Jerry Pallotta’s Followers (118)

Jerry Pallotta

Born

in Boston, The United States

March 26, 1953

Website

http://www.jerrypallotta.com/index.html

Genre

Children's Books

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My full name is Gerard Larry Pallotta but my mom always called me "Jerry". I was born on March 26, 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts. My mom's name is Mary, and she came from a family of ten children. My dad's name is Joe, and he came from a family of five children. My grandparents were immigrants of Italian descent. I have the nicest parents in the world. They have always been unselfish and ready to help me, even today. I have four brothers and two sisters: Joey, David, Andrew, Danny, Cindy and Mickey. I have seventy-two first cousins. When I was growing up, there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!

My family moved to Medford, Massachusetts when I was young. I went to elementary school at Mt. Trinity Academy, not far from where my publisher is located in W My full name is Gerard Larry Pallotta but my mom always called me "Jerry". I was born on March 26, 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts. My mom's name is Mary, and she came from a family of ten children. My dad's name is Joe, and he came from a family of five children. My grandparents were immigrants of Italian descent. I have the nicest parents in the world. They have always been unselfish and ready to help me, even today. I have four brothers and two sisters: Joey, David, Andrew, Danny, Cindy and Mickey. I have seventy-two first cousins. When I was growing up, there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!

My family moved to Medford, Massachusetts when I was young. I went to elementary school at Mt. Trinity Academy, not far from where my publisher is located in Watertown, Massachusetts. I never wrote a book in elementary school, and we never kept journals. In the neighborhood where I grew up, almost every family had seven to nine children. I guess that you could say that there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!

I went to high school at Boston College High School, a Jesuit all-boys school in downtown Boston. The priests and other teachers were really wonderful. I played football and ran track. I had a great high school experience and I think later it made my studies in college much easier. My sons Neil and Eric graduated from Boston College High School in 2001 and 2003. Neil was named after a teacher I had, Fr. Neil Callahan, S.J. I never wrote a book in high school, and I never wrote for the school newspaper. I was too shy and was afraid of what other kids would think.

After high school I went to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. I majored in business, a subject that would help me later in life when I decided to publish my first book. At Georgetown, I met my wife, Linda. In college I was an average student and was captain of the Georgetown University Rugby Team. I never wrote for the college newspaper, and I never imaged writing books. A couple of years later, Linda and I got married and I started to work at an insurance company in Boston. During the first six years of being married, we had four kids. It seemed like there were...KIDS EVERYWHERE!

Today, we spend a lot of time with my 31 nieces and nephews...again...KIDS EVERYWHERE!

I learned valuable skills while talking to people, selling insurance and collecting money. When I came home from work, Linda would ask me to "read to the kids!" I loved reading to my kids and I learned to appreciate children's books. The first few books that we bought were alphabet books and counting books. "A" was always for Apple and "Z" was always for Zebra. One day I decided, "Hey, I can do this!" I had an idea. I would write an alphabet book about the Atlantic Ocean. I spent every summer at Peggotty Beach in Scituate, Massachusetts. I have great memories of lobstering, fishing, mossing, clamming and rowing in my dory.

My first book was written in 1985 when I was 32 years old. I came up with the idea, wrote it, designed it, researched it, edited it and my cousin, Frank Mazzola, Jr. illustrated it. I published it myself under the name of Peggotty Beach Books. What fun! It was first printed on July 7, 1986. I'll never forget that day. The book eventually became the #1 best selling book at the New England Aquarium. I was afraid that only my mother would like it. Teachers and kids told me they really liked my book.

While speaking in schools, teachers also told me they were looking for simple non-fiction nature books. It gave me the confidence to write more. My next book, "The Icky Bug Alphabet Book", has sold more than 1 million copies. My third book, "The Bird Alphabet Book" was voted one of the best books of the year by Birders World Magazine. I now have over twenty alphabet books. My goal has always been to write interesting, fact-filled, fun to read, beautifully illustrated color children's books. Thank you to all my illustrators: Ralph Masiello, Frank Mazzola, Jr., Rob Bolster, Edgar Stewart, Leslie ...more

Combine Editions
Jerry Pallotta’s books

Average rating: 4.17 · 20,106 ratings · 2,289 reviews · 272 distinct works • Similar authors

	Lion vs. Tiger by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.24 avg rating — 687 ratings — published 2009 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Killer Whale Vs. Great White Shark by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.32 avg rating — 642 ratings — published 2016 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Battle Royale by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.43 avg rating — 594 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Komodo Dragon Vs. King Cobra by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.30 avg rating — 584 ratings — published 2011 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Polar Bear vs. Grizzly Bear by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.27 avg rating — 584 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ultimate Ocean Rumble 4.37 avg rating — 507 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Who Would Win?: Extreme Animal Rumble by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.49 avg rating — 470 ratings — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hammerhead vs. Bull Shark by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.25 avg rating — 486 ratings — published 2011 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tyrannosaurus Rex Vs. Velociraptor by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.14 avg rating — 496 ratings — published 2010 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ultimate Showdown by Jerry Pallotta, Rob Bolster (Illustrator) 4.40 avg rating — 465 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Jerry Pallotta…

Series by Jerry Pallotta

Who Would Win? (28 books)
by

Jerry Pallotta,

Rob Bolster (Illustrator)

4.30 avg rating — 11,141 ratings

Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books (24 books)
by

Jerry Pallotta,

Rob Bolster (Illustrator)

3.98 avg rating — 2,581 ratings

Jerry Pallotta's Holiday Books (8 books)
by

Jerry Pallotta,

Howard McWilliam (Illustrator)

3.80 avg rating — 1,323 ratings

Jerry Pallotta Math Books (25 books)
by

Jerry Pallotta

3.89 avg rating — 1,227 ratings

Icky Bug Books (5 books)
by

Jerry Pallotta,

David Biedrzycki (Illustrator),

Rob Bolster (Illustrator)

3.91 avg rating — 548 ratings

More series by Jerry Pallotta…

Topics Mentioning This Author

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On The Same Page : Group Challenge - 2500 for 2022 (Closed)	835	111	Dec 31, 2022 05:13PM
Children's Books: October 2013: Alphabet Books (Discuss our Club Reads HERE)	58	125	Jan 07, 2023 09:29PM
Goodreads Librari...: (DONE) Combine (various editions) December 2023	964	1296	Apr 15, 2025 10:30AM
One Million Pages...: Lindy-Lane's MILL	212	284	Jul 01, 2025 02:26PM
Children's Books: August 2022: Creepy Crawlies	127	26	Sep 27, 2025 08:54PM
Children's Books: October 2013: Alphabet Books (Master List and General Discussion)	72	76	Jan 15, 2026 06:42AM

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Jerry Pallotta’s Followers (118)

Jerry Pallotta

Combine EditionsJerry Pallotta’s books

Series by Jerry Pallotta

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Jerry Pallotta’s books