1. A Few Major Works-
The Keeping Quilt- 1988
Just Plain Fancy- 1990
Some Birthday!- 1991
Chicken Sunday- 1992
Pink and Say- 1994
Firetalking- 1994
Thank You, Mr. Falker- 1998
Mr. Lincoln’s Way- 2001
An Orange for Frankie- 2004
Mommies Say Shhh- 2005
Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare- 2006
The Junkyard Wonders- 2010
The Blessing Cup- 2013
Thank You, Mr. Falker is a story about a young girl named “Trisha” who is so excited to learn to read because it is so cherished in her household, but once she begins school, she is unable to read and gets very discouraged. Her grandpa instilled in her at a young age that knowledge is sweet like honey, and her grandma kept insisting that being a little different was okay. Her grandparents then passed away and Trisha, her brother, and mother moved to California. However, things only got worse at her new school. Kids called her “dummy” and Trisha began to really hate school. In fifth grade, though, Trisha was placed Mr. Falker’s class. He was a new teacher and he took an interest in Trisha’s artwork, and stood up for Trisha against bullies. He believed that Trisha could read, and after discovering her dyslexia, he promised to teach her to read. And that he did! She went on to become a children’s book author and illustrator!
Patricia Polacco was born in Michigan on July 11th, Until age 5, she lived in Union City, Michigan with her mother, brother, and grandmother. She moved and then lived most of her life in Oakland, California. Her background is Russian, Ukrainian, and Irish, and those cultures are very precious to her, and a lot of inspiration comes from those cultures. Patricia always had a love of art and she earned a Bachelors, Masters, and a Ph.D. in Art and Art History and studied abroad in Australia, England, France and Russia. Although she has never won any major awards, she has written and illustrated over 115 children’s books- all of which she didn’t start writing/illustrating until age 41! An interesting fact about Patricia is that she is dyslexic. This was not known until age 14- she was unable to read until this point. She is the mother of two grown children, Steven and Traci, both of which live in California. Patricia moved back to the farm she grew up on In Union City and lives there currently.