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Jerry Pallotta's Alphabet Books
The Construction Alphabet Book
For fans of all things that go this noisy alphabet book explores construction equipment from A to Z. Find out about these construction machines and more, from a huge saw that cuts through roads to a massive vacuum that sucks up boulders. You'll even learn a quick and easy recipe for concrete. Rock crushers, jackhammers, and wrecking balls will delight the youngest of readers learning their ABCs.
Jerry Pallotta's trademark humor punctuates the informative text. Vibrant oil paintings bring to life a busy construction site.
Jerry Pallotta's trademark humor punctuates the informative text. Vibrant oil paintings bring to life a busy construction site.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2006
16 people are currently reading
163 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 - 30 of 49 reviews
September 17, 2019
Children and adults alike will find this alphabet book quite informative!
February 22, 2017
wow! my nephew is going to love this book! I did not realize that there were that many trucks. this is informative with real pictures. I would gift this to any kid who loves trucks or the kids of anyone who works in construction. it does not dumb down information, but it has fun with the truck noises.
Want to read
August 29, 2025When you’re teaching kindergarten and the construction happening outside your classroom window is all you can see, you take advantage of it!
November 25, 2023
unique but sloooow
January 22, 2021
I would like more diversity of people please. Otherwise, I love that Palotta used the extra pages (26 letters for a 32 page book) to start another round. But after "C" we're on our own! (This time I'd use a Flagger for F....)
I never knew about knuckleboom loaders before. So that's how to get big things inside a framed structure....
I never knew about knuckleboom loaders before. So that's how to get big things inside a framed structure....
July 13, 2018
This is my 1.5 year old sons FAVOURITE book. I love that I got to learn all the names of the machines so I could point them out in the public without just saying, 'look a truck!'
December 26, 2018
This is a fun book. I have learned a fair bit about construction machinery, and Mr. Wigglesworth likes it too.
December 17, 2024
Wouldn't you like to point out more than a dump truck, a backhoe, and a jack hammer? I never saw toy vactor trucks when I was a kid. (Jealous!) So I was probably predisposed to liking a book that names so many construction vehicles and explains their purpose.
I might stop bugging my coworkers with questions now. (I won't.) Thank you to my office mate who let me borrow this before it goes to the next generation.
I might stop bugging my coworkers with questions now. (I won't.) Thank you to my office mate who let me borrow this before it goes to the next generation.
March 3, 2022
LOVE this book. If you know anyone who loves big machines, check this one out! It has two stories going at once: a simple text and a more detailed paragraph, so you can tailor the read-aloud for your audience. There are so many machines, the book goes through the alphabet again at the end! (Well, some of it anyway).
November 20, 2019
Published in 2006.
This book was super cute! I love that there is a different truck for every letter of the alphabet. I didn’t even know there were that many trucks. I would use this book for alphabet practice for younger students.
This book was super cute! I love that there is a different truck for every letter of the alphabet. I didn’t even know there were that many trucks. I would use this book for alphabet practice for younger students.
January 26, 2019
Looks like it’s from the 60s based on illustrations
Vocabulary isn’t appropriate for early childhood
This is best used in a first grade classroom where abc books aren’t as dominate
Vocabulary isn’t appropriate for early childhood
This is best used in a first grade classroom where abc books aren’t as dominate
Want to read
June 22, 2019Read this book ahead of my class and it seems perfect! I can’t wait to read it to them!
March 6, 2020
Interesting information, excellent pictures.
August 17, 2020
Learn the alphabet by learning the names of construction trucks. I didn't know all the names, so this book is very instructive. I loved the images.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 4, 2021
Perfect for the toddler in your life who loves contruction vehicles... just be prepared to reread it 20 times a day.
March 8, 2022
Lots of great pictures and content to read that has a nice mix between simple and slightly more complicated concepts so works for a variety of ages. I learned some new things too.
February 28, 2023
My boys love this book! I love that the illustrations are realistic and my boys love all things with wheels.
March 20, 2023
Very informative. Perfect for someone curious about the details of trucks and construction. This next step up from truck board books will entertain both children and adults.
December 9, 2023
My son loved this book. The illustrations were great and I even learned about some machines. Fun read for any construction crazed kid. 👷♂️👷♀️
February 16, 2024
This could be a good book to keep in your classroom for students who love construction vehichles. The pictures are great and the information is good!
April 8, 2024
The Construction Alphabet book published in 2006 is an alphabet book for ages 3-7 and it was children through a construction site while following the alphabet. 5/5
May 4, 2022
According to the toddler this one is tied for top 3 truck books. Pics are the best part - the trucks look like the real deal here. A little long for me, but not long enough for my kid.
October 24, 2013
Various pieces of construction equipment are profiled for each letter of the alphabet. Plus another A, B, and C... apparently the author couldn't bear to leave out bulldozer etc. The illustrations are realism drawings and thus fairly boring to a non-construction-obsessed parent, but the text descriptions are interesting/entertaining, especially the ones that describe how the equipment sounds. A bigger variety of equipment (including X-scaffolding and Quad-axel trailers!) than is usual in such books.. vertical drillers, vactors (who knew that was what those sewer vacuums were called?), a knuckleboom loader (again, who knew). My son refuses to let me read about the pavement cutter or zipper attachment-- probably the circular saw blades, though he may have been disturbed by the author's recommendation not to use a pavement cutter to cut your toenails.
I did like the final lines: after getting to C for the second time, the author enjoins the reader/listener to write their own, in fact to write a million books.
Some of the text falls flat to a parental reader, but apparently my 4 year old likes it. Pair with B is for bulldozer : a construction ABC for a different take, with a plot, or the very silly Bang! Boom! Roar! : a busy crew of dinosaurs for even more plot but perhaps too much whimsy.
I did like the final lines: after getting to C for the second time, the author enjoins the reader/listener to write their own, in fact to write a million books.
Some of the text falls flat to a parental reader, but apparently my 4 year old likes it. Pair with B is for bulldozer : a construction ABC for a different take, with a plot, or the very silly Bang! Boom! Roar! : a busy crew of dinosaurs for even more plot but perhaps too much whimsy.
July 13, 2008
A great choice for construction site loving kids. My boys (ages 3 & 5) and I learned alot from this book including the proper name for the vactor truck, and that the word laser is an acronym...it stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation....what a mouthful!
At first I thought the book was a little too technical, but the kids really enjoy reading it and they retained the majority of the information in it. They can identify any equipment on any construction site and have corrected me on more than on occasion...
At first I thought the book was a little too technical, but the kids really enjoy reading it and they retained the majority of the information in it. They can identify any equipment on any construction site and have corrected me on more than on occasion...
June 28, 2011
My niece and nephew and I just love these Jerry Pallotta alphabet books. All of them are just so educational, entertaining, and beautifully drawn. This one was no exception. My niece didn't care so much for it (she says), but her interaction with her brother and me while reading the story tells a different tale. Her brother loved it, and so did I. Just another great Jerry Pallotta alphabet book.
May 2, 2011
I find this book charming and helpful. Never did I think I'd be so pleased to find out the difference between an excavator and a backhoe loader (the former rotates 360 degrees) or a grader and scraper (the latter can fill in holes as it goes). The illustrations are very nice. The author has a few little jokes in the text and does not just go A to Z. He starts over again and does a second A - C ending with encouragement for the reader to finish it and 'Write a zillion books!'
April 12, 2012
I grew up knowing quite a few of these machines since my Grandfather was an owner-operator of a backhoe. I did not know all of them however and was surprised by the advisory mentioned on the front-end loader page that riding in the bucket was dangerous. I've ridden in the bucket of my Grandpa's backhoe and it was a lot of fun!! If I remember correctly we just went up about ... 10 feet... and back down again. He didn't actually drive anywhere.
December 17, 2012
I didn't like how this book ended. I loved working the way through the alphabet with various construction tools, vehicles, etc. But at the end it started the alphabet over again. After the second "a" and "b" and "c" the book says it doesn't have enough pages to do the alphabet over again so the reader should finish the alphabet themselves. Personally I think they should have just stopped after the first alphabet...then I would have just been excited about all the fun construction tools.
June 29, 2013
Great pictures, I would like to hang a print like this in my son's bedroom.
Great text, explains the machines, their real names and function and for the little reader gives very descriptive sounds.
My two year old is loves machines. This was great book because it gives the real names (which I need to learn too) and the pictures are beautiful (machines don't have to have ugly, computer made pictures).
I think it will be great book for later years too, help with the letter sounds.
Great text, explains the machines, their real names and function and for the little reader gives very descriptive sounds.
My two year old is loves machines. This was great book because it gives the real names (which I need to learn too) and the pictures are beautiful (machines don't have to have ugly, computer made pictures).
I think it will be great book for later years too, help with the letter sounds.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews