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Q&A with Jerry Pallotta, Author of A Giraffe Did One


Q. Where did you get the idea for this book?

A. Fifteen years ago I got the idea from my daughter Sheila--then age two--who asked me once, "Do giraffes poop?" After a while I forgot about the manuscript. I found it again two summers ago while cleaning my office and I submitted it to Sleeping Bear P... More

Q&A with Jerry Pallotta, Author of A Giraffe Did One


Q. Where did you get the idea for this book?

A. Fifteen years ago I got the idea from my daughter Sheila--then age two--who asked me once, "Do giraffes poop?" After a while I forgot about the manuscript. I found it again two summers ago while cleaning my office and I submitted it to Sleeping Bear Press. Here's an insider's secret: page 32 originally said, " ... and then my mom told me to 'come and eat your beans.'"

Q. How did you pick the animals to write about?

A. I tried to be diverse and have animals from all over the animal kingdom. Naturally, I started with an ant and ended with a whale.

Q. Which animal is your favorite?

A. Favorite? I love the flower and the tree; they can't "do one."

Q. What is your favorite book of all time?

A. My favorite children's book of all time that someone else wrote is Starry Messenger by Peter Sis. Favorite of my own books? Skull Alphabet, Dory Story, Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight, Hershey Bar Fractions--any one of those. Airplane Alphabet is as good a book as I could ever write.

Q. What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?

A. Roland Smith told me, "I don't write books, I finish them." It is incredible, simple, meaningful advice. Also an editor once said, "Don't use clich�s."

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