That’s just one fact about the author of the “Who Would Win?” books.
Learning Objective: Learn about the author of this issue’s paired texts and the book series “Who Would Win?”
Rob Bolster
"Who Would WIn?" books Falcon vs. Hawk (left) and Blue Whale vs. Mosquito (right)
Question: Do you have a favorite “Who Would Win?” book?
Jerry Pallotta: I feel that killer whale versus great white shark is the best matchup. Kids always think the shark will win. But the killer whale always wins in three seconds because of its intelligence.
Falcon vs. Hawk is the prettiest book. Blue Whale vs. Mosquito is the most interesting.
Q: What is the coolest fact you’ve learned when writing these books?
JP: A blue whale’s tongue weighs as much as an elephant.
Rob Bolster
Q: How do you do research for these books?
JP: It can take six months to a year to research a book! I go to museums. I read a ton. I watch videos of animals on YouTube. I travel around the world. I talk to experts.
I have met the head spider lady at Harvard! I met a guy who classifies frogs. I talked to a park ranger in the Everglades. He told me that when a python fights an alligator, they fight for 24 hours. The bigger one always wins.
Rob Bolster
alligator (left) and python (right)
Q: Were you interested in animals when you were a kid?
JP: I grew up right by the ocean in Massachusetts. I loved where I grew up. There were a ton of animals right outside. If you had met me when I was 5 years old, I would have said, “Here’s a lobster—if he loses a claw, he grows his claw back.”
Q: Were you interested in animals when you were a kid?
JP: I grew up right by the ocean in Massachusetts. I loved where I grew up. There were a ton of animals right outside. If you had met me when I was 5 years old, I would have said, “Here’s a lobster—if he loses a claw, he grows his claw back.”
Q: Did you ever make a mistake when writing?
JP: Yes. I had already started my T. rex and Velociraptor book. Later I visited the fossils of the dinosaurs to research.
The T. rex is huge! The Velociraptor is pretty small. I didn’t know if it would really be a good matchup, but I had already started the book.
So I had to think about if the Velociraptor could win. I solved it by having a pack of Velociraptors fight against the T. rex.
Velociraptor (left) and T. rex (right)
Rob Bolster
Quick Facts
Courtesy of Everest
Jerry designed the “Who Would Win?” logo to look like the Everlast boxing glove logo.
Courtesy of Jerry Pallotta
Jerry plans out his books. This shows some sharks that fight in Shark Rumble.
Rob Bolster
Jerry’s latest book came out in January!
Implementation
Pairings and Text Connections
Before-Reading Resources
Suggested Reading Focus
Comprehension, nonfiction text features (30 minutes)
After-Reading Skills Practice
After-Reading Video
(5 minutes)
