Patricia Polacco

Patricia Polacco
Born (1944-07-11) July 11, 1944
Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation Author, illustrator
Nationality American

Patricia Barber Polacco (born July 11, 1944, Lansing, Michigan) is an American author and illustrator.

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 school teacher 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. She also wrote such books as Mr. Lincoln's Way and The Lemonade Club.

Early years

She is of Russian and Ukrainian-Jewish descent on her mother's side and of Irish on her father's side.[1][2]

She was born in 1944, the daughter of a teacher and a salesman turned talk show host. Her parents divorced when she was three years old. She, her mother, and her brother went to live at her paternal grandmother's farm in Union City MI, the setting of many of her stories. After her grandmother's death, the family moved to Coral Gables, Florida, and then three years later to Oakland, California. She and her brother spent their early life living in two places: school years with their mother in Oakland, California, and summers with their father and his parents 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 lack of confidence.[3] Although her grandmother died in 1949, when Polacco was only five years old, she appears in several of Polacco's books.[4]

At Oakland Technical High School,[5] Polacco became friends with Frank Oz. She wrote When Lightning Comes in a Jar as a tribute to her grandmother (referred to as "Babushka" in her books), and a cousin.She did not start writing and illustrating her first children's book until she was 41 years old. She resides in her native Union City, Michigan, although not on her family home, but on a different property which she purchased, which was originally known as "The Plantation".[4]

Marriages

Polacco has married twice. She had two children, Traci and Steven, with her first husband. The marriage ended in a divorce. Her second husband, Enzo Mario Polacco (m. August 18, 1979), is a chef and cooking instructor.[6]

Books

Other media

Literary Awards

1990 Babushka’s Doll
1992 Chicken Sunday (Nov. 14th 1992 declared Chicken Sunday)
1991 Some Birthday
1997 Video/Dream Keeper
1998 Thank You, Mr. Falker

Articles written about Polacco

References

  1. ↑ Patricia Polacco profile, wsra.org; accessed July 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ The Trees of the Dancing Goats, childrenslit.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
  3. ↑ The Polacco Farm Archived March 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.. patriciapolacco.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Who Am I?, patriciapolacco.com; accessed July 7, 2015.
  5. ↑ "School Historical Archive". Patricia Barber Polacco ’62. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Profile, librarypoint.org; accessed July 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ 2014 Sydney Taylor Book Awards Announced by AJL, January 21, 2014
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