Patricia Polacco
Patricia Barber Polacco (b. July 11, 1944, Lansing, Michigan) is the author and illustrator of numerous picture books for children.
She struggled in school because she was unable to read until age 14 due to dyslexia; she found relief by expressing herself through art. Polacco endured teasing and hid her disability until a schoolteacher recognized that she could not read and began to help her. Her book Thank You, Mr. Falker is Polacco's retelling of this encounter and its outcome.
Early years
Her family is of Russian, Georgian and Ukrainian descent on one side and Irish on the other.[1][2] The early years of Polacco's childhood were spent at her grandmother's farm in Union City, Michigan, the setting for many of her published stories. She now resides on another farm in Union City, originally called The Plantation.[3] Although Polacco's grandmother died in 1949, when Polacco was only 5, "Babushka," or grandmother in Russian, nevertheless appears in several of Polacco's books.[4]
After her grandmother's death, the family moved to Coral Gables, Florida, and then three years later to Oakland, California. Polacco's parents had divorced when she was three, and she and her brother therefore spent their early life living in two places: school years with their mother in the bustling environment of Oakland, California, and summers with their father and his parents on a farm in Michigan. Polacco was discouraged in school and did not learn to read until she was nearly fourteen. In junior high school, one of her teachers finally discovered that dyslexia was the reason for her not demonstrating confidence. In high school, she became friends with Frank Oz. Polacco wrote "When Lightning Comes in a Jar" as a tribute to her babushka, and to her Detroit Tiger cousin Billy. Patricia Polacco attended a University, majoring in Fine Art. She received her graduate degree and eventually received a Ph.D. in Art History. Patricia Polacco did not start writing and illustrating her first children's book until she was 41 years old.[4]
Today
Following the 40-year absence from the home of her youth, Polacco returned to Union City.
Books
- Boat Ride with Lillian Two Blossom (1988) ISBN 0-399-21470-4
- The Keeping Quilt (1988) ISBN 0-689-82090-9
- Meteor! (1987) ISBN 0-399-21699-5
- Uncle Vova's Tree (1989) ISBN 0-399-21617-0
- Babushka's Doll (1990) ISBN 0-671-68343-8
- Just Plain Fancy (1990) ISBN 0-553-05884-3
- Thunder Cake (1990) ISBN 0-399-22231-6
- Appelemando's Dreams (1991) ISBN 0-399-21800-9
- Dream Keeper (1991) ISBN 0-399-22947-7
- Some Birthday! (1991) ISBN 0-671-72750-8
- Chicken Sunday (1992) ISBN 0-399-22133-6
- Mrs. Katz and Tush (1992) ISBN 0-440-40936-5
- Picnic at Mudsock Meadow (1992) ISBN 0-399-21811-4
- Babushka Baba Yaga (1993) ISBN 0-399-22531-5
- The Bee Tree (1993) ISBN 0-399-21965-X
- Firetalking (1994) ISBN 1-878450-55-7
- My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother (1994) ISBN 0-671-72751-6
- Pink and Say (1994) ISBN 0-399-22671-0
- Tikva Means Hope (1994) ISBN 0-385-32059-0
- Babushka's Mother Goose (1995) ISBN 0-399-22747-4
- My Ol' Man (1995) ISBN 0-399-22822-5
- Aunt Chip And The Great Triple Creek Dam Affair (1996) ISBN 0-399-22943-4
- I Can Hear The Sun: A Modern Myth (1996) ISBN 0-399-22520-X
- Rechenka's Eggs (1996) ISBN 0-698-11385-3
- The Trees of the Dancing Goats (1996) ISBN 0-689-80862-3
- Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888 (1997) ISBN 0-698-11557-0; Author: Ernest Lawrence Thayer, Illustrator: Patricia dadadadas
- In Enzo's Splendid Gardens (1997) ISBN 0-399-23107-2
- Mrs. Mack (1998) ISBN 0-399-23167-6
- Thank You, Mr. Falker (1998) ISBN 0-399-23166-8
- Luba And The Wren (1999) ISBN 0-399-23168-4
- Welcome Comfort (1999) ISBN 0-399-23169-2
- The Butterfly (2000) ISBN 0-399-23170-6
- Betty Doll (2001) ISBN 0-399-23638-4
- Gracias, Sr. Falker (2001) ISBN 1-930332-03-3, with Teresa Mlawer
- Mr. Lincoln's Way (2001) ISBN 0-399-23754-2
- Christmas Tapestry (2002) ISBN 0-399-23955-3
- When Lightning Comes In A Jar (2002) ISBN 0-399-23164-1
- G is for Goat (2003) ISBN 0-399-24018-7
- The Graves Family (2003) ISBN 0-399-24034-9
- John Philip Duck (2004) ISBN 0-399-24262-7
- Oh, Look! (2004) ISBN 0-399-24223-6
- An Orange for Frankie (2004) ISBN 0-399-24302-X
- Emma Kate (2005) ISBN 0-399-24452-2
- The Graves Family Goes Camping (2005) ISBN 0-399-24369-0
- Mommies Say Shhh (2005) ISBN 0-399-24341-0
- Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare (2006) ISBN 0-399-24531-6
- Something About Hensley's (200x) ISBN pending
Other media
- Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair. Video, Color, 23 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1996)
- Babushka's Doll. Audio Cassette (New York: Scholastic, 1995)
- The Butterfly. Audio Cassette (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1996)
- The Butterfly. Video, Color, 30 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1996)
- Chicken Sunday. Audio Cassette (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1992)
- Chicken Sunday. Video, Color, 14 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1992)
- The Keeping Quilt. Video, Color, 13 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1993)
- Meteor! Audio Cassette (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1999)
- Meteor! Video, Color, 13 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1999)
- Mrs. Katz and Tush. Video, Color, 29 minutes (Lincoln, NB: Great Plains National, 1993)
- Patricia Polacco: Dream Keeper. Video, Color, 23 Minutes (New York: Philomel, 1996)
- Parents, Kids & Books: The Joys of Reading Together. Video, Color, 30 Minutes (Dallas, TX: Kera Productions, 1993)
- Pink and Say. Audio Cassette (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1996)
- Pink and Say. Video, Color, 28 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1996)
- Rechenka’s Eggs. Audio Cassette (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1991)
- Rechenka’s Eggs. Video, Color, 11 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1991)
- Thank You, Mr. Falker. Audio Cassette (St. Petersburg, FL: Spoken Arts, 1999)
- Thank You, Mr. Falker. Video, Color, 23 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1999)
- Thunder Cake. Video, Color, 13 minutes (New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1990)
- The Lemonaid club. book, 2007
Literary Awards
- 1988 Sydney Taylor Book Award for The Keeping Quilt
- 1989 International Reading Association Award for Rechenka’s Eggs
- March 10, 1990 Santa Clara Reading Council
- Author’s Hall of Fame
- Commonwealth Club of California Recognition of Excellence for
- 1990 Babushka’s Doll
- 1992 Chicken Sunday (Nov. 14th 1992 declared Chicken Sunday)
- 1992 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
- Golden Kite Award for Illustration for Chicken Sunday
- 1992 Boston Area Educators for Social Responsibility
- Children’s Literature and Social Responsibility Award
- Nov. 9th 1993 Jane Adams Peace Assoc. and Women’s Intl. League for Peace and Freedom Awards
- Honor Award for Mrs. Katz and Tush for its effective contribution to peace and social justice.
- Parent’s Choice Honors
- 1991 Some Birthday
- 1997 Video/Dream Keeper
- 1998 Thank You, Mr. Falker
- 1996 North Dakota Library Association Children’s Book Award for My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother
- 1996 Jo Osborne Award for Humor in Children’s Literature
- 1997 Missouri Association of School Librarians
- Show Me Readers Award for My Rotten Red Headed Older Brother
- 1997 West Virginia Children’s Book Award for Pink and Say
- 1998 Mid-South Independent Booksellers for Children Humpty Dumpty Award
Articles written about Polacco
- Vandergrift, Kay E. "Peacocks, Dreams, Quilts, and Honey: Patricia Polacco, A Woman's Voice of Remembrance," In Ways of Knowing: Literature and the Intellectual Life of Children. Ed. By Kay E. Vandergrift. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1996, pp. 259–288.
- Vandergrift, Kay E. "Patricia Polacco," in Twentieth-Century Children's Writers. ed. by Laura Berger. 4th ed. Detroit: St. James, 1995. 759–760.
- Author Profile & Book Reviews
- Interview in Time for Kids
References
| Persondata |
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Polacco, Patricia |
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| Date of birth |
July 11, 1944 |
| Place of birth |
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| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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