Back to school time is right around the corner for many families. My girls have actually already started. There are tons of great books about starting school and about kindergarten in general, so I’m not going to tackle that topic. But there is a part about preschool and kindergarten that kids really love – show and tell.
Lindsay Ward has a new book out called It’s Show and Tell, Dexter! Dexter is a toy dinosaur who has a bit of a paranoia problem. In the first book about Dexter T. Rexter, Don’t Forget Dexter!, Dexter’s friend Jack accidentally leaves him in the waiting room when he goes in for a doctor’s appointment and Dexter is afraid he is never coming back. In It’s Show and Tell, Dexter! the T-Rex is super excited about show and tell day at school. He is pretty certain that Jack is going to bring him and he wants to do his best. But he is also a little bit nervous. He is afraid that people might not like him. He tries to come up with something cool that will make him stand out like a costume, dance, or talent, but they just aren’t him. He finally realizes that he has to “go as himself.”
While this book seems to be about show and tell, it is really about so much more. Dexter is a pretty cool dinosaur who can sing his own little song. He just needed a little nudge to make him remember how cool he is when he is just being himself. School is often a time when kids start caring about what others think of them, about fitting in, and about doing things the right way, and Dexter is the embodiment of those fears. Sometimes we could all use a little reminder that being true to ourselves is the best way to live.
Check out the trailer!
About the Author
Lindsay Ward is the author of the Dexter T. Rexter book Don’t Forget Dexter! Though she never got to bring an orange dinosaur to Show and Tell Day, she did once take all four albums of her sticker collection. She is also the author and illustrator of Brobarians, Henry Finds His Word, and When Blue Met Egg. Her book Please Bring Balloons was also made into a play.
Most days you can find Lindsay with her family, writing and sketching at her home in Peninsula, Ohio. Learn more about her at www.LindsayMWard.com or on Twitter: @lindsaymward.
Praise for It’s Show and Tell, Dexter!
“Ward’s gentle art features cut-paper forms with residual pencil outlines, providing an ad hoc quality to the spreads. Readers prone to anxiety over big events should be tickled by the idea that a toy has concerns too.” —Publishers Weekly
“Ward’s illustrations, made with printmaking ink, colored pencil, and cut paper, wonderfully capture Dexter’s every emotion and over-the-top ideas.” —Kirkus Reviews
Check out the fun coloring sheet here!
Giveaway!
One lucky winner will receive a copy of both Dexter T. Rexter books–Don’t Forget Dexter! and It’s Show and Tell, Dexter!, courtesy of Two Lions (U.S. addresses). All you need to do to be entered into the drawing is to leave a comment here with something you might bring to show and tell. A winner will be chosen on August 23rd.
I would bring a photo of my dad and me fishing in Alaska. What a fabulous way to spend a summer.
That’s awesome! We used to go fishing up and down the California coast and Southern Oregon. Lots of fun memories.
I’d bring my seaglass collection to show and tell
oh, that sounds cool!
I’d bring my meteorite!
that would make a great story!