Specs for Rex

September 21, 2015
As she did in Go to Bed, Fred!, Ismail introduces an animal facing an ordeal common to many children—in this case, adjusting to eyeglasses. Rex, a lion whose mane is an unruly yellow splotch, does not like his large red specs “at all!” Ismail’s lively watercolors pick up where the understated text leaves off to reveal the comically futile measures Rex takes to make his glasses disappear: he buries them in a cereal box, brushes his mane over his eyes at school, and hides them in his sandwich. Instead of painting a picture in art class, Rex paints his specs, mumbling to himself, “Now they’re sunglasses!” During a slightly confusing recess sequence, Rex dumps a trash can on himself while his classmates play together—yet “another way of hiding his specs.” In the process, he discovers his teacher’s lost whistle and that being able to see has its advantages. Rex’s transition from self-appointed outcast to classroom hero happens pretty quickly, but reluctantly bespectacled kids should still find Rex’s lighthearted travails reassuring. Ages 4–8.