SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: A Sea of Gold
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.patriciapolacco.com/
CITY: Union City
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 382
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born July 11, 1944, in Lansing, MI; daughter of William F. (a traveling salesman and television talk-show host) and Mary Ellen (a teacher) Barber; married c. 1962 (marriage ended); married Graeme L. Blackman (divorced); married Enzo Mario Polacco (a chef and cooking instructor), August 18, 1979 (divorced); children: (first marriage) Traci Denise, Steven John.
EDUCATION:Attended Ohio State University, California College of Arts and Crafts, and Lancy College; Monash University (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), B.F.A. (painting), 1974; Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, M.A., Ph.D. (art history), 1978; also studied in England, France, and Russia.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and illustrator, 1986—. Consultant on icon restoration; Babushka, Inc., founder. Speaker for school and reading organizations.
AVOCATIONS:Travel, pets, painting, sculpture, egg art.
MEMBER:Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
AWARDS:International Reading Association Award for Younger Readers, 1989, for Rechenka’s Eggs; Sydney Taylor Book Award for Picture Books, Association of Jewish Libraries, 1989, for The Keeping Quilt; Commonwealth Club of California Award, 1990, for Babushka’s Doll, and 1992, for Chicken Sunday; Boston Area Education for Social Responsibility Award, 1992; Golden Kite Award for Illustration, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, 1992, for Chicken Sunday; Jane Addams Award Honor Book designation, 1993, for Mrs. Katz and Tush; Notable Children’s Books designation, American Library Association, 1995, for My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother and Pink and Say; American Book of the Year nomination, 1995, and West Virginia Children’s Book Award, 1997, both for Pink and Say; Jo Osborne Award for Humor, 1996; North Dakota Library Association Children’s Book Award, 1996, and Missouri Show Me Readers’ Award, 1997, both for My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother; Parents’ Choice Honor designation, 1998, and Gold Award, 1999, both for Thank You, Mr. Falker; Mid-South Independent Booksellers Humpty Dumpty Award, 1998; Regina Medal, Catholic Library Association, 2012, for distinguished contribution to children’s literature; Sydney Taylor Book Award, 2014, for The Blessing Cup.
WRITINGS
Author’s work has been translated into several languages, including Spanish.
Spoken Arts video adaptations of Polacco’s books include Rechenka’s Eggs, 1991; Chicken Sunday, 1992; The Keeping Quilt, 1993; Aunt Chip and the Great Triple Creek Dam Affair, 1996; Pink and Say, 1996; Thank You, Mr. Falker, 1999; A Christmas Tapestry, 2004; John Philip Duck, 2005; and Thunder Cake. Sound recordings of her works include Chicken Sunday, Scholastic, 1993; Just Plain Fancy, Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio, 1994; Casey at the Bat, Spoken Arts, 1994; The Keeping Quilt, Spoken Arts, 1998; Meteor!; Thunder Cake; and Thank You, Mr. Falker. Several of Polacco’s works were issued in book/cassette combinations. The Butterfly was adapted as a stage musical by Barbara Zinn Krieger and produced by Making Books Sing, 2008.
SIDELIGHTS
Award-winning author and illustrator Patricia Polacco has dozens of picture books to her credit, quite a feat in light of the fact that her first book was published in 1987, when she was forty-one. Polacco’s books are laudable for transforming childhood memories, evocative episodes from her family’s history, and elements from her multi-ethnic (Russian/Ukrainian/Jewish/Irish) heritage into stories with wide-ranging appeal. The cast of characters in The Keeping Quilt, Uncle Vova’s Tree, Pink and Say, and Junkyard Wonders reflect varied races, religions, sexual identities, and age groups, celebrating both diversity and commonality. In some books she retells stories reflecting the customs and folklore of Russian and Jewish ancestors, while others focus on African and Native Americans, the Irish, and the Amish. Whatever her subject, Polacco is “as natural a storyteller as they come,” according to Shannon Maughan in a Publishers Weekly appraisal. She highlights her work with illustrations rendered in watercolor, gouache, charcoal, and collage, often offsetting her line drawings with bright colors and patterned backgrounds.
Polacco was born in Lansing, Michigan, in 1944, to a father of Irish descent and a Russian/Ukrainian mother. After her parents’ divorce when she was three years old, she and her older brother moved with their mother to their maternal grandparents’ farm in Union City, Michigan. When her beloved babushka (grandmother) passed away two years later, they relocated to Coral Gables, Florida, and ultimately settled in Oakland, California. On her website, Polacco recalled that living on the farm in Union City was “magical,” and “my Babushka and other grandparents were some of the most inspirational people in my life.”
Polacco inherited a natural storytelling voice from both parents, but while stories fascinated her, she encountered difficulty while learning to read. By the time she was diagnosed with dyslexia as a young teen, she had weathered years of teasing due to her lackluster progress in reading and math. Fortunately, her talent for sketching and illustrating impressed her classmates and served as a refuge during her adolescent years.
Polacco opted to marry after high-school graduation, taking a few classes at Ohio State University before opting for a job and the chance to be a stay-at-home mom. After she and her first husband divorced, she completed her undergraduate studies, then went to Australia and earned an M.F.A. in painting at Monash University in Melbourne and a Ph.D. in Russian and Greek iconographic history at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. While studying in Australia, Polacco met the man who would become her second husband, Enzo Polacco. An Italian Jew from Trieste, Polacco was a chef and cooking instructor as well as a Holocaust survivor.
Beginning in childhood, Polacco enjoyed making books, telling Maughan in Publishers Weekly that she constructed “rough dummies, like thick greeting cards, for people in my life to celebrate any occasion.” At the insistence of a friend who admired her work, she joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and began adapting her family stories as picture books. In 1987, Polacco and her mother went to New York City to shop around her eighty-pound artist’s portfolio, visiting sixty publishers in a single week. “I was too stupid to be frightened, and I just loved it,” she recalled to Maughan. The same year, Polacco sold her first book, Meteor!
Meteor! is the “mostly true” account of events that occur after a fallen star crashes into the backyard of Grampa and Gramma Gaw in Union City, Michigan. After the meteor lands, the news buzzes through town, becoming more detailed and outlandish with every telling. Soon the farm becomes a carnival ground complete with a circus, and the townspeople who touch the meteor believe that it changes their lives. Called “an affectionate poke at small-town life” by a critic in Kirkus Reviews, Meteor! was praised by a Publishers Weekly critic as “an enchanting book [that] overwhelmingly expresses the magic that suddenly pervades a small town, from the funny, folksy way the story is told to the imaginative, full-color illustrations.” In The Calhoun Club, a sequel to Meteor!, Polacco describes how children’s author Petra Penwrite sets out to prove that the meteorite in her hometown of Union City is real and able to grant children’s wishes.
Several of Polacco’s books focus on her Jewish heritage. She details the suffering of European Jews during World War II, as well as the bravery of the French Resistance, in The Butterfly. In the story, originally shared by her aunt Monique, Monique’s mother hides a Jewish family in her basement and tries to help them escape. Wendy Lukehart, writing in School Library Journal, called The Butterfly a “perfect blend of art and story,” while Booklist reviewer Hazel Rochman concluded that “what will hold grade-school kids is the truth of the friendship story and the tension of hiding to survive.”
In one of Polacco’s most popular books, The Keeping Quilt, young Patricia narrates the story of a quilt that ties together four generations of her immigrant Jewish family and serves as a symbol of their love and faith. Writing in School Library Journal, Lee Bock called The Keeping Quilt a “beautifully conceived book” and a “lovely story,” while Denise M. Wilms noted in Booklist that Polacco’s tale “carries a warm message on the meaning of family” while also being “useful for the sense of history it presents to young viewer.” In 2013 the author/illustrator released a twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of The Keeping Quilt.
A prequel to The Keeping Quilt, The Blessing Cup describes how Polacco’s great-grandmother Anna came to America after her family was driven out of Czarist Russia. Among the few possessions Anna and her family were able to take with them was a precious tea set, from which only a single cup still survives. “Polacco opens her heart to readers as few authors can,” remarked a Publishers Weekly critic, and in Horn Book Joanna Rudge Long dubbed The Blessing Cup “family history at its dramatic and iconic best.”
In the companion books Chicken Sunday and Holes in the Sky, Polacco shares treasured memories of her time spent with her grandmother, Babushka. When the elderly woman is dying, she tells Trisha that stars are holes in the sky for reaching heaven—and that after she is gone she will send the girl a sign. After the grieving family moves to a new Oakland neighborhood in Holes in the Sky, Trisha befriends a boy named Stewart, whose grandmother Eula nurses her garden with recycled water during a drought. When Trisha is inspired to lead the way in brightening the day of someone else in mourning, she realizes that she has witnessed the sign she has been waiting for. Appreciating the nuanced exploration of grief in Polacco’s story, a Publishers Weekly writer affirmed that “the beauty of community, diversity, and goodwill shines through her unmistakable marker-and-pencil-line illustrations.” A Kirkus Reviews writer noted that Holes in the Sky, a “sweet and comforting” book, “celebrates the power of connection and the miracle of love in unexpected places.”
Thank You, Mr. Falker is based heavily on Polacco’s personal experiences with dyslexia. Although she is admired for her artistic talent, ten-year-old Trisha is teased constantly by classmates when she stumbles over words and numbers. Help finally comes when a fifth-grade teacher turns a sympathetic eye to the girl’s difficulty and diagnoses her problem. Rochman, writing in Booklist, noted that the young heroine in Thank You, Mr. Falker “isn’t idealized; we see her messy and desperate, poring over her books. This will encourage the child who feels like a failure and the teacher who cares.”
Memories of a middle-school year spent in Michigan with her father and grandmother inspired Polacco’s picture book Sticks and Stones, which “celebrates the importance of staying true to one’s … interests and values,” according to a Kirkus Reviews writer. In the story, preteen Tricia looks forward to spending her first school year with Thom and Ravanne, her art-loving companions throughout the summer months. During an unavoidable confrontation with class bully Billy, Thom is able to diffuse a tense situation and make a new friend. The Kirkus Reviews critic noted that Polacco’s “first-person narrative is cozily conversational” and “tinged with nostalgia,” and in School Library Journal, Joan Kindig characterized Sticks and Stones as a “heartfelt” and “well-intentioned tale full of expressive scenes.”
Now attending junior high school in Oakland, California, Polacco’s young heroine goes by Patricia when readers rejoin her in Go Ask Ozzie: A Rotten Richie Story. The refined young teen bemoans the slovenliness of older brother Ritchie until a miracle happens and he suddenly begins to dress nicely, clean up his room, and leave punctually for work. Patricia is thrilled until she learns the reason for the transformation: Ritchie is crushing on her best friend’s big sister. Citing the “exhilarating illustrations” depicting mid-twentieth-century dating culture, a Kirkus Reviews writer heralded Go Ask Ozzie as “another tale from this master storyteller [that] rings true.”
During her long career as an author/illustrator, Polacco has continued to mine her experiences and discover story ideas. In The Art of Miss Chew, an inspiring teacher helps a group of misfits known as the “Junkyard Wonders” unlock their hidden talents, while Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece recounts a drama teacher’s efforts to help a youngster overcome her fear of public speaking. Polacco’s story “thrills, saddens, touches, and inspires, all at once,” noted a Publishers Weekly in appraising Junkyard Wonders.
Polacco blends questions of race with a family-centered tale that stands among her most highly regarded books. Set during the U.S. Civil War, Pink and Say concerns fifteen-year-old Sheldon “Say” Curtis, a Union soldier—and one of Polacco’s ancestors—who has been left for dead in a Georgia battlefield and rescued by African American gravedigger Pinkus “Pink” Sylee. Over time, the two teens become friends and join the same regiment. Both boys are later taken prisoner by the Confederates and sent to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. As a reviewer noted in Publishers Weekly, “Polacco’s gripping story resonates with emotion as she details the chilling and horrible reverberations of war and social injustice.” Praising the book’s illustrations as “a spectacular achievement,” a Kirkus Reviews critic added that Polacco tells her story in Pink and Say “carefully and without melodrama so that it speaks for itself.”
Also based on a historical event, January’s Sparrow focuses on members of the Crosswhites, escaped slaves who find refuge in an abolitionist town in Michigan until they are tracked down by their vengeful owner. “The story and images alike are sometimes brutal … but undeniably vivid,” Roger Sutton commented in Horn Book. In Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln, two boys are transported to the bloody battlefield at Antietam where they have a memorable encounter with the sixteenth president of the United States. According to a contributor in Kirkus Reviews, Polacco’s images for Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln “convey the boys’ emotional shifts from boredom to astonishment, excitement to horror.”
Polacco explores the history of an American hero—and a distant relative of hers—in Clara and Davie: The True Story of Young Clara Barton. A shy child with a severe lisp, Clara grew close to her brother Davie, who treated her with kindness and respect. When Davie is severely injured in an accident, Clara becomes his caregiver, laying the foundations for her later work as a nurse, educator, and founder of the American Red Cross. “The pictures are done in Polacco’s vivid, vibrant pencil, marker and acrylics, with exaggerated gestures and abundant details,” a writer observed in Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal reviewer Sara-Jo Lupo Sites complimented the “heartwarming story of sibling devotion and overcoming obstacles” in Clara and Davie.
One of the most tragic ocean crossings of the twentieth century is captured in Polacco’s history-themed picture book The Bravest Man in the World. A boy named Jonathan resents practicing the piano until his grandfather John provides a reason for him to rethink his position. Decades before, nine-year-old John, an orphan, finds himself on the unsinkable ocean liner Titanic, during its maiden voyage from the Belfast shipyard. Discovered by the ship’s band leader, Wallace Hartley, the lad exhibits talent as a fiddle player and receives lessons from Hartley, in addition to food and lodging. When the ship meets its fate, John is given a place in a lifeboat, while strains of Hartley’s band playing a poignant hymn echo out over the frigid North Atlantic. A poignant “tribute to Wallace Hartley,” according to a Kirkus Reviews critic The Bravest Man in the World features illustrations that “bring the disaster’s terror and tragedy into sharp focus.” A Publishers Weekly writer also heralded Polacco’s “emotion-steeped story” and cited the contrast between the book’s beginning pages, featuring “crisp pictures of elegantly clad passengers,” and the “pale, blurred images” that follow as those passengers recognize their ultimate fate.
Polacco turns to younger readers in her lighthearted picture book Ginger and Petunia, in which a pianist teaches students in the home she shares with a pig named Petunia. When a solo performance requires Ginger’s absence and the pet sitter is a no-show, the clever swine masquerades as the fashion-conscious Ginger until the woman’s return. Praising the “droll text and playfully hyperbolic art” in Ginger and Petunia, a Publishers Weekly reviewer rated “Polacco’s porcine protagonist” the star of an “endear[ing] and “lighthearted caper,” while a Kirkus Reviews writer praised the book’s “vibrant signature artwork” for including “expressive cameo portraits” among the “expansive compositions that spill over from one page to the next.”
In Bun Bun Button, another story for young children, a girl loses her stuffed rabbit, a gift from her grandmother, when it takes flight after she attaches a helium balloon to its arm. Floating in the sky, Bun Bun survives encounters with a seagull, a flock of geese, and storm clouds before making a surprising return trip. Polacco’s “pencil-and-marker illustrations always give the events a core of plausibility,” Daniel Kraus observed in his Booklist appraisal of Bun Bun Button, and a Publishers Weekly contributor stated that the book “offers a cozy ode to the inherent magic in a visit with a grandparent.”
Drawing on Polacco’s experiences, Remembering Vera tells the story of a dog that lived at a Coast Guard base near San Francisco during the 1960s. Found abandoned and then adopted by one of the cadets, Vera became a participant in the group’s adventurous missions, performing such feats as delivering rope to a sinking sailboat and saving passengers from the cold water after a ferry capsized. Polacco was volunteering at a humane society in Oakland in 1967 when the aging and ailing Vera was brought in to be euthanized. In Publishers Weekly a reviewer dubbed the work “poignant” due to its mix of “characteristically conversational prose and emotionally redolent art.” Also praising Remembering Vera, a Kirkus Reviews recommended it as “a stirring tribute” and “fitting addition to the annals of doggy courage.”
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Polacco’s A Sea of Gold was inspired by both her Ukrainian heritage and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The picture book tells the story of three generations of a Ukrainian family. The first, Alina and Fedir, start their lives by planting sunflowers, which will provide food, oil, and other resources. Their daughter Yana marries Andreyev, and they too raise sunflowers. When their daughter Oxana is born, she expects to raise sunflowers too, but then the Russians invade. The family has to flee to the United States, but they bring their sunflower seeds with them. A contributor in Kirkus Reviews called the book an “empathetic, heartbreaking look at how warfare can tear families apart—and how traditions still endure.” They described the story as “poignant” and the illustrations as evoking “folksy farm scenes and resplendent sunflower fields.”
[CLOSE NEW]
Whether writing about inter-generational relationships, the bonds between humans and animals, history, cross-cultural friendships, Russian witches, or Jewish quilts, Polacco is happily at home in created worlds that she makes accessible to her readers. As she noted in her autobiography Firetalking, “I am lucky … so very lucky! I love my life. Can you imagine doing what you love every day? … My thoughts boil in my head. They catch the air and fly. The images and stories come back with fury and energy. … My heart sings whenever I am drawing.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Children’s Literature Review, Volume 40, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1996, pp. 175-201.
PERIODICALS
Booklist, December 1, 1988, Denise M. Wilms, review of The Keeping Quilt, p. 654; March 15, 1992, Carolyn Phelan, review of Chicken Sunday, p. 1388; November 1, 1996, Hazel Rochman, review of The Trees of the Dancing Goats, p. 509; May 1, 1998, Hazel Rochman, review of Thank You, Mr. Falker, p. 1522; November 15, 1998, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Mrs. Mack, p. 597; May 15, 1999, review of Luba and the Wren, p. 1700; April 4, 2000, Hazel Rochman, review of The Butterfly, p. 1479; August, 2000, Isabel Schon, review of The Keeping Quilt, p. 155; August, 2002, Julie Cummins, review of When Lightning Comes in a Jar, p. 1975; September 1, 2002, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of A Christmas Tapestry, p. 138; May 1, 2003, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of G Is for Goat, p. 1606; September 15, 2003, Kay Weisman, review of The Graves Family, p. 248; March 1, 2004, Linda Perkins, review of Oh, Look!, p. 1198; August, 2004, Lauren Peterson, review of John Philip Duck, p. 1944; December 1, 2004, Terry Glover, review of An Orange for Frankie, p. 662; May 15, 2005, Ilene Cooper, review of The Graves Family Goes Camping, p. 1666; September 15, 2005, Gillian Engberg, review of Emma Kate, p. 75; April 15, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare, p. 54; October 1, 2008, John Peters, review of Someone for Mr. Sussman, p. 48; May 1, 2009, Linda Perkins, review of In Our Mothers’ House, p. 82; May 1, 2010, Linda Perkins, review of Junkyard Wonders, p. 86; February 1, 2011, Karen Cruze, review of Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln, p. 79; November 15, 2011, Daniel Kraus, review of Bun Bun Button, p. 61; April 15, 2012, Linda Perkins, review of The Art of Miss Chew, p. 67; October 1, 2013, Kay Weisman, review of The Blessing Cup, p. 100; December 15, 2013, Edie Ching, review of Gifts of the Heart, p. 52; January 1, 2014, Connie Fletcher, review of Clara and Davie: The True Story of Young Clara Barton, p. 90; October 1, 2016, Edie Ching, review of The Mermaid’s Purse, p. 79.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, January, 2010, Elizabeth Bush, review of January’s Sparrow, p. 212; February, 2011, Elizabeth Bush, review of Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln, p. 290; October, 2013, review of The Blessing Cup, p. 110; February, 2014, Elizabeth Bush, review of Clara and Davie, p. 329.
Grand Rapids Press, September 18, 2005, Maranda, interview with Polacco, p. J2.
Horn Book, March-April, 2004, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Oh, Look!, p. 174; November-December, 2009, Roger Sutton, review of January’s Sparrow, p. 659; September-October, 2013, Joanna Rudge Long, review of The Blessing Cup, p. 79.
Junior Bookshelf, June, 1988, Marcus Crouch, review of Rechenka’s Eggs, p. 131.
Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 1987, review of Meteor!, p. 557; September 15, 1994, review of Pink and Say, p. 1279; May 1, 2002, review of When Lightning Comes in a Jar, p. 665; November 1, 2002, review of A Christmas Tapestry, p. 1624; April 15, 2003, review of G Is for Goat, p. 610; August 15, 2003, review of The Graves Family, p. 1077; February 1, 2004, review of Oh, Look!, p. 137; May 1, 2004, review of John Philip Duck, p. 446; November 1, 2004, review of An Orange for Frankie, p. 1052; January 15, 2005, review of Mommies Say Shhh!, p. 124; April 15, 2005, review of The Graves Family Goes Camping, p. 479; August 1, 2005, review of Emma Kate, p. 856; April 15, 2006, review of Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare, p. 414; July 1, 2006, review of Something about Hensley’s, p. 68; April 1, 2007, review of Ginger and Petunia; August 15, 2007, review of The Lemonade Club; July 15, 2008, review of For the Love of Autumn; October 15, 2008, review of Someone for Mr. Sussman; June 15, 2010, review of Junkyard Wonders; November 15, 2010, review of Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln; September 1, 2011, review of Bun Bun Button; January 15, 2012, review of The Art of Miss Chew; August 1, 2012, review of Bully; June 1, 2013, review of The Blessing Cup; December 15, 2013, review of Clara and Davie; June 1, 2014, review of Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece; June 1, 2017, review of Remembering Vera; July 15, 2018, review of Holes in the Sky; May 15, 2019, review of The Bravest Man in the World; September 1, 2020, review of Sticks and Stones; September 1, 2021, review of Go Ask Ozzie: A Rotten Richie Story; December 1, 2022, review of Palace of Books; October 1, 2024, review of A Sea of Gold.
New York Times Book Review, April 3, 1988, Leonard Marcus, review of Rechenka’s Eggs, p. 16; November 13, 1994, Henry Mayer, review of Pink and Say, p. 42.
Publishers Weekly, April 10, 1987, review of Meteor!, p. 95; February 15, 1993, Shannon Maughan, interview with Polacco, pp. 179, 185; August 15, 1994, review of Pink and Say, p. 95; September 12, 1994, review of Tikvah Means Hope, p. 90; October 12, 1998, reviews of Mrs. Mack, p. 76, and My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, p. 79; September 27, 1999, review of Welcome Comfort, p. 56; June 12, 2000, review of The Butterfly, p. 72; May 13, 2002, review of When Lightning Comes in a Jar, p. 70; August 4, 2003, review of The Graves Family, p. 79; March 29, 2004, review of Oh, Look!, p. 61; September 27, 2004, review of An Orange for Frankie, p. 63; August 8, 2005, review of Emma Kate, p. 232; July 5, 2004, review of John Philip Duck, p. 56; February 7, 2005, review of Mommies Say Shhh!, p. 58; April 9, 2007, review of Ginger and Petunia, p. 52; July 30, 2007, review of The Lemonade Club, p. 82; June 21, 2010, review of Junkyard Wonders, p. 45; August 22, 2011, review of Bun Bun Button, p. 62; March 5, 2012, review of The Art of Miss Chew, p. 71; August 6, 2012, review of Bully, p. 54; June 3, 2013, review of The Blessing Cup, p. 58; September 16, 2013, review of Gifts of the Heart, p. 54; May 12, 2014, review of Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece, p. 59; August 7, 2017, review of Remembering Vera, p. 73; July 23, 2018, review of Holes in the Sky, p. 203; July 8, 2019, review of The Bravest Man in the World, p. 82.
School Library Journal, October, 1988, Lee Bock, review of The Keeping Quilt, p. 136; May, 1992, Dorothy Houlihan, review of Chicken Sunday, p. 92; August, 1994, Pamela K. Bomboy, review of Firetalking, p. 150; November, 1996, review of The Trees of the Dancing Goats, pp. 90-91; December, 1998, Christy Norris Blanchette, review of Mrs. Mack, p. 89; June, 1999, review of Meteor!, p. 119; May, 2000, Wendy Lukehart, review of The Butterfly, p. 151; June, 2002, Wanda Meyers-Hines, review of When Lightning Comes in a Jar, p. 108; October, 2002, Virginia Walter, review of A Christmas Tapestry, p. 62; May, 2003, Nancy Call, review of G Is for Goat, p. 128; September, 2003, Rachel G. Payne, review of The Graves Family, p. 187; February, 2004, Gay Lynn Van Vleck, review of Oh, Look!, p. 121; June, 2004, Grace Oliff, review of John Philip Duck, p. 116; March, 2005, Rachel G. Payne, review of Mommies Say Shhh!, p. 186; June, 2005, Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, review of The Graves Family Goes Camping, p. 124; November, 2005, Kristine M. Casper, review of Emma Kate, p. 103; May, 2006, Eve Ottenberg Stone, review of Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare, p. 97; August, 2006, Kathleene Pavin, review of Something about Hensley’s, p. 94; October, 2007, Susan Lissim, review of The Lemonade Club, p. 126; August, 2008, Susan E. Murray, review of For the Love of Autumn, p. 100; December, 2008, Beth Cuddy, review of Someone for Mr. Sussman, p. 100; May, 2009, Martha Simpson, review of In Our Mothers’ House, p. 85; July, 2010, Linda L. Walkins, review of Junkyard Wonders, p. 68; March, 2011, Mary Elam, review of Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln, p. 168; October, 2011, Tahya Boudreau, review of Bun Bun Button, p. 117; March, 2012, Gloria Koster, review of The Art of Miss Chew, p. 133; August, 2012, Mary Jean Smith, review of Bully, p. 84; August, 2013, Nora Clancy, review of The Blessing Cup, p. 87; January, 2014, Sara-Jo Lupo Sites, review of Clara and Davie, p. 116; February, 2014, Linda L. Walkins, review of Gifts of the Heart, p. 77; July, 2014, Maggie Chase, review of Mr. Wayne’s Masterpiece, p. 73; August, 2014, Roxanne Burg, review of Fiona’s Lace, p. 78; October, 2020, Joan Kindig, review of Sticks and Stones, p. 68.
Times Educational Supplement, March 25, 1988, Shaun Traynor, review of Rechenka’s Eggs, p. 31.
Washington Post Book World, December 12, 1999, Michael Patrick Hearn, “Picturing the Holidays,” p. 15.
ONLINE
Center for the Collaborative Classroom website, https://www.collaborativeclassroom.org/ (October 25, 2018), Jennie McDonald, author interview.
IPL website, http://www.ipl.org/ (October 25, 2018), author profile.
Library Point, http://www.librarypoint.org/ (October 25, 2018), Virginia Johnson, “The Many Stories of Patricia Polacco.”
NPR, https://www.npr.org/ (August 24, 2013), Jacki Lyden, “‘The Blessing Cup’: Polacco and Her Family of Storytellers.”
Patricia Polacco weblog, https://polaccopat.weebly.com/ (April 4, 2025).
Patricia Polacco website, http://www.patriciapolacco.com (May 4, 2025).
Scholastic website, https://www.scholastic.com (October 25, 2018), author profile.
Thought Co., https://www.thoughtco.com/ (January 13, 2018), Elizabeth Kennedy, “10 Facts about Author and Illustrator Patricia Polacco.”
Drawing with Patricia Polacco (short film), Art’SCool, 2005.*
Patricia Polacco was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1944, July 11th. By the age of 3 her parents, William (talk show host) and Mary Ellen ( teacher) were divorced and had both moved in with both their parents. This meant that Patricia split up the school year and summer between each her parents house. She later lived in Williamston and then to a farm in Union City, Michigan.
Patricia's heritage has influenced her writings and illustrations. She comes from a strong Russion and Irish background. Such examples would be found in her books like, The Keeping Quilt and Uncle Vova's Tree, both showing russian family customs.
Most of Patricia's childhood was spent traveling and living in different states depending where her mother found a job and where her father lived. Having family as a big part of her life Patricia was lucky enough to have both grandparents in her life, where she gained more understanding of her families traditions, culture, and expanding of imagination. Using her imagination and creativity Patricia began sketching and developing her skills with her families stories. This was one of the only places where she felt safe and at home.
Even though Patricia had such a strength in art, she struggled through her childhood trying to read. With help from one teacher, she was able to get the proper help and move on to her next journey of college and ending with a Ph.D with fine arts. During those years Patricia married Enzo Mario Polacco and had 2 kids who she devoted her life to loving them and guiding them through their life.
It wasn't until age 41 when Patricia began writing children's books, using her imagination and family stories to guide her through the process. She enjoys every minute of it and could never imagine that she would one day be an author and illustrator with the acknowledgment from the most acclaimed writers and illustrators and publishers to this day.
www.patriciapolacco.com
Patricia Polacco was born on July 11th, 1944 in Lansing, Michigan. Her mother’s family were Jewish immigrants from Russia and The Ukraine. Her father's people were from The County of Limerick in Ireland. Both cultures valued and kept their history alive by storytelling.
Patricia is the mother of two grown children; Steven, a tenured professor at Dominican University in San Rafael, California. And a daughter, Traci who has made a career in the medical field and also lives in California. Patricia lives on her farm estate in Union City, Michigan.
Patricia has earned a Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. in Art and Art History. She has studied in the U.S., England, France, Russia and Australia. She is a guest lecturer in many universities and has been awarded numerous honorary degrees in Arts and Letters. She has a distinguished record as an international advocate for the rights of children. She has also established literary and art courses of study for young people both nationally and internationally. She has traveled extensively to Russia and has established an art camp in Losovough which thrives today. She has been honored by heads of state both at the Kremlin and the White House.
She is a member of the National First Amendment Rights Coalition and has fought tirelessly for this cause. She is also known as a champion of classroom teachers in our country, a cause sharpened by her association with Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut as a guest author and artist in residence. The tragic loss of both members of the faculty as well as children on December 14th, 2012 affected her life profoundly. The shock of this event caused her to collapse, be hospitalized and undergo open heart surgery to save her life. The grief of this set her on a path of establishing a series of lectures designed to raise the awareness of the plight of our classroom teachers as well as encouraging students to reach out to each other and include those who are perceived to be "different". She has also designed an anti bullying campaign that has earned her national recognition. Patricia conducts school visits all over the country. She is known as a natural storyteller and is highly praised for her work with people of all ages.
To date she has written and illustrated over 115 books for children,. She is also a playwright and is in the process of penning for adults. She is a much sought after lecturer and keynote speaker and is considered one of the most inspiring speakers of our time.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Patricia Polacco
Born July 11, 1944 (age 80)
Lansing, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation Author, illustrator
Patricia Barber Polacco (born July 11, 1944) is an American author and illustrator. Throughout her school years, Polacco struggled with reading but 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.
Biography
Polacco was born Patricia Barber on July 11, 1944 in Lansing, Michigan, the daughter of a teacher and a salesman turned talk show host. She lived in Williamston, Michigan[1] until the age of three, when her parents divorced and she moved with her mother and brother to her maternal grandmother's farm in Union City, Michigan. Many of Polacco's stories are influenced by this farm and the Russian folklore she heard from her grandmother (referred to as "Babushka" in her books),[2] who died in 1949 when Polacco was five years old.[1] During the summers, Polacco lived with her father and his Irish parents. "In both households I had these amazing storytellers," she said.[3] The family did not have a television and Polacco said on NPR, "our evenings were spent listening to glorious tales being told by the grandparents."[3] Polacco did not learn to read until she was nearly fourteen and struggled greatly in school. Finally, in junior high school, one of her teachers finally realized that she had dyslexia.[4] The book Pink and Say comes from the life of a great-great-grandfather on her father's side, Sheldon Russell Curtis, who fought in the American Civil War and developed a moving friendship with a Black soldier named Pinkus Aylee.[2]
In 1949, following the death of Polacco's maternal grandmother, her family moved to Coral Gables for three years and then the Rockridge district of Oakland, California.[1] She attended Oakland Technical High School,[5] where she became friends with Frank Oz.[citation needed] At institutions in the United States and Australia, she earned a Master's and PhD in Art History.[6][1] Upon graduating, she worked as a restoration specialist in art museums.[6] At the age of 41, Polacco began working on her first children's book. Polacco's mother was so confident in the books that she gave Polacco money to travel to Manhattan and set up meetings with publishers. During a week-long trip to New York, Polacco attended sixteen meetings where she showed seven or eight of her books. By the end of the week, all her books had sold.[4]
Polacco resides in Union City, Michigan.[1] Polacco has two children, Traci and Steven.[1] Her marriage to Graeme L Blackman ended in divorce and she married chef and cooking instructor Enzo Mario Polacco on August 18, 1979. Polacco has been an outspoken critic of the No Child Left Behind Act due to its reliance on high-stakes testing.[7]
Publications
Lillian Two Blossom (1988) ISBN 0-399-21470-4
The Keeping Quilt (1988) ISBN 0-689-82090-9
Rechenka's Eggs (1988) ISBN 0399215018
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
Tikvah 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
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 Polacco
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
Ginger and Petunia (2006) ISBN 9780399245398
Something About Hensley's (2006) ISBN 0-399-24538-3
The Lemonade Club (2007) ISBN 9780399245404
For the Love of Autumn (2008) ISBN 9780399245411
Someone for Mr. Sussman (2008) ISBN 9780399250750
In Our Mothers' House (2009) ISBN 0-399-25076-X
January's Sparrow (2009) ISBN 978-0-399-25077-4
Junkyard Wonders (2010) ISBN 0-399-25078-6
Just in Time, Abraham Lincoln (2011) ISBN 9780399254710
Bun Bun Button (2011) ISBN 9780399254727
The Art of Miss Chew (2012) ISBN 9780399257032
Bully (2012) ISBN 9780399257049
Gifts of the Heart (2013) ISBN 9780399160943
The Blessing Cup (2013) ISBN 1442450479
Clara and Davie (2014) ISBN 9780545354776
Mr. Wayne's Masterpiece (2014) ISBN 9780399160950
Tucky Jo and Little Heart (2015) ISBN 9781481415842
An A From Miss Keller (2015) ISBN 9780399166914
Fiona's Lace (2014) ISBN 9781442487246
The Mermaid's Purse (2016) ISBN 9780399166921
Because of Thursday (2016) ISBN 9781481421409
Remembering Vera (2017) ISBN 9781481442275
Holes in the Sky (2018) ISBN 9781524739485
The Bravest Man in the World (2019) ISBN 9781481494618
Sticks and Stones (2020) ISBN 9781534426221
Go Ask Ozzie (2021) ISBN 9781534478558
Palace of Books (2023) ISBN 9781534451315
Sea of Gold (2024)
ISBN 9781665938426
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
2014 Sydney Taylor Book Award for The Blessing Cup[8]
Polacco, Patricia A SEA OF GOLD Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $19.99 12, 3 ISBN: 9781665938426
Three generations of Ukrainian sunflower farmers thrive until Russia wages war on their country.
Every good family saga features a wedding, and this one boasts two. First, Alina marries Fedir. The newlyweds receive land with a dacha built on it to set them up for the future. Soon they'll have a "sea of gold"--sunflowers that provide food, oil, and mulch. Alina becomes a baker and makes offerings to "BA BA SPODIVATYSYA," an ancient oak tree. The couple's daughter, Yana, is born in 1991, as Ukraine wins its independence from Russia. Years later, the second wedding--Yana's, to a young man named Andreyev--is accompanied by rumors of Russian aggression toward Ukraine. Yana and Andreyev's daughter, Oxana, is born with the expectation that she, too, will farm sunflowers. Then the Russians invade. The family house is set on fire; Oxana stops speaking. Alina, Yana, and Oxana, separated from their husbands and fathers, escape to Poland, then to America to live with Alina's brother. Oxana's sadness persists until it's time to plant sunflower seeds there. Hidden within her doll are her family's sunflower seeds, and sharing them reawakens her joy as she's reminded of her homeland. With this methodically paced, poignant story, Polacco draws on her own Ukrainian heritage with illustrations of babushkas, their homes festooned with icons that evoke folksy farm scenes and resplendent sunflower fields.
An empathetic, heartbreaking look at how warfare can tear families apart--and how traditions still endure. (author's note, glossary)(Picture book. 7-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Polacco, Patricia: A SEA OF GOLD." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A810315368/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=17e5d79a. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
Polacco, Patricia PALACE OF BOOKS Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster (Children's None) $18.99 3, 7 ISBN: 978-1-5344-5131-5
In this tale based on one of Polacco's childhood experiences, a kind librarian encourages a girl's interests.
After the death of Trsha's grandmother, her grandfather sells the family farm. Trisha's mother moves her and her brother from the country to a converted coach house rental in Battle Creek, Michigan, until the next school year, when they are set to move to California. At school, Trisha is a little bit of an odd duck with her impressive bird knowledge, and she struggles with reading--these tensions are only barely touched on, though. Librarian Mrs. Creavy nurtures Trisha's interest in birds by introducing her to John James Audubon's art. Trisha's bird drawings impress her classmates enough that they pick a bird theme for their classroom's open house. Mrs. Creavy also provides the class with tickets for a nearby bird sanctuary, so Trisha can further share her avian adoration--her peers join her in feathered fine art creations, prompting Mrs. Creavy to bring in "the Michigan state chairman of the Audubon bird clubs of America" for the founding of their school's chapter, with Trisha the first member. The story is sweet but slightly more geared to adult sensibilities than children's, and it is a touch narratively unbalanced--where it shines the most is in the juxtaposition between the child artists' charming works and the author/illustrator's bright, exquisite birds. Most characters, including Trisha and her family, present White. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A somewhat self-indulgent, adult-friendly reminiscence elevated by beautiful art. (author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Polacco, Patricia: PALACE OF BOOKS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A729072720/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a8332a45. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.