Five years ago, 8-year-old Owen Oselkin and his siblings needed pandemic entertainment, and the family turned to the arts, with Owen leveraging his piano skills to craft a song about dinosaurs.

Set to the tune of “O Christmas Tree,” the “Oh Dinosaur, Oh Dinosaur” song attempted to answer a pressing question: Where did all the dinosaurs go?

Now the song has been turned into a book, one whose plot explores the surprising ties between ancient dinosaurs and modern-day poultry. Owen will be on hand from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Lehigh Valley Mall’s Barnes & Noble to help the community celebrate National Dinosaur Day by signing copies of his book.

“I think they’re interesting,” Owen said of dinosaurs, “because they live for a long time.” He said the T-rex is his favorite.

Owen’s mother, Amy, said his room is covered in dinosaur toys and the family is a fan of the Jurassic Park franchise.

Attendees at the book signing may also get a glimpse of the author at a piano. Owen got an assist from his piano teacher when he was working to put the song to music, and he rehearsed it with his older brother, Dylan.

Dylan, 12, said Owen is “definitely passionate about dinosaurs” and was “really committed” to turning the song into a book. Dylan also said the final product is “good poetry” with a solid rhyme scheme.

The family used the platform Reedsy to connect with an England-based designer, Terry Sambridge, who helped turn Owen’s sketches into book illustrations.

Owen’s father, Martin, said communicating with Sambridge required Owen to show “so much dedication” — enough to get up early, skip TV time and instead log in to the family laptop to communicate across time zones with his collaborator.

Friday will be Owen’s second book signing, having already been hosted by the Center Valley Barnes & Noble for an April 19 event.

In addition to partnering with Barnes & Noble, the family has donated signed copies to local libraries, including Owen’s own school, Cetronia Elementary.

Amy Oselkin said she hopes the experience will inspire other kids to create their own books. That inspiration could strike first at home, as younger sister Danika, 5, says she’d also like to write a book someday.

As for Owen, he’s already brainstorming a sequel. “O Bird, O Bird,” anyone?