Last Laughs: Prehistoric Epitaphs

Imagine a book that encompasses the lives of the dinosaurs, the various eras in which they lived, their habits and travails, and even how they passed from history. Now imagine the book jokingly eulogizes those various dinosaurs along the way, relying on gorgeously rendered yet hilarious imagery to soften the blow.

That gives you some idea of what you’re getting into with Last Laughs: Prehistoric Epitaphs. As the book briskly takes you through the timeline of the dinosaurs — even citing the asteroid that likely ended their reign — you find yourself on an informative journey that’s fairly dark, even if you do end up laughing your way through it as I did.

The mix of solid science — explaining the layers in which they’re found and even how different dinosaur species died — and childlike wonder at these forever alien and amazing creatures creates a curious whole: a treasure trove of information, delivered in sing-songy verse.

(The iguanodon one was my favorite, brief and shamelessly punny.)

Last Laughs takes a fascinating, depressing subject — the end of the dinosaurs — and makes it both fun and very entertaining.