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Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books
The Extinct Alphabet Book
Learn about the five-eyed Opabinia and the Four-toed Horse. Speculate about the life of the Jamaican Long-tongued Bat. Discover the fate of the beautiful Quagga. But don't look for any dinosaurs in this book. There aren't any!
Millions of creatures other than dinosaurs are now extinct. In true alphabet book tradition, the author has found twenty-six of the most extraordinary past-inhabitants of the Earth.
Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello team up to provide exciting, accurate text and illustrations filled with unusual and amusing insight that will satisfy fans of all ages.
Millions of creatures other than dinosaurs are now extinct. In true alphabet book tradition, the author has found twenty-six of the most extraordinary past-inhabitants of the Earth.
Jerry Pallotta and Ralph Masiello team up to provide exciting, accurate text and illustrations filled with unusual and amusing insight that will satisfy fans of all ages.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
101 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Pallotta
234 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 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 12, 2018
Now I did not in any way expect Jerry Pallotta's The Extinct Alphabet Book to be a traditional abecedarian tome for younger children first learning, first practicing words and letters (as an ABC book presenting, describing now extinct animal species would of course, if said book were to actually list the featured extinct animals by their scientific names or even by their commonly used monikers, be by mere nature and necessity usually much too advanced for basic language arts and word usage instruction etc.). And indeed, I have at least somewhat enjoyed the author's presented information (and do appreciate that Jerry Pallotta has included both recently and very much not so recently extinct animal species, not to mention that he has actually and thankful refused to include the oh so popular and ubiquitous dinosaurs). But frankly, there are a number of for me very annoyingly frustrating both personal and academic/intellectual issues (read shortcomings) that have prevented me from truly and wholly enjoying The Extinct Alphabet Book, and thus, I can and will only consider a high two star ranking at best (which I do even think is being quite generous on my part).
For one (and I do well realise that this objection to The Extinct Alphabet Book is an entirely personal quibble), I tend to find the author's attempts at humour both not all that funny and really rather annoyingly grating and aggravating (as well as taking away from the potential teaching and learning values of The Extinct Alphabet Book, as I for one do believe that the for me and to me rather lame attempts at getting some laughs from his readers kind of majorly undermines the fact that Jerry Pallotta is showing twenty-six animal species that are indeed now gone forever, that are truly permanently extinct). However, and a much more serious and worrisome problem for me is that some of Jerry Pallotta's assertions with regard to a couple of the more recently extinct animal species listed are, in my opinion, both wrong and not only insulting but at least to an extent condoning and justifying their extinction, their callously thoughtless annihilation by us, by humans. For example, and yes I am very angry indeed at your words here, Mr. Pallotta, the Dodo bird was NOT STUPID, it was simply an easy prey, as it was a large flightless bird endemic to a remote and isolated tropical island where there were NO land-based predators and the Dodo had thus and naturally not evolved a fear of predators as it had not needed this (and for you to then state that Dodos were supposedly simply lacking in intelligence, that is both hugely ignorant in and of itself and really not all that funny in any manner, as furthermore, these types of attitudes were also often used by sailors etc. to justify the mass slaughter of flightless birds like the Dodo, the Great Auk, giant tortoises, basically any endemic animal species encountered that did not have the evolved instincts to fear man and other land based mammals such as rats, cats, dogs, weasels, mongoooses and the like).
Combined with the academically problematic fact that there are also neither source acknowledgments nor suggestions for further study and research listed (at least, there are no such inclusions in the Kindle version), I have unfortnately found The Extinct Alphabet Book rather a major failure for presenting scientific information (as the featured textual tidbits, while defintely interesting, are also rather sparse by necessity of space and secondary research suggestions would or at least could greatly improve both teaching and learning from The Extinct Alphabet Book (and with no sources shown, it is also rather difficult to verify whether the scientific information featured and used by Jerry Pallotta is even correct). Therefore, on an entirely personal (and academic) level, I cannot really all that much recommend The Extinct Alphabet Book for its printed text, for Jerry Pallotta's writing, his research and even his general attitudes (and although I have indeed found Ralph Masiello's accompanying illustrations lovely and realistically evocative, this is not really in any way enough to truly redeem The Extinct Alphabet Book for me on an intellectual, nature and science level).
For one (and I do well realise that this objection to The Extinct Alphabet Book is an entirely personal quibble), I tend to find the author's attempts at humour both not all that funny and really rather annoyingly grating and aggravating (as well as taking away from the potential teaching and learning values of The Extinct Alphabet Book, as I for one do believe that the for me and to me rather lame attempts at getting some laughs from his readers kind of majorly undermines the fact that Jerry Pallotta is showing twenty-six animal species that are indeed now gone forever, that are truly permanently extinct). However, and a much more serious and worrisome problem for me is that some of Jerry Pallotta's assertions with regard to a couple of the more recently extinct animal species listed are, in my opinion, both wrong and not only insulting but at least to an extent condoning and justifying their extinction, their callously thoughtless annihilation by us, by humans. For example, and yes I am very angry indeed at your words here, Mr. Pallotta, the Dodo bird was NOT STUPID, it was simply an easy prey, as it was a large flightless bird endemic to a remote and isolated tropical island where there were NO land-based predators and the Dodo had thus and naturally not evolved a fear of predators as it had not needed this (and for you to then state that Dodos were supposedly simply lacking in intelligence, that is both hugely ignorant in and of itself and really not all that funny in any manner, as furthermore, these types of attitudes were also often used by sailors etc. to justify the mass slaughter of flightless birds like the Dodo, the Great Auk, giant tortoises, basically any endemic animal species encountered that did not have the evolved instincts to fear man and other land based mammals such as rats, cats, dogs, weasels, mongoooses and the like).
Combined with the academically problematic fact that there are also neither source acknowledgments nor suggestions for further study and research listed (at least, there are no such inclusions in the Kindle version), I have unfortnately found The Extinct Alphabet Book rather a major failure for presenting scientific information (as the featured textual tidbits, while defintely interesting, are also rather sparse by necessity of space and secondary research suggestions would or at least could greatly improve both teaching and learning from The Extinct Alphabet Book (and with no sources shown, it is also rather difficult to verify whether the scientific information featured and used by Jerry Pallotta is even correct). Therefore, on an entirely personal (and academic) level, I cannot really all that much recommend The Extinct Alphabet Book for its printed text, for Jerry Pallotta's writing, his research and even his general attitudes (and although I have indeed found Ralph Masiello's accompanying illustrations lovely and realistically evocative, this is not really in any way enough to truly redeem The Extinct Alphabet Book for me on an intellectual, nature and science level).
October 12, 2018
The only reason I feel bad for giving this one star is that Ralph Masiello's artwork is just wonderful. Too bad Pallotta decided to turn this book into a joke, ruining EVERYTHING in the process. What should have been a fascinating look at extinct creatures is now a pretty picture book. Take for instance the entry for the Coelurosauravus:
C is also for Coelurosauravus. This animal is so hard to pronounce we will just call him "Chuckie." "Chuckie" was a gliding reptile. Is your new name OK, "Chuckie?"
That's it. How 'bout some more actual information and less cutesy-pie banter.
I wish I could say that this is the only time the author tried unsuccessfully to be funny, but it's not: the letter U is just a picture of some spilled paint because the artist "tripped." Oh, but the author makes sure to tell us about two interesting sounding critters we might have seen if that hadn't happened.
Perhaps I'd be a little more forgiving if there'd been a glossary at the back, explaining more about each creature, or at least WHEN THEY WENT EXTINCT, for crying out loud!
Such a waste!
Seriously, I recommend glancing at the name of the animal, and looking at the painting, but by all means - SKIP THE TEXT . . . it will only angry up your blood.
C is also for Coelurosauravus. This animal is so hard to pronounce we will just call him "Chuckie." "Chuckie" was a gliding reptile. Is your new name OK, "Chuckie?"
That's it. How 'bout some more actual information and less cutesy-pie banter.
I wish I could say that this is the only time the author tried unsuccessfully to be funny, but it's not: the letter U is just a picture of some spilled paint because the artist "tripped." Oh, but the author makes sure to tell us about two interesting sounding critters we might have seen if that hadn't happened.
Perhaps I'd be a little more forgiving if there'd been a glossary at the back, explaining more about each creature, or at least WHEN THEY WENT EXTINCT, for crying out loud!
Such a waste!
Seriously, I recommend glancing at the name of the animal, and looking at the painting, but by all means - SKIP THE TEXT . . . it will only angry up your blood.
September 6, 2017
Very cool. Lots of these I didn't know. The Opabina is probably the most intriguing, for example it had five eyes!
December 5, 2017
Pollotta, J. Ill: Masiello, R. (1993) The Extinct alphabet book. Watertown, Massachusetts: Charlesbridge.
This was an interesting way to bring in ideas about extinct animals into learning the alphabet. I would say the only issue is, if someone was learning about the alphabet this book was a little wordy and hard to read for them to understand. A fun book non the less!
This was an interesting way to bring in ideas about extinct animals into learning the alphabet. I would say the only issue is, if someone was learning about the alphabet this book was a little wordy and hard to read for them to understand. A fun book non the less!
February 7, 2019
I came across Jerry Pallotta many years ago while doing a study on the alphabet and immediately came to enjoy his works. This one is good but not his best. The entries are quite weird and most of them strange since they no longer exist.
Millions of creatures other than dinosaurs are now extinct. In true alphabet book tradition, the author has found 26 of the most extraordinary past-inhabitants of the Earth. (Book jacket)
There are also many entries that show that man was the cause of the extension which includes the Las Vegas Frog and Xerces Blue Butterfly from San Francisco.
The illustrations are all by the same illustrator but seem to vary in quality. My favorites being the Saber-tooth on the title page (but does not appear in the text), the Giant White Shark tooth, and the O-O bird from Hawaii.
Millions of creatures other than dinosaurs are now extinct. In true alphabet book tradition, the author has found 26 of the most extraordinary past-inhabitants of the Earth. (Book jacket)
There are also many entries that show that man was the cause of the extension which includes the Las Vegas Frog and Xerces Blue Butterfly from San Francisco.
The illustrations are all by the same illustrator but seem to vary in quality. My favorites being the Saber-tooth on the title page (but does not appear in the text), the Giant White Shark tooth, and the O-O bird from Hawaii.
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October 18, 2022While there are 26 letters in the alphabet the author found 26 extinct animals and matched them by the first letter in their names. The book starts with an Akioloa. This bird was native to Hawaii they became extinct after they caught a bird disease. The book then goes through what the word extinct means. B is for blue buck they went extinct because people killed them for dog food. The book continues to go through he ABCs. which animal correlates to the letters, and how they went extinct.
September 15, 2023
Informational
3rd-6th grade
I didn't care for this book. It accepts evolution and millions of years as fact, which I disagree with. It has the format of an alphabet book, but it is clearly aimed at older children who already know the alphabet. There are some interesting creatures described and the pictures are pretty good, but I can't get over the idea of evolution being treated as fact. The book itself would appeal to kids who like dinosaurs and animals though.
3rd-6th grade
I didn't care for this book. It accepts evolution and millions of years as fact, which I disagree with. It has the format of an alphabet book, but it is clearly aimed at older children who already know the alphabet. There are some interesting creatures described and the pictures are pretty good, but I can't get over the idea of evolution being treated as fact. The book itself would appeal to kids who like dinosaurs and animals though.
November 20, 2020
The art was fine, but I hated the text! Potential educational moments were turned into unfunny jokes. Some of the creatures mentioned aren't even extinct, but endangered. And on the "U" page, there was a spill of paint, despite three u-named creatures being listed.
November 14, 2017
Had a lot of information that I didn't know even as an adult and threw hella shade at humans for killing so many species. I loved it
November 14, 2017
Illustrations: painted with brushes using oil paints on printed mass and stretched canvas
January 7, 2019
Humorous, simple nonfiction book that taught me a lot about extinct species on Earth.
June 9, 2019
This book covers the alphabet from A to Z using each letter to describe an animal that is extinct from the planet. Informative and entertaining.
October 12, 2019
awesome illustrations, but boring book. Obviously, matching extinct animals with each letter of the alphabet. Nothing special really.
focus: climate change, extinction.
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October 18, 2022Millions of creatures other than dinosaurs are now extinct. In true alphabet book tradition, the author has found 26 of the most extraordinary past inhabitants of the Earth.
Read
October 18, 2022Millions of creatures other than dinosaurs are now extinct. In true alphabet book tradition, the author has found twenty-six of the most extraordinary past inhabitants of the Earth.
January 2, 2024
One of my favorites when I was a kid. Going back reading it I still liked it. Idk why half of these reviews are like paragraph long essays. It’s a children’s book. But pop off I guess.
January 22, 2013
I loved this book when I first read it years ago, just found it today and I STILL love it.
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December 5, 2017llustrations: painted with brushes using oil paints on printed mass and stretched canvas
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September 14, 2018Eh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews