Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast: Dinosaur Poems

by Arnold Lobel

Book by Arnold Lobel

Genres: Poetry, Dinosaurs, Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Prehistoric, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1988

About the author

Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.

Reviews

[Knowlton Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the best of my knowledge, this is the pinnacle of dinosaur poetry.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious, if slightly dark, poems about various species of dinosaurs. Includes pronunciation tips and no evolutionary "facts". Winner in our house!

[Barbara Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

When my son was in the dinosaur stage, we were given this book by a friend. He enjoyed having it read to him once or twice, but it wasn't a keeper. The pictures weren't particularly memorable, and the poems, though they ticked along pretty well and made good use of the dinosaur names, aren't the sort to learn by heart.
The main reason, though, that this book didn't become a favourite was that the poems had a common theme: dinosaurs were stupid, they ate all the time or ate each other, and it's a good thing they're dead, isn't it? Once you've read several of these in a row, it's repetitive and kind of disrespectful to a kid who thinks dinosaurs are cool and wishes there were still some alive somewhere.
For a child who is old enough to want facts about dinosaurs, I'd suggest going to a decent non-fiction book.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection features clever rhyming poetry about popular and lesser-known dinosaurs. They are really fun to read aloud, and when I shared them with my three older daughters (ages 2, 4, and 6) during one of our poetry picnics, they were a big hit.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

It can be hard to interest my almost 5 year old in poetry, but this book was great for him!

[Lindsay Monson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about dinosaurs in poem form. It will explain a certain dinosaur by rhyming what it looks like or eats, how big it is, or what color it is. Kids can see what dinosaurs were like in a fun way. Students could take a dinosaur and explain what 3 characteristics are found in the poem about it.

[Abigail Niemiec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
Grade: 2nd - 5th
This text has a lot of difficult dinosaur names, but provides the reader with the sound breakdown of each word, as well as a nickname. For example, Brachiosaurus (BRAK-ee-uh-sawr-us) is called the "Arm Lizard."

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book of poems. They are fun for dinosaur lovers, yes, but their great use of language, rhyme and imagery make them just great fun poems for any body who likes this sort of rhyming, rhythmic, humorous fun.

[Kay Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dinosaurs and poems! Ahhh, where's my cup of tea? This would be great to use in a poetry unit.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up on Prelutsky and Lobel (not together, as far as I remember) and so I'm predisposed to like this book, especially since I also have a dinosaur-loving kid. It's a fun book.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever intro to dinos.

[Haley Hoenke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poetry, Dinosaurs

[Lili · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be the perfect book for my brother to read to his two-and-one-half year old daughter, who loves dinosaurs so much that she can already correctly identify her toy dinosaurs as T-Rex, Triceratops, etc. The book features one-page poems about fourteen different dinosaurs, with bright illustrations of the dinosaur on the facing page. There are some dinosaurs that I've never even heard of, like the Queztalcoatlus (which looks like a Pterodactyl to me). Jack Prelutsky's poetry is rhythmic, funny and informative. Much like The Dragons Are Singing Tonight - my personal favorite - the poems in Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast: Dinosaur Poems are full of advanced vocabulary words that perfectly flow with the verse. There are so many great laugh out loud lines in the poems that it is difficult to decide which poem is my favorite. The only thing that could have made the book better was if had been another collaboration with illustrator Peter Sís. While Arnold Lobel's illustrations are beautiful, they lack the humor and style that Peter Sís brings to the table. The best illustration of the book is the cover, where the Tyrannosaurus seems to have a personality - a big smile and bright trickster eyes.

[Kimberlee Gutterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for the boys who say they don't like poems or that the poems they have read are girly or dumb. This book includes poetry about dinosaurs. One thing I really likes about this book is that it included the pronunciation of the dinosaurs names. This is helpful to the teacher or reader and it is helpful to the children because they can better comprehend something when they know how to say it. This book also included the literal translation of the dinosaurs names. An example of what I'm talking about is the poem about tyrannosaurus' and it says (Tie-RAN-uh-sawr-us) and below that it says "tyrant lizard."

[JustOneMoreBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of meaty words, infectious beats and fact*-based blackish humour, this invigorating feast of illustrated, dinosaur poems is permanently woven into the fabric of our family.

*The facts upon which the poems are based are twenty years out-of-date -- but what's twenty years between 225 million year old friends?

Listen to our chat about Tyrannosaurus Was a Beast on our JustOneMoreBook.com Children's Book Podcast:

http://www.justonemorebook.com/2007/1...

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collaboration effort of two well-known author/illustrators. Lobel's artwork is true to style, using soft colors and fine strokes to give dinosaurs a realistic appearance. Prelutsky use various forms of poetry to describe each dinosaur's physical and behavioral attributes in a realistic manner. There are many species of dinosaur in this book that most common readers are not previously aware of. This is the type of book that would appeal mostly to boys who are enthused with dinosaurs and the animal kingdom in general.

Recommended for grades 3rd & up.

[Devi Henn]

This book was presented in a poem type way. It had information about different dinosaurs and was relayed in a humorous way. The illustrations of the dinosaurs seemed fairly accurate as well.
This could be used in a classroom when talking about dinosaurs and different features of them. Students could create questions they have about specific dinosaurs, then research that dinosaur, they could create a KWL chart and then find facts, or they could do a compare and contrasting project with all of the dinosaurs in the book.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a single mom of two young children, I can testify that the popularity of dinosaurs, especially T-Rex, is very strong. Amazingly, even my female partner is also a fan. Please don't tell her that I shared this, but she often wears dinosaur themed tee shirts as well as jammies:) What makes this book so totally awesome is that it combines dinosaur poems that stay in your head with equally memorable large sized illustrations. Many dinosaur types are included. Please buy this book. Your children will want to read it again and again!

[Alto2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Clankity, clankity, clankity, clank.
Ankylosaurus was built like a tank."

I just love that one. This is a collection of poems about dinosaurs. When my oldest (born 1996) was 4-5, he was infatuated with dinos. I bought him loads of books about them. This was one we read over and over again and then saved it for his younger brothers.

"Chasmosaurus was enormous ..."

[Marlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book to my children when they were young, and we loved it. I just reread it to my youngest, age 9. The information in the poems was really too simple for someone of her age. However, I think this is a great book for younger children, to go along with a dinosaur study. It's nice that each page is a poem about a different dinosaur. A short, simple, sweet book for young children.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book of poems that introduced dinosaurs in kind of a carefree way, the vocabulary words that it exposes children too are phenomenal if read out loud or with at a young age. Only one or two had some repetitiveness to them that would make an adult cringe. For the most part they were humorous.

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am doing an author study slash poetry cafe and station exploration with the kids at my school for National Poetry month. This is one of the books I am using for this activity. I enjoy Jack Prelutsky's poems because they are easy to read and understand and also fun!

[Sparrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book from my childhood. I think it was my brother's first. It's signed by Arnold Lobel (I think). I've always thought very fondly of this book. The rhymes are fun and you learn a little too. Iguanadon is my favourite: you learn nothing, but the rhyme is so catchy.

[Mars R · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a long time spent searching, I finally located the treasured dinosaur book of my childhood! Featuring the poem "Ancleosaurus" otherwise known as "The poem Margo is most likely to get tattooed on her body at some point in time".

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 4 out of 5]

We enjoyed this short but fun book. It's nice for dinosaur lovers, and it's admirable that Prelutsky could incorporate such long and cumbersome dinosaur names into poems that still make sense for children.

[Cws]

JEDINO-Pre

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great rhyming very educational.

[Tara Mensing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great mix of accurate descriptions of different dinosaurs with a poetry twist! Nice rhyme, pronounciations of dinosaur names provided along with the definition of the name.

[Melissa Rochelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dinosaur names are tricky to pronounce...luckily my kitten audience cannot judge or correct me.