Checked this out for the Sprouts class unit on camping/forest and didn't actually read it myself.

The two little human children and their T-Rex friend, who enjoyed high tea together in Molly Idle's Tea Rex, return in this second adventure, this time setting out on a camping trip. The simple narrative reads like an instruction manual on safety whilst in the great outdoors - always stick together, avoid disturbing local fauna (like bees!) - while the accompanying illustrations show how the campers (especially T-Rex!) don't always live up to those instructions.

Like its predecessor, Camp Rex pairs a simple, straightforward text with amusing, somewhat less than straightforward illustrations. The humor of the tale lies in the disconnect between visuals and words, as our T-Rex friend gets into mischief aplenty, dragging his human friends along with him. Author/artist Molly Idle is an animator, and this really shows in her lovely artwork, which captures the sense of motion and excitement in the story. Recommended to all young campers and dinosaur-lovers, as well as to anyone who enjoyed the first story about this mischievous T-Rex. ( )

Idle's art in these Rex books reminds me a lot of William Joyce. I love the retro feel. Plus, camping with dinos goes pretty much as I would expect.

Library copy. ( )

Dinosaurs on a camping trip. ( )

Camp Rex
“Camp Rex” by Molly Idle has fun illustrations that portray the characters feelings, specifically the little girl in the story. She has facial expressions such as worry, concern, mad, and sometimes perplexed. The other characters are dinosaurs that get her into a little mischief. I feel this book may have been better written as a wordless picture book because the text was not descriptive in explaining the situations the characters got into. For example, the illustrations shows a sign saying “Caution Poison Ivy” as the little girl is walking through it, but the text simple says “So long as you take care to avoid dangerous plants…..”. To young readers I’m not sure the humor is picked up on and is often overlooked because the illustration and the text don’t match to them. When I read this book to my step son, I had to point things out before he began to realize the humor. The writing is organized by having the characters encounter several different situations trying to camp before they finally return back to their backyard to finish their camping experience. The big idea is to entertain readers with a humorous story of camping. ( )