Alex Latimer shares Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success

About Author

Meet life coach and hungry T-Rex, Tony Rex, and discover his ideas for living your best life! Author and illustrator Alex Latimer tells us more.

Alex Latimer is a South African writer and illustrator living in Cape Town. He has a degree in English and Philosophy and has written and illustrated for many major brands across the globe.

Alex's picture books are quirky and fun and full of humour that appeals to both children and adults. Alex has won the Hampshire Picture Book Award, the CELI Read Aloud Book Award, the Alligator's Mouth Award and has been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize.

When he's not writing or drawing, Alex enjoys hiking the local mountains, swimming in the bay and the odd game of table tennis.

Interview

October 2026

Alex Latimer introduces Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success

Tony Rex, the dinosaur, is a life coach. Tony is also very hungry! So should you trust all the great advice he has to give about being a success?

ReadingZone caught up with picture book author and illustrator Alex Latimer to find out what inspired his new picture book, Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success, and to explore how the story can be used to support children's visual literacy - with lots of giggles along the way! The book is perfect for children aged four years plus.

More about Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success.

Q&A: Exploring visual literacy with Alex Latimer in Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success

"I hope that readers of Tony Rex begin to develop critical thinking, starting with:
Is it really a good idea to take advice from a hungry T-Rex?"

1. Can you tell us a little about yourself and how to started to create picture books? What has been your stand-out picture book to date?

I knew I wanted to make books when I first read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I was about 11 at the time and it really changed the way I saw books. I began writing stories. When I was older and just out of university, I wanted to begin the process of writing a novel, but I didn't feel as though I understood story structure very well. So I started writing picture books as a way of teaching myself. I wrote quite a few really terrible stories until finally I wrote one that really worked - it turned into my first ever picture book called The Boy Who Cried Ninja.

Since then, I've written loads more picture books, plus a few novels along the way. I've been lucky to have a few standout picture books - my dinosaur egg story called Am I Yours? was a big hit in Japan. And my book Don't Think of Tigers went on to win a whole bunch of awards.

2. What happens in your new book, Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success?

Tony Rex is a life coach, but he's also a hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex! He offers the reader seven steps to a successful life - with a special eighth step, if you're brave enough to take it!

3. Dinosaurs are often portrayed as fun play pals in children's books - is Tony Rex one of these?

I'd say that Tony is complicated. He's not terribly scary, but he certainly does really want to eat everybody up. And he's quite honest about it throughout the book.

Illustrations from Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success by Alex Latimer

4. What kinds of 'self help' advice does Tony give? Anything - useful?

All of Tony's advice is modelled on practical real world advice for living a good life, things like: 'Don't be afraid to make mistakes', and 'Be sure to look after yourself.' For the discerning reader, all of Tony's advice can be helpful. And I hope that readers of Tony Rex begin to develop critical thinking, starting with: Is it really a good idea to take advice from a hungry T-Rex?

5. This is a great story for developing children's visual literacy. How does Tony Rex's Seven Stomps to Success challenge the reader?

Yes! This is a great text to begin introducing the idea that not all information is valuable or trustworthy or true. Some things that we hear or read or learn are partly true or partly untrustworthy and we each need to be able to discern the difference for ourselves.

6. . . . And make them laugh? What's your favourite moment in the story?

There are a lot of fun moments, but the one that always makes me laugh is the line: Be the chewy centre of a group of loving, delicious friends and family.

7. How does the formatting, with the 'advice column' on one side, support the fun? Was it a difficult concept to develop?

When the concept for Tony Rex occurred to me, I couldn't figure out how it would work. It took me a while to think up the exact structure, and then it all fell into place. Looking at it now, it seems obvious that this is how the book should work, but it wasn't then.

8. We love Tony Rex's 'look', how did you decide on the illustration style for this story?

I firstly wanted Tony Rex to look friendly, but with an edge. He has big eyes, but he also has big teeth. Secondly, my idea was for him to be colourful. I didn't want just a plain green dinosaur. So Tony is green and blue and pink and red and purple and yellow.

9. Do you have any more stories planned for Tony Rex? What are you working on currently?

I do have a follow up idea for Tony Rex, but it's firmly in the draft folder. Perhaps I'll return to make another Tony Rex book at some point. Currently I have just finished a picture book called The Treasure, which is about a fly who finds a poo and doesn't want to share it with his best friend.

10. Do you enjoy drawing when you're not illustrating? What kinds of things capture your attention as an artist / doodler?

I'm not much of a doodler, not consistently anyway. I've never been able to fill sketchbooks with drawings, it's just not how I work. But occasionally I do get an idea for something and I work on it for a while. Often those ideas are the foundation of new books.

Creative Challenge from Alex Latimer:

I think a fun challenge, besides drawing Tony, would be to think of one or two more Stomps to Success and then to sketch them out. What life advice would you give to someone?

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