FICTION

Roxy the Unisaurus Rex Presents: Oh No! The Talent Show

by Eva Chen (text) & illus. by Matthew Rivera
Feiwel & Friends. Oct. 2021. 32p. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781250758460.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2–Roxy the Unisaurus Rex is excited for a talent show. She has so many talents, she doesn’t know which on to pick. Most of her dinosaur friends also have a variety of talents, including hula hoop and ventriloquism. But best buddy Dexter doesn’t feel like he has anything to offer—until Roxy explains that being a friend is the best talent of all. The cheerfully exuberant art work shows the dinosaurs and dino-corns in bright sparkly colors that will be very inviting to younger readers. For anyone interested in dinosaur facts, those appear at the back. The strong message that it’s okay not to have a performable talent, and that being a friend is enough, gets lost; there are twice as many pages describing the talent show acts than those enphasizing friendship.
VERDICT Sparkly art work and positive social emotional message can’t save this book from heavyhanded theatrics.
Reviewed by Debbie Tanner, S. D. Spady Montessori Elem., FL , Nov 01, 2021

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