How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide

by Ame Dyckman (Author) Jennifer Harney (Illustrator)

How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

From author Ame Dyckman and illustrator Jenn Harney comes a hilarious faux-cautionary tale featuring dad jokes and tantrum-throwing dinosaurs!

In this outrageous "safety guide," a child in a museum asks their parents how the dinosaurs all became extinct. Well, their father has some theories.

Gallimimus? Ran with scissors.

Ankylosaurus? Tipped in their chair.

Spinosaurus? Swam after eating.

Tyrannosaurus rex? Didn't change their underwear.

By the end of the story, the child vows to never do any of these "dangerous" things again. Those dinosaurs should have been more careful!

This off-the-wall picture book written by New York Times bestselling author Ame Dyckman with uproarious illustrations by Jenn Harney will have kids laughing out loud as they see dinosaurs getting into some all-too-familiar hijinks.

Select format:
Hardcover
$17.99

Kirkus

Dinophiles will rejoice; storytimes will be even sillier.

None

Dyckman's wacky, over-the-top humor is paired well with Harney's exuberant...illustrations.

Publishers Weekly

When it comes to commanding children's attention about basic health and safety rules, Dyckman (The New Kid Has Fleas) conjures up a dinosaur-based strategy with sky-high stakes. After a museum's dinosaur skeleton prompts a kid, shown with tan skin, to wonder what wiped out the terrible lizards, a bespectacled, light-brown-skinned adult in a "Dadasaurus" T-shirt sidesteps a second caretaker's reasonable answer, declaring, "I know how dinosaurs went extinct!" Kicking off with "Gallimimus ran with scissors," one-sentence cautionary tales follow, from "Triceratops didn't wear a helmet" ("Gives me hat hair!" the scaly red critter insists) to "Compsoagnathus stood in shopping carts" ("Gimme!" shouts the tiny dinosaur as it dives into a dinosaur cereal display). Digital illustrations by Harney ("Smelly" Kelly and His Super Senses) are as over-the-top as the varied assertions, showcasing extravagantly cartooned reptile portraits in scribbly spreads that range from slapstick (Ankylosaurus tipping back in a chair, and off a precipice) to gross-out (Gasosaurus attempting to light a fart). It's an extended dad joke, but one that just might get the point across. Phonetic dinosaur spellings are included throughout. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Scott Treimel, Scott Treimel NY. Illustrator's agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (Apr.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 

 

Ame Dyckman
Ame Dyckman is the award-winning author of You Don't Want a Dragon!, That's Life!, Dandy, Read the Book, Lemmings!, You Don't Want a Unicorn!, Horrible Bear!, the New York Times Bestselling Wolfie the Bunny, and more. You can visit Ame on Twitter (@AmeDyckman).

Jenn Harney lives near Cleveland, Ohio, with her family, a corgi named Steve, and the ghost of the once oldest living now extinct goldfish in North America. Two of her previous books include Underwear! and Swim Swim Sink. Jenn invites you to visit her Twitter @jennharknee.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780316593298
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date
April 18, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV002060 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV039200 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Manners & Etiquette
Library of Congress categories
Humorous stories
Dinosaurs
Picture books
Parent and child
Humorous fiction

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