How the Dinosaurs Didn’t Die

A picture book about thinking like a scientist, and a fun way to talk about death. By Beryl Baker. Ages 3-7.

Cover of How the Dinosaurs Didn’t Die by Beryl Baker, a children’s picture book about dinosaurs and the scientific method.

How the Dinosaurs Didn’t Die depicts dinosaurs in a number of could-be-deadly scenarios that we know, for a fact, did not happen. The goal of the book is to introduce kids to the scientific method by giving them a chance to think through why something may not be true. It’s also a book that gives kids a way in to talking about death. Plus, dinosaurs.

Ages: 3-7
Length: 34 pages
Formats: Hardback, softcover, and ebook
ISBNs: 979-8-9922817-0-5 (hardback) · 979-8-9922817-2-9 (softcover) · 979-8-9922817-1-2 (ebook)

Great for: curious kids who love dinosaurs, read-aloud time at home or in the classroom, and families looking for a gentle, funny way to talk about death and dying.

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Illustration from How the Dinosaurs Didn’t Die by Beryl Baker: A diplodocus frowns at a broken parachute as a pterosaur watches.

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A peek inside! illustration from How the Dinosaurs Didn’t Die by Beryl Baker: a stegosaurus sits down for a pasta dinner, wearing a “hungry hungry hylaeosaurus” bib.

Prefer to shop local?

Ask your neighborhood bookstore to order it by title or ISBN!

I do this all the time. My favorite Bay Area bookstores are Mrs. Dalloways, Spectator Books, Mr. Mopps, Moe’s Books, and Walden Pond Books.

Giving this as a gift? Order by 11/20/26 to arrive before the holidays!

 

About the Author

Beryl Baker is an illustrator, author and Bay Area native. They thought of this book going back to 2015 while hearing a paleontologist on NPR saying, “we technically don’t know exactly how all the dinosaurs died” and thus began Beryl’s journey of thinking of all the ways we know in fact they did not die.

The alternative title for this piece was “A comprehensive epistemological audit of demonstrably nonexistent pre-K–Pg contingencies,” but that did not fit within the SEO strategy I had.