Meet the TyrantoCrankaTsuris, the cranky dinosaur who survived the Dark Ages and became the oldest ancestor of mankind. The Last Surviving Dinosaur: The TyrantoCrankaTsuris by Steven Joseph is a story set around the Jewish culture where everyone in the neighborhood got together and spoke about their Tsuris. Everyone complained about their Tsuris (which means complaints in Yiddish) with a sense of pride. Whether it was Aunt Zaydie, Aunt Ruthie, Dottie, Uncle Mottie or Uncle Shmukie, they all talked about their Tsuris. 

This beautiful story will show young readers how to talk about their problems instead of being consumed by them. Woven deftly through the life of a Jewish family and told through the eyes of TyrantoCrankaTsuris, the smallest dinosaur on the planet, the story is a good way to help readers, both children and adults, deal with crankiness in a good way. Andy Case brings the scenes, characters, and concept alive with his wonderful illustrations that give the story a good pace and movement. 
 

I really like the coined words TyrantoCrankaTsuris and TyranoKvetchaTsuris and these will encourage readers to have just the right amount of crankiness and be not too cranky; just the right amount to keep the planet happy. Stories like this are good to encourage children to deal with their emotions and not be too cranky. It is a good story for bedtime storytelling and reading aloud sessions in classrooms and school libraries to guide children in dealing with their problems instead of being consumed by them. The story is expressed in a way that is easy for them to comprehend."

Mamta Madhaven of Readers' Favorite