patricia polacco

Author studies are part of my Reading and Language Arts class, and something I'd like to do with my students some day. A few weeks ago we discussed and read through the prolific author, Patricia Polacco. She was especially intriguing because she is local to Oakland and spent a lot of time near my neighborhood.

Polacco's books are particularly striking in their illustrations (done by her) and her "real deal"-style of writing. She writes about her Babushka, fear, shame, family, adventure, isolation, bravery...list goes on. She doesn't write down to kids and doesn't shy away from topics that I think some people believe are too heavy for kids (e.g. death, homelessness).

Here are two that I fancied (I haven't had a chance to read them all yet!):

Thank You, Mr. Faulker - about her struggle with dyslexia (almost cried at the end)





I Can Hear the Sun: A Modern Myth - about an orphan who befriends the caretaker of the Lake Merritt geese, two homeless people, and of course the geese. I love Lake Merritt!