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Ultimate Dinosaur Rumble
Sixteen different dinosaurs battle it out in an epic prehistoric fight! Who will be the champion?
This nonfiction reader compares and contrasts 16 ferocious dinosaurs. Readers will learn about each animal's anatomy, behavior, and more. Then compare and contrast the battling animals before finally discovering the winner! This nonfiction series is full of facts, photos, and realistic illustrations, and it includes a range of mammals, sea creatures, insects, and dinosaurs to satisfy all kinds of animal fans.
This nonfiction reader compares and contrasts 16 ferocious dinosaurs. Readers will learn about each animal's anatomy, behavior, and more. Then compare and contrast the battling animals before finally discovering the winner! This nonfiction series is full of facts, photos, and realistic illustrations, and it includes a range of mammals, sea creatures, insects, and dinosaurs to satisfy all kinds of animal fans.
32 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2020
4 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Pallotta
238 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
July 25, 2025
Dinos: cool. Dinos fighting? Cooler! 🦖🦕
These were the most reasonable takes on which dinosaur would win in each battle scenario. Many of these dinosaurs seemed very obscure, and I’m a dino fan. They also have the Jurassic park, gaunt ozempic dino look, which is fine but I would’ve appreciated a chonky boi. 🤩
These were the most reasonable takes on which dinosaur would win in each battle scenario. Many of these dinosaurs seemed very obscure, and I’m a dino fan. They also have the Jurassic park, gaunt ozempic dino look, which is fine but I would’ve appreciated a chonky boi. 🤩
Read
July 24, 2023Read for the youth book club at work.
Read
October 24, 2025Here there are 16 dinosaurs matched up in rounds to see who was the most ferocious dinosaur.
The thing is some of these dinosaurs would have never fought in real life because they did not live in the same time and place. While some scenarios indeed seem to be the most likely outcome of an unlikely match-up, many of these match ups reflect the author's opinion on the subject.
This book is otherwise peppered with facts that dino lovers may find interesting.
The thing is some of these dinosaurs would have never fought in real life because they did not live in the same time and place. While some scenarios indeed seem to be the most likely outcome of an unlikely match-up, many of these match ups reflect the author's opinion on the subject.
This book is otherwise peppered with facts that dino lovers may find interesting.
April 19, 2021
Do you like dinosaurs? Do you like who would win books? Do you like fights? then I have the perfect book for you. ultimate Dinosaur rumble! It is about 16 dinosaurs competeing in a tornament to see who is the roughest and toughest! who will win? I give this five stars. By Kipp, age 7
July 23, 2022
I adored dinosaurs while growing up but exciting books about them were few and far between. I wish they had the Who Would Win? Series back then. I would have been learning a lot more while having fun.
This picture book had awesome illustrations and the battle wounds for the losing dinosaurs in the matches were tastefully done. It shows where the winner bites to defeat its opponent but there’s nothing gory or worrisome for parents. Some kids might find it really cool. It’s not always the teeth that gives consistent advantage, there were some surprises.
The picture book has the names of the contestants, has fun facts about the meaning of a particular dinosaur’s name, and lists the attributes of each dinosaur that nature gave them to defend themselves. A reader will start with 16 dinosaurs, but there will only be 1 winner. Who will it be?
Now, for parents who might read this book with their kids, which would be a good idea if only to help them out with pronunciations, I would like to share that there is one battle that caught me by surprise. I blurted out a very loud, HA! As in, laugh out loud funny. If you were a fan of the early years of Saturday Night Live, this scene might bring back memories. I showed that dinosaur battle with my not-so-young-anymore son who had never seen SNL and even he thought it was hilarious and in turn said, “You gotta show dad!”.
All in all, this was a delightful read that was brought to life with wonderful illustrations by Mr. Bolster, coupled with facts, like one dinosaur has feet like a chicken, and great battle descriptions by Mr. Pallotta. The most interesting thing for me was that the winner wasn’t the dinosaur I expected.
Even though the range for this book is ages 6-9, and this book is labeled as non-fiction, I think the battles portrayed are wonderful and pure, storytelling at its finest. It uses fiction to make the non-fiction interesting, engaging and entertaining. Could those battles have actually taken place, and used the fighting techniques described therein? Quite probably, but we’ll never really know, will we.
I think this is a wonderful book and I do believe both parents and kids will enjoy watching (reading) The Ultimate Dinosaur Rumble.
This picture book had awesome illustrations and the battle wounds for the losing dinosaurs in the matches were tastefully done. It shows where the winner bites to defeat its opponent but there’s nothing gory or worrisome for parents. Some kids might find it really cool. It’s not always the teeth that gives consistent advantage, there were some surprises.
The picture book has the names of the contestants, has fun facts about the meaning of a particular dinosaur’s name, and lists the attributes of each dinosaur that nature gave them to defend themselves. A reader will start with 16 dinosaurs, but there will only be 1 winner. Who will it be?
Now, for parents who might read this book with their kids, which would be a good idea if only to help them out with pronunciations, I would like to share that there is one battle that caught me by surprise. I blurted out a very loud, HA! As in, laugh out loud funny. If you were a fan of the early years of Saturday Night Live, this scene might bring back memories. I showed that dinosaur battle with my not-so-young-anymore son who had never seen SNL and even he thought it was hilarious and in turn said, “You gotta show dad!”.
All in all, this was a delightful read that was brought to life with wonderful illustrations by Mr. Bolster, coupled with facts, like one dinosaur has feet like a chicken, and great battle descriptions by Mr. Pallotta. The most interesting thing for me was that the winner wasn’t the dinosaur I expected.
Even though the range for this book is ages 6-9, and this book is labeled as non-fiction, I think the battles portrayed are wonderful and pure, storytelling at its finest. It uses fiction to make the non-fiction interesting, engaging and entertaining. Could those battles have actually taken place, and used the fighting techniques described therein? Quite probably, but we’ll never really know, will we.
I think this is a wonderful book and I do believe both parents and kids will enjoy watching (reading) The Ultimate Dinosaur Rumble.
December 11, 2020
This is one I enjoyed less than the others in the series. The book is great, it is just that I couldn't keep the dinosaurs straight. I had to use more of the picture clues to find the winner. Which only worked about half the time. I ended up only knowing three dino names. I really need my FRIEND Ross to act out the scenes for me.
A bonus side note, Utah is mentioned a few times.
A bonus side note, Utah is mentioned a few times.
October 11, 2021
A nice little book, good for younger kids that gives sixteen species of dinosaur and pits them against each other in "sweet sixteen" style bracket matchup. The end result It's a nice little book with good illustrations. Nothing outstanding, no real meat, but great for beginning readers.
May 24, 2021
I checked out a ton of these to read with my nephew, but now I am just reading them by myself. They take about 5 minutes to read, if that, so there's no reason to return them unread.
I love dinosaurs, so I liked this one a lot. Not sure I agree with the overall dinosaur winner, though....
I love dinosaurs, so I liked this one a lot. Not sure I agree with the overall dinosaur winner, though....
August 6, 2023
Formatted like a bracketed sports tournament, sixteen dinosaurs fight until there's one final winner. The format is one page setting up the fight and then one page illustrating the fight. The art isn't to graphic, but the text talks about blood, dismemberment and death.
November 11, 2020
Loved it! Great way for young kids (elementary) to learn about dinosaurs & a great book for those kids who love dinosaurs! Love this series & this author!
January 15, 2021
IT WAS REALLY GOOD!!
but i didin't like that the t.rex losses
but i didin't like that the t.rex losses
July 9, 2021
intruiging
November 20, 2022
Fun book with Dinosaur vs. Dinosaur on every page. The evolution in this book is disturbing to me; a Christian. God bless everyone!
January 30, 2025
SMART 2025
December 21, 2025
Fun way to learn some dinosaur facts
May 30, 2021
Spinosaurus wins!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 28, 2019
Super fun. My 7yo chose this one as part of her Scholastic order at school. It is about an imaginary dinosaur battle tournament. We had a lot of fun speculating who would win and giving our arguments.
We got inspired and made up our own dog tournament, which included one celebrity guest, Benji, and dogs from our extended family, friends and neighborhood. The rules included no biting or scratching, though. It was more about roughing. Our puppy, Azul, won.
We got inspired and made up our own dog tournament, which included one celebrity guest, Benji, and dogs from our extended family, friends and neighborhood. The rules included no biting or scratching, though. It was more about roughing. Our puppy, Azul, won.
August 31, 2021
Am I the only one that makes up how to say dinosaur names because I find them difficult to say?? Not the books fault. And rating isn't based on my struggle to read dinosaur names just not my favorite of the series.
November 12, 2019
This book is the ultimate who would win. A perennial favorite in our house—the boys love and read it again and again.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews