The Tyrannosaurus Game

by Steven Kroll, S.D. Schindler (Illustrator)

Rain! Rain! Rain! The kids at school are bored…until Jimmy dreams up a game for them to play. He’ll start a story and pass it on to Ava, who will pass it on to Susan. The story will travel around the classroom until all the kids have a chance to add to the story. So, Jimmy “ Last Saturday, I was eating breakfast, when all of a sudden a tyrannosaurus came crashing through the window. And then what happens? ” S.D. Schindler’s delightful watercolor illustrations provide delicious details as twelve children and a tyrannosaurus romp through the pages.

Genres: Picture Books, Dinosaurs, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1976

About the author

Stephen Kroll spoke at schools and conferences all over the world. He was married to the journalist, Kathleen Beckett, and they lived in New York City and an old carriage house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. When he was not writing or traveling, he played a lot of tennis and walked around looking at everything.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told in the format of 'each child adds a paragraph', this story explores what would happen if a tyrannosaurus crashed through the dining room window. Building on the narrative from there, the reader sees just how outlandish things can get. Neo loved how he was unable to predict what was coming and yet was able to point to the new child telling their piece in the pictures. We're hoping to find more books like this soon.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic Plot: This is a short picture book that involves a class of kids telling a story circle-style.

Frankly, I've never seen a circle-story with little kids turn out this coherent, but for the sake of sanity, I'll ignore that fact. The repetition of the names of the kids got a bit old, but it was kinda cute and my son actually sat still for the reading of it, so it wasn't bad. If your kid is dino crazy, it's worth borrowing from the library.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations and storyline. Ending seemed choppy though.
Grands laughed and laughed!

[Melinda Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was raining at school, so the teacher suggested that her students play a game. Rusty suggested that someone start a story, so Jimmy started and passed the story on to Peggy, who passed it on to Susan, and so on, until it went all around the room! The story was about a Tyrannosaurus. The kids had great imaginations and thought up an exciting story where they all had a good time with the dinosaur.

[Maggie Ignasiak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This quick read would be perfect for a circle or story time, because the following activity would easily transition into a classic game of telephone. I love that game, and this story definitely illustrates change of words and embellishment.

[Chance Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book introduces kids to the concept of a circle story, but the story is boring.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is based on the game of telephone, and is, of course, a lot of fun. It did get a bit monotonous... which was a little boring for us as readers.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an awesome idea! A teacher has kids sit in a circle and tell a story. One student starts, and the others get to keep adding to the story. The illustrations and the story are both so fun!

[Terry]

Little Kid Reaction: My 4 year old LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. It was colorful and filled with action. There was PLENTY to see and investigate on each page - the illustrations are rich and packed with goodies.

Parent Reaction? Read the review.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun story about a creative way to spend a rainy day. The illustrations by Tomie dePaola are simple, but entertaining. We borrowed this book from our local library as part of a kit with an audiocassette and we enjoyed listening to the story as we followed along with the book.

[Jaimee Huskins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book. Could have each student read a page then you can have the students do one of their own. It is a very creative story. The story is easy to follow. The pictures are only in a few colors but go well with the story. Simple but good!

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of school kids make up a story about a Tyrannosaurus, each getting to tell a portion of the story in turn. Gets a little tedious to have to repeat all the kids names over and over.

Fun illustrations.

[Donalyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the story was not that interesting, I think this book has potential classroom use because students could create their own chain/ progressive stories like the children in the book.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the cumulative story aspect, but did not like that some repeated all the kids names and others did not, very distracting.

[Francie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the few books I remember well from my childhood.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alissa's never liked dinosaurs much.

[Carol Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleaning off the bookshelves at the office and deciding what to keep and what to let go. This is a let go sort of book.