Bully

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Year:   2012
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   Author Study of Polacco

Summary:  Lyla makes a friend Jamie on her first day at her new school, but soon she becomes a cheerleader with the popular girls. She gets a Junior Achievement Award and a Spirit Award and they ask her to hang out with them. They make fun of Jamie, and Lyla pretends not to like him anymore. The girls write mean things on other people's Facebook pages and Lyla starts to distance herself from them. But disaster strikes when Lyla gets accused of stealing the state tests ahead of time and people start spreading rumors about her. Then Jamie admits that he saw one of the popular girls steal the test and Lyla's name is cleared. But the popular kids still hate Lyla and the story ends with a question: "Should Jamie and I go back to school, hope for the best? Or should we go to another? What would you do?"

Classroom Ideas:This book would be a great resource for a guidance counselor or teacher to talk about bullying.

The Art of Miss Chew

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  G. P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Year:   2012
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   NYT Best, Granite Book Award

Summary:  The autobiographical account of Patricia's year in school with a teacher, Mr. Donovan, who understood her need for extra time on her tests and who got her into private art lessons with her tutor Miss Chew. The extravagant Miss Chew recognizes Patricia's use of negative space in art as applicable to her problems with reading and writing. When Mr. Donovan is called home to Ireland, and becomes a champion for her "Theresa" (her name for Tricia). She ends up supporting her in her IEP meeting and even getting one of Tricia's paintings in the art show. The story is told in the perfect voice of the 11 year old that Polacco was when it took place.

Classroom Ideas: The themes that everyone is different and needs some "accommodations" along with the power of art as its own language. The perfect book for any art teacher to cherish and share. 

The Butterfly

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2000
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards: School Library Journal & Kirkus starred reviews, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People

Summary:  Monique lives in France during the Nazi occupation when she discovers that her family has hidden a Jewish family with a young daughter named Sevrine. Although she is scared of the Nazi soldiers, she does not let on that she has discovered Sevrine's existence and the two girls become friends. Monique brings Sevrine gifts from the outside - flowers, earth, and even a butterfly. When the next door neighbor sees Sevrine, the family must run taking Monique's beloved pet with them and leaving a gold Star of David necklace in return.  One day months later, tens of butterflies visit Monique in her garden and she is sure that they are a sign from Sevrine of her family's safety.

Classroom Ideas: A beautiful addition to any class study of World War II and the Holocaust, as well as a story of bravery and friendship.

Extras: In the author's note, Polacco explains that this is a family story of her great-aunt Marcel and her aunt Monique. Sevrine and Monique continue to be friends.

Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Year:   2011
Location: Knox County Public Library- Halls

Awards:   School Library Journal starred review

Summary:  Patricia Polacco combines time travel with a fictionalized accounting of Antietam, the bloodiest one day battle of the Civil War (23,000 dead & wounded). A grandmother takes her two world-weary grandsons on a "no electronics" trip to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia to a Civil War exhibit. The two boys try on some Union uniforms and then head off through a giant wooden door. On the other side, they find themselves in the middle of Antietam right after the battle in 1862. They accompany the photographer Matthew Brady and Abraham Lincoln as they visit the encampment and battlefield where thousands of soldiers fought. They tell Lincoln to stay strong, that one day a black man will become president, and they show him a 2007 penny. They run back to their own time and their grandmother who assures them that it was an reenactment....or was it?

Classroom Ideas: An addition to a class study of the Civil War.

Extras: Author's note explaining the realities of Antietam and the areas in which Polacco fictionalized the battle, Bibliography

January's Sparrow

Author & Illustrator: Patricia Polacco  
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2009
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   SC School Book Award, Sequoyah Award, Charlotte Award,

Summary:  Eight year old Sadie "Sparrow" Crosswhite is a slave. She and her family watch in horror as a runaway slave, January, is drug into the year and whipped. Sadie is devastated as she remembers January giving her a carved sparrow when he told her that he was "fixin' to fly." After learning that the master was planning to auction of Sparrow's brother, her family flees on the Underground Railroad. They finally make it to Marshall, Michigan, where the whole town is part of the railroad. Sadie makes a new friend named Polly, but the family is still worried that the slave patrols are tracking them. One morning, Sadie's carved sparrow turns up on their doorstep and soon the master's soon and other trackers show up to drag the Crosswhite family away. The whole town rallies around them, but the white men quote the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 that the family can be taken back to their rightful owner. January even shows up to back the family but they are brought in front of a judge, Polly's father -- who jails the men for attempting kidnapping so the family has time to flee to Canada. After the war, Sadie returns to Marshall for good. With Polacco's typical marker and pen sketches, this 94 page picture book tells a true story from the town where she lives. 

Classroom Ideas: Obviously there is a lot of historical content here about the Underground Railroad and slavery. There is vocabulary from the time period as well (paddy rollers= slave patrols that captured runaways). The story is told in slave dialect and contains many instances of figurative language ("You lovin' one of the white folks is like a dog lovin' the hickory what beats it.")

Mrs. Katz and Tush

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1992
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   Jane Adams Peace Assoc. and Women's Intl. League for Peace and Freedom Honor,

Summary:  Larnel and his mother go to visit the recently widowed Mrs. Katz. The next day he brings her a kitten (Tush) and agrees to come back and help her with him. A friendship grows between the two of them, and many parallels are drawn between the Jewish people and African-Americans. Larnel shares Passover with Mrs. Katz and celebrates the birth of Tush's kittens. "at last I am a bubee" At the end, Mrs. Katz stays a member of Larnel's family and becomes bubee to his children.

Classroom Ideas: The theme of friendship between generations, races, and love between different people is so very lovely here.

The Junkyard Wonders

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   2010
Location: Personal Collection

Awards: Publisher's Weekley starred review, Volunteer State Book Award
 Summary:  In another autobiographical story, Trisha begs to stay at her dad's house in Michigan and start a new school where no one knows she was in special ed. But she gets put in a special ed class called the "junkyard" at her new school and the other kids make fun of her and her classmates. When  Miss Peterson hears that, she takes them on a junkyard field trip where they realize that the "junk" there can be used in exciting ways. Trisha and her group find a plane and the class raises money to buy a motor for it. Tragedy strikes when a member of the class passes away but the whole group comes together to launch the plane in Jody's memory. There's a wonderful update on the grown-up classmates at the conclusion of the book.

Classroom Ideas: This is a great example of personal narrative and a story with the theme of realizing that everyone has their own unique talents and nobody is "junk".

Mr. Lincoln's Way

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  2001
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Jean B. BellavanceYoung Reader's Choice, California Young Reader Medal, 

Summary: The principal Mr. Lincoln is beloved by everyone in the school except the bully "Mean Gene." Gene calls everyone names, including using a racial slur for Mr. Lincoln; but Mr. Lincoln keeps trying to find a way to reach Gene. One day he notices Eugene watching the birds outside the atrium window and gets the idea to get his help in attracting more birds . Gene has learned a lot about birds from his Grampa and he & Mr. Lincoln work together. Fighting against Eugene's father's bigotry, Mr. Lincoln tries to teach the him about accepting  and respecting of all his “little birds,” both feathered and human. When the ducklings hatch, Eugene and Mr. Lincoln lead them safely to the pond where their parents wait.

Classroom Ideas: The themes of tolerance and respect in this book are strong and would lend themselves well to being used by a guidance counselor. It also has strong characters in Mr. Lincoln and Eugene, and it would even be interesting to see what inferences kids could make about Eugene's family from the text clues.

Ginger and Petunia

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  2007
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee Branch

Awards:  Author/illustrator study Patricia Polacco

Summary: The elegant, flamboyant piano player Virginia Vincent Folsum, Ginger, has a pet pig named Petunia. Petunia lives under the staircase in Ginger's house. When Ginger has to travel to London, she calls a Housesitter to come take care of Petunia. But when the housesitter doesn't show, Petunia pretends to be Ginger. She cooks dinner, listens to opera, dresses in Ginger's clothes, teaches Ginger's piano students, and even takes Ginger's convertible to the grocery store! Then she heads to an art museum opening and heads off to dance with the governor. Petunia is tired of being in charge and wants someone to take care of her, but luckily when she returns home, Ginger is there to greet her! The illustrations are vibrant and gorgeous and all I can think is Auntie Mame.

Classroom Ideas: There is a great deal of alliteration here with Petunia the Pig. It would be interesting to discuss fantasy versus reality with kids and ask if a pig could really do the things that Petunia did.

Pink and Say

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  1994
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:  Publisher's Weekly, School Library Journal, & Kirkus starred reviews; Irma S. and James H. Black Award, ALA Notable, National Council for Social Studies Notable, Horn Book Fanfare

Summary: In this true story from Polacco's family history, a white soldier Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say) is wounded and is rescued by a black soldier Pinkus Aylee (Pink). Pink takes Say back to his home where Pink and his mother Moe Moe Bay tend to him while he recovers. While Pink is anxious to return to the fighting, Say is scared and doesn't want to go. But when Moe Moe Bay is killed by marauders, the devastated boys set off. They are captured by Confederate troops and taken to Andersonville prison. Say is released months later, but Pink is hanged immediately because he is back. Say was Patricia's great-great-grandfather and in a touching epilogue she pledges that her book stands as memory of the life of Pinkus Aylee. This is my all-time favorite Polacco book and definitely on the list of my all-time favorite books ever. I dare you to read it without getting at least a little teary-eyed!

Classroom Ideas: Obviously this book can be shared during a study of the Civil War. The themes of loyalty and friendship here are strong and the book brings home the heartbreak of war.

I Can Hear the Sun

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  1996
Location: Personal Collection

Awards: Author/illustrator study Patricia Polacco

Summary: This is a story of homeless people who gather at a nature preserve in Oakland, California, and Stephanie Michele who is the keeper of the animals there. An orphan named Fondo meets her and helps her take care of the a blind goose. He is happy coming there each day until he finds out that he's being send to a special-needs placement. And then the story takes it's mythic turn: With the blind goose leading them, Fondo flies off with the wild geese. Patricia Polacco blurs the lines between reality and fantasy in this self-named "modern myth."

Classroom Ideas: It would be interesting to discuss theme with this story, along with homelessness.

The Lemonade Club

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel
Publication Year:  2007
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:  Publisher's Weekly starred review, Volunteer State Book Award

Summary:In this true story, Patricia Polacco tells about her daughter's friend and her fifth-grade teacher. Traci's friend Marilyn has leukemia and has to have chemotherapy. Everyone is supportive and even shave their heads in solidarity with their friend. However, Miss Wichelman ends up getting her own bad news and has to battle cancer too. Through it all, the three support each other and remember to make lemonade out of life's sour lemons. This is a hopful, heart-warming story, made all the better by the positive updates on each character in the endnotes.

Classroom Ideas: This is another personal narrative from Polacco's life which could be used as a mentor text. The themes of friendship and the topical subject are important ones, and this book could easily be used by a guidance counselor.

The Bee Tree

Author & Illustrator: Patricia Polacco  
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1993
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   School Library Journal starred review

Summary:  When Mary Ellen gets tired of reading, she and Grampa go off to follow a bee to a bee tree. Along the way lots of members of the community join them. When they finally reach the tree they work together to smoke the bees, collect the honeycomb, and then go back to the house for biscuits, tea, and honey! But at the end, Grampa uses the honey to show Mary Ellen that the joys of reading have to be pursued just like they ran after the bees to find the honey.

Classroom Ideas: There some great examples of onomatopoeia as they all chase after the be (slap, bump, honk, tweddle-tweddle-squeak fump!) The theme is well-explained at the end. ("There is such sweetness inside of that book too!")

Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Dam Creek Affair

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1996
Location: Knox County Public Library- Lawson McGhee

Awards:   School Library Journal starred review

Summary:  In Triple Creek they love TV so much that they've forgotten what books are for. They use them to hold up roofs, mend fences, stuff potholes, and even fix the dam. Aunt Chip is appalled by these changes and tells her nephew Eli about books and the library.  She teaches him to read and he starts reading to the other kids. The kids start grabbing up all the books and then moving them makes the dam explode. When books rain from the sky, kids start teaching their parents to read again and the town rebuilds the school and library.

Classroom Ideas: This would be a good book to teach problem and solution. There is also good vocabulary (vowed, consequences, eiderdown) and dialect ("Now Eli took to reading like a beaver takes to gnawing wood, or a flea takes to a dirty little yella dog.")

My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster
Publication Year:   1994
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   ALA Notable, School Library Journal Best Book, American Bookseller Pick, Publisher's Weekly & School Library Journal starred reviews

Summary:  Tired of always losing to her brother, Patricia makes a wish upon a star that she can be better than him at something. The next day the carnival comes to town and Tricia rides the merry-go-round longer than her brother. But when she goes to get off, she falls, hurts herself, and he has to carry her home! From then on, her relationship with her brother gets a bit easier as she realizes what he will do for her.

Classroom Ideas: Another memoir from Patricia Polacco's life that kids could use as a mentor text and write a story about their own siblings. Polacco also draws strong characters. There's a stated theme: "Be very careful what you wish for....It just may come true!" but there are also strong themes of love, family, and competition.

Chicken Sunday

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1992
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Booklist starred reviews; Golden Kite Award for Illustration; ALA Notable, Booklist Editor's Choice, IRA Children's Choice Book

Summary:  After her beloved babushka's death, Patricia adopts her neighbors as new brothers and takes on their gramma as her own. The kids want to buy a special Easter hat for Gramma but they don't have enough money. The owner of the store where the hat is thinks that they vandalize his shop by throwing eggs at it, so to pay him back (even though they didn't do it) they make him Russian psysanky (painted) eggs. He offers to sell some in his shop to make money for the hat. In the end, he gives the hat to the children who are so proud to give it to Gramma.

Classroom Ideas:This is another book based on Patricia Polacco's life and an example of personal narrative. There are strong characters of different ethnicities. There's also some strong figurative language here- "a voice like slow thunder and sweet rain" "You'll be as flat as a hen's tongue")

Thank you, Mr. Falker

Author & Illustrator:   Patricia Polacco
Publisher:  Philomel
Publication Year:   1998
Location: Personal Collection

Awards:   Parent's Choice Award

Summary:  This is the autobiographical story of Patricia Polacco's fifth grade teacher. Tricia was unable to read because of dyslexia and was teased by the other kids. Her teacher, Mr. Falker, recognizes her challenges and her strengths and helps her learn to read.

Classroom Ideas:This could be a mentor text for a personal narrative about a student's own challenges or about someone who's made a difference in their life. Both Patricia and Mr. Falker are strong characters.