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Who Would Win?
By Jerry Pallotta Who Would Win? Whale Vs. Giant Squid (Who Would Win) [Paperback]
A sperm whale loves to eat giant squid. The whale is a mammal and has to hold its breath. The giant squid is a mollusc with suction cups on its eight legs and two feeder arms. The squid can dive deeper. Who would win?
Unknown Binding
First published December 31, 2012
8 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Pallotta
239 books111 followersMy 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 10, 2021
I really love this series and so does my son, so it is a win-win.
August 6, 2018
My three-year-old son and I really enjoyed this book. It starts out by asking what would happen if a whale and a giant squid got into a fight. Then it presents scientific facts about each animal. Then the author writes a possible ending to the fight. The pictures were beautiful and realistic looking.
January 28, 2025
4.5/5⭐️ not as funny as some but very informative. We did discover that if the three of us line up our height is almost the same sizes as the length of a sperm whales tail.
August 31, 2025
I really like all the facts you learn about animals from this whole series. This is the second one in this series that I have read and I highly recommend it. The retail price is only $3.99 and it gives so much information. You can learn so so much from this book.
——
So many facts:
Sperm whale “physeter macrocephalus” (blower with a big head). The sperm whale can grow to be 60 feet long and weigh 50 tons. It is one of the world‘s largest whales. The sperm whale is unusual because it is a big whale that has teeth, but only on its bottom jaw. It has a blow hole at the front of its head. Its head can be 20 feet long. The sperm whale has the largest brain of any animal that has ever lived. Their eye is about 2 inches wide. They can dive down half a mile where there is hardly any light. It has a long teeth shaped like sidewalk chalk. When it closes its mouth, it’s bottom teeth fit into the indentations in its upper jaw. It has 20 to 25 teeth on each side of its lower jaw. You can tell how old is sperm whale is by the layers in its teeth. Whalers used to carve beautiful designs on whale teeth and whale bone. This art was called scrimshaw. Their tail can be 16 feet across. They have horizontal tails. The winglike tail is also called a fluke. (there are other flute shapes which are shown in the book for a blue whale, humpback whale, right whale, SEI whale.) whales used to be used as a source of oil. There are 6 to 8 barrels of oil in the head of a sperm whale. If Whalers harpooned a whale in the whale took off, it was called a Nantucket sleigh ride. Sperm whales, eat, giant squid, squid, stingrays, octopuses, and fish. Some scientist, think that whales make such loud underwater clicking sounds that they can shock their food. Can swim 25 mph. Can hold their breath for up to two hours, but usually submerge for about 45 minutes. Can dive half a mile deep. Whale relies on echo location to find its way around by bouncing sound signals off its prey.
*** if you ever catch a giant squid and keep it alive, it may be worth $1 million because nobody has ever caught one and kept it alive. ***
The blue whale is the largest animal on earth.
Whales have red blood . All of the biggest whales are baleen whales (which means they have no teeth). Whales are mammals. A Dall’s porpoise can swim faster than 50 mph. The fastest fish is the sailfish which can swim 90 mph.
Moby Dick — based on a real sperm whale that rammed in the Nantucket wheel ship Essex. A non-fiction book was written about the event, called in the heart of the sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Giant squid “architeuthis dux”. It’s a mollusk/ mollusc. It has eight legs and two extra feeder arms. The legs have suction cups. The feeder arms have hooks and suction cups on the ends that act like hands. Can be 60 feet long and weigh 450 pounds. The largest squid is the giant squid and the colossal squid. A giant squid brain is the size and shape of a small donut. Their eyeball is the largest eyeball in the world. It is as big as a basketball. Its giant eyeballs allow the squid to see at great depths. Between it’s eight legs and it’s 2 feet or arms is the squids mouth. It doesn’t have teeth, it has a beak that looks like a parrot beak. The tip of the squid speak is hard and tough, but the lower end is more rubbery. It is made of CHITIN, a material, which is like your fingernails. The body is called the mantle or torso. At one end our fins. The giant squid can use its fins to steer. It can also reverse the motion of its fins to swim backward. People have seen giant squid jump completely out of the water. Squid have three hearts. The squid can also steer itself with its legs. Giant squid, eat fish, shrimps, and other squid. They grab food with their long feeder arms. The feeder arms have sharp spines on the ends they pull the food into their beaks. Giant squid have blue blood. Can swim 20 mph. Squid do not need to come up for air. It is not known how far a giant squid can dive, but it can dive deeper than a whale. Cannot hear. Don’t know how long a giant squid lives - some scientist think it’s only three years. Squids blow black ink at their attackers. This is called billowing. We don’t know how deep they can dive, how many there are, where they live or why no one has been able to catch one alive. There are no known freshwater squid. They appear to prefer deep cold water.
Squid, octopuses, Nautiluses and cuttlefish are Cephalopods. Cephalopod means “head foot”. A mollusk is a softbodied animal that usually lives in water and has a protective shell. Some squid are called sea arrows. Squid, arms and legs are also called tentacles.
Book 20,000 leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne is about a giant squid attacking a submarine
——
So many facts:
Sperm whale “physeter macrocephalus” (blower with a big head). The sperm whale can grow to be 60 feet long and weigh 50 tons. It is one of the world‘s largest whales. The sperm whale is unusual because it is a big whale that has teeth, but only on its bottom jaw. It has a blow hole at the front of its head. Its head can be 20 feet long. The sperm whale has the largest brain of any animal that has ever lived. Their eye is about 2 inches wide. They can dive down half a mile where there is hardly any light. It has a long teeth shaped like sidewalk chalk. When it closes its mouth, it’s bottom teeth fit into the indentations in its upper jaw. It has 20 to 25 teeth on each side of its lower jaw. You can tell how old is sperm whale is by the layers in its teeth. Whalers used to carve beautiful designs on whale teeth and whale bone. This art was called scrimshaw. Their tail can be 16 feet across. They have horizontal tails. The winglike tail is also called a fluke. (there are other flute shapes which are shown in the book for a blue whale, humpback whale, right whale, SEI whale.) whales used to be used as a source of oil. There are 6 to 8 barrels of oil in the head of a sperm whale. If Whalers harpooned a whale in the whale took off, it was called a Nantucket sleigh ride. Sperm whales, eat, giant squid, squid, stingrays, octopuses, and fish. Some scientist, think that whales make such loud underwater clicking sounds that they can shock their food. Can swim 25 mph. Can hold their breath for up to two hours, but usually submerge for about 45 minutes. Can dive half a mile deep. Whale relies on echo location to find its way around by bouncing sound signals off its prey.
*** if you ever catch a giant squid and keep it alive, it may be worth $1 million because nobody has ever caught one and kept it alive. ***
The blue whale is the largest animal on earth.
Whales have red blood . All of the biggest whales are baleen whales (which means they have no teeth). Whales are mammals. A Dall’s porpoise can swim faster than 50 mph. The fastest fish is the sailfish which can swim 90 mph.
Moby Dick — based on a real sperm whale that rammed in the Nantucket wheel ship Essex. A non-fiction book was written about the event, called in the heart of the sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Giant squid “architeuthis dux”. It’s a mollusk/ mollusc. It has eight legs and two extra feeder arms. The legs have suction cups. The feeder arms have hooks and suction cups on the ends that act like hands. Can be 60 feet long and weigh 450 pounds. The largest squid is the giant squid and the colossal squid. A giant squid brain is the size and shape of a small donut. Their eyeball is the largest eyeball in the world. It is as big as a basketball. Its giant eyeballs allow the squid to see at great depths. Between it’s eight legs and it’s 2 feet or arms is the squids mouth. It doesn’t have teeth, it has a beak that looks like a parrot beak. The tip of the squid speak is hard and tough, but the lower end is more rubbery. It is made of CHITIN, a material, which is like your fingernails. The body is called the mantle or torso. At one end our fins. The giant squid can use its fins to steer. It can also reverse the motion of its fins to swim backward. People have seen giant squid jump completely out of the water. Squid have three hearts. The squid can also steer itself with its legs. Giant squid, eat fish, shrimps, and other squid. They grab food with their long feeder arms. The feeder arms have sharp spines on the ends they pull the food into their beaks. Giant squid have blue blood. Can swim 20 mph. Squid do not need to come up for air. It is not known how far a giant squid can dive, but it can dive deeper than a whale. Cannot hear. Don’t know how long a giant squid lives - some scientist think it’s only three years. Squids blow black ink at their attackers. This is called billowing. We don’t know how deep they can dive, how many there are, where they live or why no one has been able to catch one alive. There are no known freshwater squid. They appear to prefer deep cold water.
Squid, octopuses, Nautiluses and cuttlefish are Cephalopods. Cephalopod means “head foot”. A mollusk is a softbodied animal that usually lives in water and has a protective shell. Some squid are called sea arrows. Squid, arms and legs are also called tentacles.
Book 20,000 leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne is about a giant squid attacking a submarine
March 29, 2024
This is only the second title that I have read in this series, and I didn't like it nearly as much as "Scorpion vs Tarantula" which I thought was fantastic.
My disgruntlement began on the first page of facts where it states that "sperm whales are one of the world's largest whales", "All of the biggest whales are baleen whales, which means they have no teeth." and "The sperm whale is unusual. It is a big whale that has teeth, but only on it's bottom jaw."
Soooooo......is it unusual because:
A) it is a baleen whale with teeth?
B) it is one of the biggest whales, but NOT a baleen whale?
C) it only has teeth on the bottom?
If it is not A or B then why include anything about baleen whales at all?
Or say "MOST of the biggest whales are baleen whales. Baleen means they have no teeth. The sperm whale is an exception, because he is one of the world's largest whales, but is not a baleen whale. His jaw is unusual because he has teeth only on the bottom."
Once I did some side research so I could get past the second page with my facts straight, I enjoyed the content.
(Although I stumbled a bit on an octopus being a mollusk, and a mollusk "has a protective shell". Does an octopus have a protective shell? I'll have to look that up.
The full sentence is: "A mollusk is a soft-bodied animal that usually lives in water and has a protective shell."
Maybe the "usually" applies to both conditions and not just the water part.
It was confusing to me.
My second reason for not liking this title as much is that the battle wasn't as exciting.
And has no one ever FOUND a live, giant squid? Or do they just die immediately when they are caught?
More research for this enquiring mind.
My disgruntlement began on the first page of facts where it states that "sperm whales are one of the world's largest whales", "All of the biggest whales are baleen whales, which means they have no teeth." and "The sperm whale is unusual. It is a big whale that has teeth, but only on it's bottom jaw."
Soooooo......is it unusual because:
A) it is a baleen whale with teeth?
B) it is one of the biggest whales, but NOT a baleen whale?
C) it only has teeth on the bottom?
If it is not A or B then why include anything about baleen whales at all?
Or say "MOST of the biggest whales are baleen whales. Baleen means they have no teeth. The sperm whale is an exception, because he is one of the world's largest whales, but is not a baleen whale. His jaw is unusual because he has teeth only on the bottom."
Once I did some side research so I could get past the second page with my facts straight, I enjoyed the content.
(Although I stumbled a bit on an octopus being a mollusk, and a mollusk "has a protective shell". Does an octopus have a protective shell? I'll have to look that up.
The full sentence is: "A mollusk is a soft-bodied animal that usually lives in water and has a protective shell."
Maybe the "usually" applies to both conditions and not just the water part.
It was confusing to me.
My second reason for not liking this title as much is that the battle wasn't as exciting.
And has no one ever FOUND a live, giant squid? Or do they just die immediately when they are caught?
More research for this enquiring mind.
January 8, 2017
I love this series so much! It makes reading non-fiction so much fun. This book teaches about the sperm whale and the giant squid. After a few pages of facts on each animal, there is a fight to the death. Christopher and I always enjoy reading these books. We guess which animal will win, then marvel at the facts (brain size and length were the most interesting facts in this book), and then we hold our breath as we read about the fight. The final page is a comparison chart where we go back through the book to determine which animal wins in each category (speed, size, weapons, etc.).
http://www.momsradius.com/2017/01/juv...
http://www.momsradius.com/2017/01/juv...
July 3, 2017
Heard about these books and even though they are a little too advanced for my 5 year old I thought I would get a couple from the library and see if they were any good (and then hopefully remembering that they exist when she is just a little older).
There are lots of interesting facts about both animals.
There are lots of interesting facts about both animals.
April 9, 2018
This is a great informational text for children because it has an air of mystery in it as well. It gives information about each animal and predicts which one would win in a battle. A unique feature of this book besides the theoretical battle that it sets up, but also in the end it tells which animal would actually win. I would use this book anywhere from 1st grade to 5th grade.
September 30, 2021
I don't like nautical stuff, actually I take that back. I don't like deep underwater stuff. This book confirmed it. However, I learned that a squid has 3 hearts and sperm whales don't have upper teeth. Oh and scrimshawhttps://www.goodreads.com/author/list...# is a cool word.
February 27, 2024
My kid loves these books! This is the kind of question he asks all the time so when I told him that there is a series about who would win he was enthralled. He found this one at the library and requested that we read it right away. He sat through the entire book in one session.
December 7, 2017
I liked it because the whale wins (Jerry).
Read
September 20, 2019O
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2021
I liked this one a lot.
October 23, 2021
A little long for a tired five year old but he loved it.
April 19, 2022
Nail biter. Beautiful illustration. Interesting facts.
A literary experience that you won’t regret.
A literary experience that you won’t regret.
March 14, 2024
Me to the giant squid: “I was rooting for you we were ALL rooting for you how DARE you”
December 17, 2024
First of all, why are these animals?
Like the giant squid losing to a whale when it has ink.
Like the giant squid losing to a whale when it has ink.
November 8, 2025
Kids who like learning about sea creatures might enjoy learning a few facts about the sperm whale and the giant squid.
February 1, 2023
Who would win between a whale and a Giant Squid? The book gives facts about each animal, it's strengths and weaknesses. The battle begins, who will you cheer for? My son won this battle...until next time.
June 1, 2014
I personally think that the squid would win. so I gave it only two stars. I think all of his books are one animal but they are all the other animal
July 23, 2015
the whale won by eating the squid.both could of won. the squid could of put it's tentical in the whales blow hole so he could not breath.
September 15, 2017
Boys are loving this book series. Ordered a bunch more last night on Amazon and scholastic book order w Theodore's class.
November 4, 2024
My 2 year old’s favorite animal is a squid 🦑 , so we checked out a bunch of books on squids! Lots of great factoids in this one about whales and squids. I won’t spoil it for you! Check this one out!
April 2, 2021
another favorite of Maddox
Read
October 18, 2022The ingenious man who wrote this simple and fascinating series is swimming in champagne and Porsches from hypothetical road trip questions from a nine year old kid. Beast.
November 14, 2022
This was a cute little non fiction book. I really didn’t know this book would go under that but i do recommend reading it.
June 30, 2017
Another great book in this series. Great, colorful illustrations bring these species to your fingertips. Comparing and contrasting these sea creatures, you get to guess who would win the fight should these two come face-to- face in a duel. Yes, the sperm whale is faster but only by a few miles per hour but the giant squid has the eight legs and their black ink has to come in handy, right? I was amazed at each of these species eyes, where they live, and their size. A great book!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews