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Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books
The Dinosaur Alphabet Book
The perfect way to introduce children to the fascinating world of dinosaurs. Full of interesting facts--did you know some dinosaurs had sharp front teeth while others had no front teeth at all? This alphabet book explores both the known and the not-so-well known dinosaurs.
Meet the heterodontosaurus (one of the smallest known to exist), the megalosaurus (the first dinosaur ever discovered), the iguanodon, the ultrasaurus, and more!
Once again, Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello have combined their talents to create a unique children's book that will inform and entertain young readers.
Meet the heterodontosaurus (one of the smallest known to exist), the megalosaurus (the first dinosaur ever discovered), the iguanodon, the ultrasaurus, and more!
Once again, Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello have combined their talents to create a unique children's book that will inform and entertain young readers.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
3 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Pallotta
243 books113 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 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 22, 2017
Text: 4 stars
Illustrations: 4 stars
Less of an alphabet book, and more of a children's nonfiction book about dinosaurs. Best used for elementary school students, who already know the alphabet, but the alphabet in this case serves as a good way to organize the presentation of information. Many lesser known dinosaurs are included, which adds to the interest level of the book. The writing is a balance of factual and conversational, which is certain to appeal to children. Illustrations are professional and complement the text well.
Illustrations: 4 stars
Less of an alphabet book, and more of a children's nonfiction book about dinosaurs. Best used for elementary school students, who already know the alphabet, but the alphabet in this case serves as a good way to organize the presentation of information. Many lesser known dinosaurs are included, which adds to the interest level of the book. The writing is a balance of factual and conversational, which is certain to appeal to children. Illustrations are professional and complement the text well.
November 10, 2009
First, let me say that this is NOT an alphabet book. An alphabet book is a book geared towards the preschool age group to teach them their letters during storytime.
This book is pretty long for one storytime, it's very dense, it has some complicated information... and it's probably better suited for children closer to 8 than to 4. At that point, they already know their alphabet.
No, this book is a book about dinosaurs that happens to go in alphabetical order.
To that end, many - or all - of the dinosaurs will be unfamiliar to your child. Instead of running through the same short list of apatosaurus (brontosaurs to us old folk) and T-rexes and stegosauruses, these are all DIFFERENT dinosaurs. Your kid can actually learn something instead of repeating what he already knows.
The paragraphs about the dinosaurs are very informative, talking about their bones and teeth and various hypotheses for their extinction, and I really like that many of the dinosaurs are colored with fanciful colors (I particularly liked the Fabrosaurus) instead of the usual browns and greys and army greens. (Questrosaurus is done in black and white, with an explanation that of course we have NO IDEA what colors the dinosaurs were).
This book is pretty long for one storytime, it's very dense, it has some complicated information... and it's probably better suited for children closer to 8 than to 4. At that point, they already know their alphabet.
No, this book is a book about dinosaurs that happens to go in alphabetical order.
To that end, many - or all - of the dinosaurs will be unfamiliar to your child. Instead of running through the same short list of apatosaurus (brontosaurs to us old folk) and T-rexes and stegosauruses, these are all DIFFERENT dinosaurs. Your kid can actually learn something instead of repeating what he already knows.
The paragraphs about the dinosaurs are very informative, talking about their bones and teeth and various hypotheses for their extinction, and I really like that many of the dinosaurs are colored with fanciful colors (I particularly liked the Fabrosaurus) instead of the usual browns and greys and army greens. (Questrosaurus is done in black and white, with an explanation that of course we have NO IDEA what colors the dinosaurs were).
December 21, 2020
While not as awful as the Extinct Alphabet book, this book still had some factual errors and pages worded in confusing ways. The dinosaur for Q, Questrosaurus, does not even exist! It was probably a misspelling of Quaesitosaurus, but a mistake like that should not have been overlooked. A few jokes were alright, but some just weren't funny and took away from the educational attempt. The imagined colors of the dinosaurs were creative and interesting, at least.
February 13, 2019
I remember this book being very wordy, but it was right up the alley of a child with autism I knew who loved both letters and dinosaurs very, very much. 2/5 stars, though I'm not sure which age group it's truly meant for. Surely a child who can pay attention for so long knows their alphabet by the time they can focus.
January 29, 2020
This book is an excellent option for avid dinosaur fans and advanced early readers alike. As an adult dinosaur fan, I learned about dinosaurs I'd never even heard of while reading this book. I would highly recommend this book to parents and educators who struggling to feed an advanced readers' curiosity. The book is jammed backed with cool illustrations and challenging trivia.
September 23, 2017
Got this one with a group of other used books in mail today. Theodore selected this one first. He liked it but immediately looked for spinosaurus which was not in the book. But we recovered. Nice text and images.
October 3, 2017
Great for any child that loves dinosaurs. My daughter and I had fun reading it and we both learned a few things to boot.
March 10, 2019
Love alphabet books, especially when they’re filled with dinosaurs! Great book for learning lots of different dinosaur names, the only thing missing that I would have liked to see is pronunciations!
April 15, 2019
This book is great for young children to read during dinosaur week. The illastrations in this book are great for the children to see as well. They won't get bored reading this book.
November 18, 2020
A theme related alphabet book on dinosaurs. Alphabets based on various types of dinosaurs, cool, yet slightly complicated for young children. Great book for older aged children.
March 24, 2022
Factually incorrect, overly complicated for a children's book, a bit too wild with the illustrations (why does Fabrosaurus have blue frills, a blue tail, and tiger skin?)
June 21, 2022
Excellent art, good layout, good balance with text. So far this is the best dinosaur alphabet book I've seen. It's on my list to purchase for my house.
January 18, 2024
My 4-year-old granddaughter (who loves dinosaurs) sat entranced while I read this book to her, and I heard her whisper the names of the dinosaurs after I said them.
October 16, 2024
I enjoy Pallotta’s sense of humor in his children’s books
July 3, 2017
I remember when I first came upon this author and it was since of my elementary school. We had an assembly where the author was invited and ever since he told me there was a Julia butterfly I have been hooked with him.
The book writing is simple, large letters and easy for any child to read, especially with very young beginners. Unlike some of his other books this one is definitely geared towards an older audience since the dinosaurs (and some reptiles) cover species adults didn't learn about in school while there is no included pronunciation guide for some really stranger sounding ones.
The other thing that will catch the reader's attention is the beautiful detailed artwork, which is described further in the book as being fanciful since we just don't know. Otherwise the coloring of the subjects in this book could very well be true since they are beautiful yet well-blended in colors.
The author's well-known interactive reading style continues in this book. It asks the reader to answer a question, goes over what might be an oops such as including a non-dinosaur and then making a suggestion to replace it with a dinosaur. In the end the author also includes the comment that maybe the reader may be able to find another dinosaur of their own to join the known finds.
What gave an extra bonus to me is within the fun and yet barely noticeable learning while you read was the author added various known hypothesis' on how the dinosaurs die. Altogether it is definitely a fun book to get started on dinosaurs.
Definitely a literary gem!
The book writing is simple, large letters and easy for any child to read, especially with very young beginners. Unlike some of his other books this one is definitely geared towards an older audience since the dinosaurs (and some reptiles) cover species adults didn't learn about in school while there is no included pronunciation guide for some really stranger sounding ones.
The other thing that will catch the reader's attention is the beautiful detailed artwork, which is described further in the book as being fanciful since we just don't know. Otherwise the coloring of the subjects in this book could very well be true since they are beautiful yet well-blended in colors.
The author's well-known interactive reading style continues in this book. It asks the reader to answer a question, goes over what might be an oops such as including a non-dinosaur and then making a suggestion to replace it with a dinosaur. In the end the author also includes the comment that maybe the reader may be able to find another dinosaur of their own to join the known finds.
What gave an extra bonus to me is within the fun and yet barely noticeable learning while you read was the author added various known hypothesis' on how the dinosaurs die. Altogether it is definitely a fun book to get started on dinosaurs.
Definitely a literary gem!
September 24, 2015
We loved this one... my six year old and I. He was able to read most of the text without a problem, but he's an early reader. (However, some people in my house expressed skepticism that some of the theories about the extinction of the dinosaurs were still current. So if you have a dinosaur fiend in your family, this may be an exercise in nitpicking.)
The drawings were excellent, and I appreciated the notation that no one really knows what color the dinosaurs were, and that sometimes we only have one or two bones to support the theory about what the dinosaur looked like. I also enjoyed the inclusion of Asian dinosaurs (neatly covering the intial letters that are unusual in English).
The drawings were excellent, and I appreciated the notation that no one really knows what color the dinosaurs were, and that sometimes we only have one or two bones to support the theory about what the dinosaur looked like. I also enjoyed the inclusion of Asian dinosaurs (neatly covering the intial letters that are unusual in English).
March 3, 2013
The Dinosaur Alphabet Book, by Jerry Pallotta is in the genre of Informational Texts. It is recommended for ages 5 years or older. This book is beautiful and filled great picture that appeal to young children. It has all these pictures of different dinosaurs and their names with descriptions to go with them. Some of the dinosaur names are Ankylosaurus to Zephyrosaurus' so for all the letters in the alphabet, there's a dinosaur with facts about them. What stood out to me the most In this book was how difficult some of the dinosaur names are to pronounce.
December 6, 2008
We like these fun alphabet books for young children (my older ones liked them too) that introduce you to all different creatures. Perfect living books for science.
July 29, 2011
Not the most original dinosaur drawings but a good ABC book for boys
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November 30, 2015While teaching the ABC's, you can have an ABC book that starts with each letter of the alphabet (this one being the D book). It is also interesting because it talks about the different dinosaurs.
August 16, 2016
Liked how he added the different extinction theories and other info good for young children to know, like we don't know what colors dinosaurs are.
April 17, 2019
What a great alphabet book!
You can use this book for learning about letters.
Fun dinosaur facts throughout.
You can use this for science as well.
You can use this book for learning about letters.
Fun dinosaur facts throughout.
You can use this for science as well.
December 8, 2013
using children's interest to teach the alphabet and expand the vocabulary of small children
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews