Title: Thank You, Mr. Falker
Author/ Illustrator: Patricia Polacco
Publisher: Philomel Books
ISBN: 0-399-23166-8
Summary: Trisha enters kindergarten extremely excited about the prospect of learning to read. But as the other children in her class learn letters and numbers and begin putting sentences together, Trisha is left behind. Convinced she is dumb, Trisha resins herself to a life without reading. But when she meets Mr. Falker, the kind young teacher of her fifth grade class, her life is about to change. Mr. Falker not only promises to teacher Trisha to read, he sees in her wonderful qualities that she had begun to doubt herself.
Butterfly’s notes: Almost everyone has had a teacher in his or her life as inspiring and thoughtful as Mr. Falker. Kids troubled by dyslexia like Trisha will benefit from hearing that they aren’t alone. I love the illustrations and the metaphors Polacco uses in this book.
Categories: ages, 7-9, ages 10-12, picture books, profound messages
