The Tail of the Trinosaur

As Mike Rosen says in his introduction, this tale is a ‘classic romp, full of delights, corners, originalities and surprises’. The story is told in verse and begins when a strange container arrives at Plymouth dock containing a present from the Amazon jungle which turns out to be a preserved trinosaur. Of course, the dinosaur with only two legs and a tail, comes to life causing havoc amongst the citizens of Dunborough. There are some good jokes, eccentric characters and a few good humoured messages about humanity; but the star of the tale is the verse. Although the book has been out of print for over 30 years, it has withstood the test of time and this is mainly due to Charles Causley’s joyful handling of language. The rhythm and rhyme, the wordplay and the humour drive the tale along with verve accompanied by Jill Gardiner’s flowing illustrations.

This is a tale to be read aloud, with actions, perhaps by more than one person. Great fun.