A to Z Mysteries – The Talking T. Rex

Ron Roy's The Talking T. Rex is a twisty little mystery for 5 year olds about a giant dinosaur, a big pile of money and a very hot hiding place.

What happens

Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose's friend Jud is coming to Green Lawn with a surprise. And what a surprise! It's Tyrone, a Tyrannosaurus rex nearly as tall as Dink's house. He's made of fibreglass and rubber, and a computer inside his belly makes him move and talk.

Jud and his friends are taking Tyrone around the country to raise money to build a dinosaur museum. Half the town turns up to meet him on the Fourth of July. Then, after the show, the money they've saved so far (almost five thousand dollars!) vanishes from its secret hiding place inside Tyrone.

Only two people have keys to the dinosaur. One is Jud. The other is his best friend.

Josh is sure he's cracked it. Dink refuses to believe a friend would steal. Ruth Rose just wants to know the truth. So during the fireworks the three of them slip away in the dark and climb inside Tyrone to search. Then the door clicks shut behind them.

How do you get out of a locked dinosaur? Through the mouth, of course (with a rope and a lot of nerve).

The clues are all there for a sharp-eyed reader. A rainy night, some muddy footprints, a little green plaster in the wrong place. Your reader can have a go at solving it before Dink does, and it's so satisfying when it all clicks.

The three friends are great company. Josh is always hungry and full of wild theories. Ruth Rose dresses in one colour from her headband to her trainers. The teasing between them is gentle and silly, and nothing stays worrying for long.

It's a good one for a newer reader who's ready for chapters but still wants a story that zips along.

What to read next

If they liked spotting Nate, Brian and Bradley in the crowd, the younger kids get a mystery of their own in January Joker, where strange lights, odd footprints in the snow and a missing pony convince Bradley that aliens have landed.