I am Tree Rex

By Mo Davey
Reviewed by Mia Macrossan

A strong environmental theme gently delivered is at the core of Mo Davey’s debut picture book about a tree hugging dinosaur.

Rex, a little green dinosaur, lives in a forest with his 21 trees which he loves to count. To his horror one day a tree is missing and he finds himself sheltering the sad little bird displaced by the loss. Unfortunately, more and more trees disappear and Rex’s house becomes crowded with homeless birds. In desperation he and the birds come up with a plan to stop the ‘tree takers’, in fact to transform Rex into the fearsome stamping, stomping, roaring Tree Rex. Success! Now the process of reclamation begins and Rex can enjoy counting again.

Mo Davey infuses the stylised simple illustrations with charm and lots of expression. Rex changes on every page. He is joyful, sad, bewildered, compassionate, fierce and happy as are his bird companions. Solid colours give the pages density while the little added details such as the birds’ tiny suitcases, backpacks, teddy bears etc invite a closer look at each page.

There is plenty to discuss here. Friendship, helping neighbours, refugees, sustainable forestry, taking action are just some of the themes worth exploring. For the very young counting the trees and the birds could be fun, while everyone will enjoy being the stomping roaring Tree Rex.

A story for children aged up to 3 years but tree huggers of any age will enjoy reading and sharing.

Berbay Publishing 2024

This review first appeared in Magpies Magazine,  reproduced with kind permission.