by a stream and have an egg stolen by a compsognathus, it's gotta be Jurassic Park inspired. A prequel, perhaps.

Four stars as the story is very good, but it just doesn't quite hit quite the same as Julia Donaldson's traditional canon since this one lacks Axel Scheffler's illustrations. My kid would probably give this 5 stars, but he can do that once he makes his own GoodReads account.

[Katherine Smith]

SBC summer text

This is a brilliant story emphasising that just because you are born into a particular society does not mean you will fit in there. There might be other people / places that you get along with better!
It related brilliant to our topic in science which was what animals eat. This story emphasises the herbivore & carnivore descriptions. We had amazing questioning to do with this.

Tyrannosaurus Drip, is a Duckbill dinosaur but ends up hatching in a Tyrannosaurus rex nest. He finds he does not like eating meat but wants lots of greens.
The story continues and he is reunited with his true family.

[Caitlin HEATON · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how it rhymes, I also like how all of its green except for the blue dinosaur. (page 1) I like the layout. I didn’t like how the egg was shaped, an oval isn’t really a natural shape for an egg.. (it was an oval thingy and not a normal egg shape if you know what i mean) I don’t really like how the author kept using “up with” i just think the author used it to much. I like the creativity of the author by using “their reflection” for the solution. Overall a 4 stars from me!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drip the duckbill dinosaur was hatched among the meat-eating T-Rex who lived across the river from the plant eating duck bills. Somehow, never fitting in with the T-Rex. Drip felt something just wasn't right. This fun-filled rhyming tale will delight all.

[Jahnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun illustrations.

[Alex Sarll]

Definitely not up there with the hits/Axel collaborations, but I did like the underbite/overbite pairing on the meat-eaters.

[Lara Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book for guided reading. The children loved it! Very useful on developing their inference and prediction skills. The book is about two different species of dinosaurs.

[Yousra · Rating 5 out of 5]

تجنن😄 سكر سكر بجد طفولية بشكل فظيع 😄😁

[Daryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

greatest kids book ever!

[Philippa Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great bool to use in a year 1 English lesson- great image to use to help order a story from memory. Clear story line and easy to follow with repetitive phrases for children to join in with

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting dinosaur tale, reminiscent of The Ugly Duckling. With its dinosaur theme, colorful illustrations and rhyming narrative it's sure to be highly entertaining for children. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 4 out of 5]

my son loves T. Rexes and this was the first one we've read where they were truly the bad guys, so he kept asking "why, Mom?" otherwise, this is a fun book with a clear rhyme and rhythm, which encourages kids to recite along, or at least to finish the sentences. the illustrations are quite entertaining too.

[Keeley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so fun and the rhymes are really cute and funny. I absolutely love the illustrations in this book! I am huge on illstrations in childrens books and these do not dissappoint. It is a perfect book for children who love dinosaurs and rhyming books.

[Jessica Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this one - the writing and art is fine, it's just that the central message didn't sit well with me. Not everything has to be cutesy and heartwarming, true, but I wouldn't read it to my toddler again all the same.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the art in this, but I can't stand reading stories to kids where a group is portrayed as simply "bad" and then is somehow punished. I always feel like it doesn't send a realistic or very positive message.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, she got me--I really liked it.
A cute twist on "The Ugly Duckling" AND dinosaurs. I bought 2 copies and I know they are going to get well worn.

[Danie Cutter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good strong Donaldson although not quite up to the standard of her best. Plus little miss would like to point out that TRex only has two fingers!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE Julia Donaldson. Such a talented writer. My kids will read this book (and her other books) over and over without getting bored.

[Linda Sherwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not like the non-inclusive theme behind the story and the idea if you don’t like or are different to your family you should runaway.

[Gigli · Rating 1 out of 5]

»»» A compra:
Mais uns saldos da Fnac online a puxarem um livro para o topo da lista de compras.

»»» A aventura:
Neste mundo pré-histórico duas espécies de dinossauros habitam diferentes margens do mesmo rio. De um lado os ferozes T-Rex, carnívoros e competitivos, do outro lado os Hadrossauros, vegetarianos e pacíficos.
Uma dia um pequeno dinossauro rouba um ovo de hadrossauro, que acaba por largar ao pé de outros ovos de T-Rex quando tem que fugir.
O nosso protagonista é o hadrossauro que nasce no seio dos T-Rex e à medida que o tempo passa sente que não se encaixa naquele grupo.

»»» Sentimento final:
Péssima mensagem.
A premissa do livro tem tudo para ser engraçada e cativante, mas os opostos são levados a extremos que não têm lugar num livro que pretenda passar uma boa mensagem e esse devia ser o escopo de todo e qualquer livro infantil.
Aqui vêm spoilers….as mensagens deste livro:
- tipos sociais diferentes nunca se poderão dar bem, nem ninguém de um grupo será bom pai para uma cria/criança do outro grupo.
- Se uma criança não se identifica com a sua família só tem é que fugir.
- Seres carnívoros são do pior, só querem matar e são sempre violentos, os seres vegetarianos são super pacíficos e adoráveis.
- Seres carnívoros podem morrer num acidente ao atravessar um rio em cima de um tronco, porque são carnívoros e não iam fazer o bem.
- As crias/crianças devem ficar felizes quando os carnívoros assim morrem, incluindo se forem a sua família adotiva.
Iupiiii!!!… que livro maravilhoso… para pessoal vegan que destila ódio pelo resto do mundo que não adota o seu conceito de vida…. só pode!
Neste caso até daria uma estrela, pelas rimas e pela ilustração, que é bem bonita e engraçada, ao contrário da história.

»»» Notas finais:
--- [Capa] – Capa bem conseguida, com ilustração de acordo com o que temos no interior do livro.
--- [Ilustrações] – O melhor do livro, algumas muito bonitas, sempre com um traço engraçado, mas competente, adequado a um livro de crianças.

»»» Uma espreitadela: