Doug TenNapel
Tommysaurus Rex (2004)
Author: Doug TenNapel
Genre: Graphic Novel (Fantasy)
Plot Summary:
when Ely's dog Tommy gets away from him and is hit by a car, Ely believes it is all his fault and is inconsolable. His parents send him to spend some time on his grandfather's farm. Ely meets the neighborhood bully, Randy, who has a dog just like Tommy. While running away from Randy, Ely discovers a cave. Inside the cave he loses his toy dinosaur, which is taken away by Randy. Ely also finds a real Tyranasaurus Rex, whose only fear is fire. He decides this would be a great pet, unfortunately the people of the town do not agree. Ely has to train the dinosaur to do tricks or the mayor says that he will need to go. They mayor is trying to use the dinosaur as a gimick to help with his reelection campaign. Ely has little luck training the dinosaur until a neighbor helps him discover that the dinosaur will do anything for bacon, just like Tommy. Ely's parents read about him and his dinosaur in the paper and decide to come and see for themselves. SPOILER: Just as Ely has proven to everyone that his dinosaur is a well behaved pet, Randy sets the dinosaur's tail on fire. The dinosaur of course runs away and Ely is unable to stop him. The dinosaur sets the forest ablaze. Randy is trapped in the middle of the fire. The dinosaur puts out the fire on his tail and then Ely sends him into the fire telling him to fetch Randy. The dinosaur makes the ultimate sacrifice and saves Randy. Randy's father, who left the family months before and is the man who ran over Tommy, returns home. Randy decides to give Ely his dog, along with an apology. Ely discovers large dinosaur eggs in his grandfather's barn and gives one to Randy, letting him know all is forgiven.
Geographical Setting: Oakhurst Park, CA
Time Period: Present (2004)
Appeal Characteristics:
The tone of this novel varies from dark, death of animals, to light, a dinosaur giving children a ride or retreiving a policeman. The main character of Ely is well developed. His facial expressions and wide eyed innocence help one realize how he feels at each stage of the story. The secondary characters are also well developed. Randy, the bully, looks like a punk kid and has the swaggering bravado that defines his attitude. The grandfather is full of little known facts and his continuing flareups of arthritis help signal action in the story. The storyline is action driven and the pacing is compelling. This comes through in the pictures where one thing happens directly after another with no real exploration of feelings. In this book the expressions on the character's faces help to tell the story. The author's style is dramatic and he uses complex black and white drawings. The story moves along and each scene is like a little stage setting that shows what is happening. The frame or setting of this story is a small town in California. This novel was nominated for two Eisner awards in 2005, Best Graphic Novel and Best Publication for a Younger Audience.
Read-alikes: Doug TenNapel has written several other books. Gear a story about cats who take over a robot. The book has a similar quick pace and artistic style, although it has been recently released in a color verion. Another book by the author is the recently released Flink. In this book we see Conrad, who is a survivor of an airplane crash. He is rescued by a Bigfoot named Flink. This book has similar family relationships and quick pacing as in Tommysaurus Rex. These books would be a good introduction to the genre for younger readers or for parents to share with their children. For older readers Gray Horses by Hope Larson, might be more interesting. In this graphic novel, with excellent two color illustrations, Noemie comes to America from France. She dreams of riding a horse as far away from her mother as possible. The character learning to deal with life's events and the complex illustrations will make this an excellent selection. A book by Jeff Lemire is Tales from the Farm. Lester, lives on a farm and deals with lonliness by escaping into a world of superheroes. This book has a similar setting and a well developed main character who is dealing with tough issues in life like Tommysaurus Rex. It was awarded the Alex Award, a prize that is awarded to a book intended for adults that would have specific appeal for teens. A book for adults would be Brooklyn Dreams by J. M. DeMatteis. Vincent Carl Santini tells of his senior year at a high school in Brooklyn. This book has similar charcters and the tone also varies from light to dark with the artistry (cartoons to photo-realism) showing the depths in tone.
Red Flags: Death of animals
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