Don't let your toddler suck on this book: Big Rex recalled

The cloth book "Big Rex and Friends" is being recalled because a dinosaur in the book has high levels of lead, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

It's not Rex himself that's a problem, but rather his friend, Diplodocus. A large red spot sewn onto Diplodocus contains the lead, the CPSC said. Lead can be toxic to youngsters and can also cause long-term health issues. Cloth books, which are often sucked on by toddlers, are intended for very young children.

The non-profit U.S. Public Interest Research Group discovered the lead levels in the book, the CPSC said.

More than 200,000 copies of the Chinese-made Big Rex books were sold between May 2004 and October 2009 for about $9. The books have the ISBN codes of 031249260X or 9780312492601.

For more information, call St. Martin's Press at (800) 347-9411 or go to the company's recall site.

The company is offering refunds of $8.95 per book, plus $2.50 for shipping. Proof of purchase is only required if refunds are requested for more than two books.