Illustrator Spree - Patricia Polacco

Birthday: July 11, 1944
Lives: in Michigan, I'm guessing.  She was born in Lansing.
          I have been a huge fan of Ms. Polacco for many years.  She's been writing - and illustrating - children's books for over 25 years and has written dozens and dozens of them.  Her stories are in-depth and fascinating, many based on true events from her own life. They are delightful and complete short stories, which I like to use to introduce my short story unit to my fourth graders as well as when I'm teaching both my memoir and historical fiction genre units.

Born and raised in Michigan, Patricia Polacco had a serious learning disability that prohibited her from learning to read until she was 14.  Hah!  Look at her now!  Bravo!

Her website includes all sorts of stuff for teachers and kids as well as an address and instructions about sending books for her to sign!  What a wonderful woman.

I've read a lot more than I've actually written a review for, so I think one of my goals for 2014 is to reread/read as many as I can find and add them to my blog.  That's a goal I'm really looking forward to!

Wow!  And every single one of them is AMAZING!!! I've read almost all of them, but I haven't reviewed too many.  So here I go!

Applemando's Dreams (1991)
Art of Miss Chew, The (2012)
Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair (1996)
Babushka Baba Yaga (1993)
Babushka's Doll (1990)
Babushka's Mother Goose (1995)
Bee Tree, The (1993)
Betty Doll (2001)
Blessing Cup, The (2013)
Boat Ride With Lillian Two Blossom (1989)
Bully (2012)
Bun Bun Button (2011)
Butterfly, The (2000)
Chicken Sunday (1992)
Christmas Tapestry (2002)

Clara and Davie (2014)  It's always fun to curl up with a new Patricia Polacco.  This one is a biography!  It's an insightful look at Clara Barton as a child, based on first hand knowledge from Polacco as she is related to the Bartons and is retelling a story that she knows. 


Emma Kate (2006)

Fiona's Lace (2014)  Polacco chronicles another family story - that of her great-great (I think) grandmother, who came as a child from Ireland knowing how to make beautiful lace.  It's an immigration story as well as the story of a family's love and perseverance in really tough times.



For the Love of Autumn (2008)
G is for Goat (2003)

Gifts of the Heart (2013)    A new Patricia Polacco!  As Christmas approaches, Trisha and Richie discover they have no money to purchase gifts for their family.  Enter Kay Lamaty, the new housekeeper, who teaches them that making your own gifts - and the amount of love that goea into it - makes Christmas even more special.A s much as I liked this, the story didn't "enchant" me as hers usually do.  That's not to say I didn't like it, but it didn't grab me and yell "hurrah".

Ginger and Petunia (2007)
Graves Family, The (2003)
Graves Family Goes Camping, The (2005)
I Can Hear the Sun (1996)
In Enzo's Splendid Gardens (1997)

In Our Mothers' House (2009) Told in the first person by the eldest of three adopted children, we watch her (she happens to be African American), Will (Asian American) and Millie (red-haired and freckled) grow up being raised by two mothers - Meema, a short, stout, pediatrician who loves to cook and sew and Marmee, a tall, thin organized fixer-upper who is a paramedic. Through 48 pages we watch the family grow, thrive, have fun, and love each other. It handles a neighbor-woman, unhappy with their relationship, lightly and well (because, unfortunately, the world has to deal with bigots and homophobes). This is a totally delightful story of a wonderful family and two mothers that will...and DO....do anything for their children. 

Junkyard Wonders, The (2010)  Patricia Polacco does it again - and of all her books - I do love 'em all - this is at the very top of my list. Why? It's about a very special teacher, which I think (as a teacher) is very cool. It's about a group of kids who are who they are -- they've had no choice in the matter. Whether they've got diabetes, tourettes, visual and/or physical handicaps, learning difficulties, they are all put into the same class. And they bond. They shine. They care about each other. And they're smart and special.
          This story is about how five kids - our author; Patricia Polacco, Thom, Gibbie, Jody, and Ravanna, prove the genius definition. It applies to all of them.  At the end - as an afterward - PP tells what became of her "tribe."  Simply wonderful storytelling.

January's Sparrow (2009) This story begins and ends in the voice of January, a black runaway slave that was captured, tortured, and put to death for his actions. Two days later, his adopted family, the Crosswhites, decided to run when they discovered their sons were to be sold away from them. The youngest was a girl named Sadie, and most of the story is told from her point-of-view. It's not an easy story. It tells of violence and hatred and ridiculous laws. It also tells of compassion and caring that travels well beyond the usual bonds of friendship.
          The Crosswhite family makes it safely to Marshall, Michigan, which is free. However, they are still runaway slaves and can be arrested and returned to their owners if they are caught. Marshall is a friendly town of blacks and whites living together, so they decide to stay and rest for awhile. Seasons come and go until they'v been there for four years, and a new baby girl has been born to the family. But then....yup....they are found by their viscious owner.

John Philip Duck (2004)
Just In Time, Abraham Lincoln (2011)
Just Plain Fancy (1990)
Keeping Quilt, The (1988)
Lemonade Club, The (2007)
Luba and the Wren (1999)
Meteor! (1987)

Mommies Say Shhh!! (2005)
I read the board book of 17 pgs, wonder if there's a 32-page companion?  This is a book about a farm and farm animals and the things that farm animals say.  Hardly any words (which is not the "usual" Patricia Polacco, but full of her illustrated masterpieces!





Mr. Lincoln's Way (2001)

Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece (2014)
      I wonder if Patricia Polacco has journals she kept from her childhood and young adult years?  Her memories seem so strong!  However, even with a flickering memory, a clever writer can embellish the remembered details and craft a story...and Polacco is the master of this.  So many of her wonderful picture books are based on her own memories, and here's another.  
     I love the idea that PEOPLE can be masterpieces, which is the premise of this story - taking a very shy girl and teaching her how to come out of herself on stage, and ultimately speaking in front of a very large crowd.
     This is a great model for teaching writing to kids, AND for kids with stage fright.

Mrs. Katz and Tush (1992)
Mrs. Mack (1998)
My Ol' Man (1995)
My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother (1994)
Oh, Look! (2004)

Orange for Frankie, An (2004) What a moving Christmas story!  I was actually a little teary at the end.  Based on a true story, as many of Ms. Polacco's are, this one was told by her grandmother and based on her grandmother's youngest brother.  It is a story from a hundred years ago, still being kept alive and honored by her entire family.  It is full of pictures of America's past. A large, hard-working family enjoys a simpler Christmas than we're used to, one steeped in traditions and hard work.  A completely lovely "short story," illuminated by Patricia Polacco's incredible art.  Loved it.

Picnic at Mudsock Meadow (1992)
Pink and Say (1994)
Rechenka's Eggs (1988)
Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare (2006)
Some Birthday! (1991)

Someone for Mr. Sussman (2008)  A young man tells the story of his Bubbie, who is a matchmaker in New York City. One of her clients is Mr. Sussman. But Mr. Sussman has no idea what he wants in a wife. He comes up with idea after idea, and after each one Bubbie complies - herself. But nothing makes him happy - perhaps because Bubbie goes so overboard. At the end, of course, Mrs. S. realizes his perfect wife was right there under his nose the whole time - Bubbie

Something About Hensley's (2006)
Thank You, Mr. Falker (1998)

Thunder Cake (1990) Another wonderful memory from Polacco - this time when an approaching storm at her grandmother's farm in Michigan terrorizes her, her Babushka shows her how to make a thunder cake, all the while assuring her and calming her through her fears.

Tivkah Means Hope (1994)

Trees of the Dancing Goats, The (1996)
Another memoir, told about "Trisha's" growing up on a farm in Michigan, when one winter all their neighbors, all Christian, came down with scarlet fever.at Christmastime.  Since they were unable to chop down and decorate trees, and even unable to cook for themselves, Grampa and Babushka cut down trees and decorated them with the handmade painted animals that Grampa had made for Hanukkah and delivered baskets of food containing chicken and latkas.  On the eighth night of Hanukkah, when the neighbors were finally back on their feet, they arrived with thanks and a hand-carved menorah, decorated with some of Grampa's carved animals.

Tucky Jo and Little Heart (2015)
     Based on a true story, we follow a 16 year old Kentucky boy go off to the Pacific during World War II.  While there he meets and takes care of a small native girls with whom he creates a strong attachment and remembers for all the rest of his life.

Uncle Vova's Tree (1989)
Welcome Comfort (1999)

When Lightning Comes in a Jar (2002)
     A young Patricia Polacco recalls their annual family reunion that includes jello salads and meatloaves, baseball games and croquet matches, photo albums and picture taking, stories told by the elders, catching fireflies, and spending special time with cousins, aunts, and uncles.  Then we see how those same family traditions continue as an older Patricia Polacco becomes one of the elder storytellers.  Lovely story: as usual with tots of text.

Patricia Polacco's Fantabulous Website

Patricia Polacco Curriculum Guide

Patricia Polacco on FaceBook