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Firetalking |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
 Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
1878450557 |
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From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5-Warm and personable, these autobiographies by three children's book creators are a pleasure to read. Goble writes about his childhood in England, his lifelong fascination with Native Americans, and his home and work in Nebraska. Howe takes readers through the activities of a typical workday. Polacco explains how childhood evenings of "firetalking" with her Russian and Irish grandparents formed the basis of many of her stories. The black-and-white and full-color photographs add to the intimacy of the texts, showing the writers as children, working, relaxing, and in family-oriented situations. These books can be read independently or shared with younger children along with the authors' picture books.Pamela K. Bomboy, Chesterfield County Public Schools, VACopyright 1994 Reed Business Information,... |
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Pink and Say |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0399226710 |
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From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up-This picture book set during the Civil War is a departure for Polacco in terms of content and audience. It is certainly the deepest and most serious book she has done. Sheldon Curtis, 15, a white boy, lies badly wounded in a field in Georgia when Pinkus Aylee, an African American Union soldier about Sheldon's age, finds him and carries him home to his mother, Moe Moe Bay. Sheldon, known as Say, is nursed back to health in her nurturing care. But then she is killed by marauders, and the boys return to their units. They are then are captured and taken to Andersonville, where Pink is hanged within hours of their capture. One of the most touching moments is when Pink reads aloud from the Bible to Moe Moe and Say. Say tells them that he can't read, but then he offers something he's very proud of: he... |
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Thank You, Mr. Falker |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0399231668 |
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From Publishers Weekly
Fans of Polacco's (Thundercake; Pink and Say) work know well her talent for weaving her colorful family history throughout her picture books. Here Polacco shares her childhood triumph over dyslexia and discovery of reading in an inspiring if slightly formulaic story. Young Trisha is eager to taste the "sweetness of knowledge" that her grandfather has always revered (here symbolized by drizzling honey onto a book and tasting it, which harkens back to Polacco's earlier The Bee Tree). But when she looks at words and numbers, everything is a jumble. Trisha endures the cruel taunts of classmates who call her "dumb," and falls behind in her studies. But finally the encouragement and efforts of a new fifth grade teacher, Mr. Falker, trigger a monumental turning point in Trisha's life. She begins to blossom and develop... |
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An Orange for Frankie |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
039924302X |
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From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4–The author/illustrator has turned again to her family history for this story of a Christmas long ago in rural Michigan. The plot is predictable, revolving around Pa's late return from Lansing with the traditional nine oranges, one for each child; 10-year-old Frankie's generosity to a hobo; and the boy's subsequent loss of his orange. Polacco's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are well rendered as always and appropriate for this slight but wordy, nostalgic tale.–V. W. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 2. Autobiography melds with history in this poignant tale of a family tradition, set around Christmastime during the Great Depression. Polacco introduces the... |
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Keeping Quilt |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0689844476 |
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From Publishers Weekly
This 10th-anniversary edition of Polacco's family story about a quilt made from an immigrant Jewish family's clothing from their Russian homeland "adds a few squares to the original story with expanded text and art," noted PW. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2 Polacco's first-person voice moves her narrative forward gracefully from the time when her Great-Gramma Anna came to America during the last century to the present. Richly detailed charcoal drawings fill the pages of this beautifully conceived book. Particularly striking are the faces of the Russian Jewish immigrant families who people the pages. The only color used is in the babushka and dress of Great-Gramma Anna, which become part of... |
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Rechenka's Eggs |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0698113853 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
From Publishers Weekly
An old woman named Babushka always wins first prize in the Easter festival for her exquisitely painted Ukrainian eggs. When she finds a wounded goose outside her house, Babushka takes her in, cares for her until she is strong again, and names her Rechenka. The goose lays an egg each morning for the old woman, but as she begins to heal, she flies around, knocking over Babushka's jars of colored paints and breaking all her Easter eggs. Babushka is miserable, until Rechenka miraculously lays brilliantly colored eggs; the old woman wins first prize once more. Polacco's story is truly rewarding; Babushka's gift for coloring eggs comes across in a splendid array of folkloric patterns, minute detail and batik-like paintings. Babushka is given credit, but the artistry is Polacco's. Intricate designs and opulent colors... |
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Thunder Cake |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0698115813 |
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From Publishers Weekly
In Thunder Cake , a grandmother helps her granddaughter overcome her fear of thunder by baking a special cake while a storm threatens. Although the book's concept is good, it does not fulfill its promise. The story is poorly paced: the storm approaches rapidly, but does not break for several pages as Polacco crams in details, including a lengthy pause while the cake bakes. The illustrations are less than appealing: both characters' faces are chalky white, draining them of life. Many of the barnyard animals are drawn out of proportion--Grandmother is almost the same size as a cow she milks, geese are as tall as people. Considering how many children are afraid of thunder, it is a shame Thunder Cake is not a stronger effort. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the... |
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Chicken Sunday |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0698116151 |
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From Publishers Weekly
Polacco--in the role of young narrator--introduces another cast of characters from her fondly remembered childhood. Brothers Stewart and Winston often invite the girl to join them and their Gramma Eula Mae--whose choir singing is "like slow thunder and sweet rain"--at the Baptist church and to come for Miss Eula's bountiful chicken dinner. When the children hear Miss Eula longing for the fancy Easter bonnet in Mr. Kodinsky's hat shop, they plot to raise the money to buy it for her. Sharing her own family tradition, the narrator teaches the boys how to decorate Russian "pysanky" eggs, that both turn a profit and touch the heart of the crotchety immigrant hatmaker. Without being heavy-handed, Polacco's text conveys a tremendous pride of heritage as it brims with rich images from her characters' African American and... |
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John Philip Duck |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0399242627 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4–Every morning at 11 o'clock a group of ducks exits an elevator and enters the lobby of the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN. They parade on a red carpet to a fountain in step to a John Philip Sousa march, led by a uniformed Duckmaster. They swim there all day and then return to their rooftop home. The duck march began during the Depression and continues to this day. Using these basic facts and filling in the gaps with her considerable imagination, Polacco chronicles the story of Edward Pembroke, the first Peabody Duckmaster, who finds an orphaned duckling, takes him to work with him, and, with patience, gentleness, and love, teaches him tricks, eventually impressing the hotel manager. This is Polacco at the height of her form in terms of both text and illustration. The story moves... |
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The Butterfly |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0399231706 |
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Book Review
Lying in bed one moonlit night, Monique awakens to see what she thinks is a little ghost sitting at the foot of her bed, petting her cat. In the time that her French village has been occupied by Nazi troops, Monique has come to believe that nothing can surprise her anymore. But when she discovers that the little ghost is in fact a Jewish girl named Sevrine, who is living in a hidden room in Monique's own basement, she is very surprised indeed! The two become secret friends, whispering and giggling late at night after their families have gone to bed. An unfortunate and alarming moment of discovery by a neighbor forces the girls to reveal their friendship to Monique's mother, who has been harboring Sevrine's family and others throughout the Nazi occupation. Based on the true experiences of the author's great aunt,... |
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Mrs. Katz and Tush |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0440409365 |
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| Availability: |
Usually ships within 24 hours. |
From Publishers Weekly
Zesty art and sensitive storytelling light up these two books, the first about an elderly Jewish widow and her young African American neighbor, the second set in Amish country. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-- A warm, lovingly told story about an intergenerational relationship. It is the beginning of a long friendship between Mrs. Katz, widowed, childless, and lonely, and her young African-American neighbor, Larnel, when he presents her with a scraggly kitten. On his daily visit to the elderly woman and her pet, they talk about Mrs. Katz's husband, her arrival in the United States from Poland, and the similar experiences of Jews and African-Americans. Larnel accompanies her to say kaddish at her... |
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My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
0689820364 |
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| Availability: |
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From Publishers Weekly
A girl burdened with a bratty big brother tries to do something, anything, better than he can. "The text rings true with the authentic battling words of childhood spats," said PW. Ages 4-8. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-Featuring an obnoxious, freckle-faced, bespectacled boy and a comforting, tale-telling grandmother, this autobiographical story is as satisfying as a warm slice of apple pie. Patricia can't quite understand how anyone could possibly like her older brother Richard. Whether picking blackberries or eating raw rhubarb, he always manages to outdo her, rubbing it in with one of his "extra-rotten, weasel-eyed, greeny-toothed grins." When their Bubbie teaches Patricia to wish on a falling star, she... |
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Emma Kate |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Hardcover |
| ISBN: |
0399244522 |
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| Availability: |
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From School Library Journal
PreSchool-K–Emma Kate and her elephant best friend sit next to one another in school, share lunches, play at recess, finish their homework, and go to soccer practice. They even have their tonsils out at the same time, sharing a hospital bed and gallons of pink ice cream. The girl's bright red dress stands out against the white background and soft charcoal-gray pencil drawings of the large friendly elephant. Subtle hints in the illustrations of the dress, a license plate that reads BIGMOME, and a hospital chart lead readers to the surprise ending: Momma and Daddy elephant comment on their child's active imagination as they are told all about her day with Emma Kate. The only possible drawback to this otherwise amiable story of imaginary friendship is the fact that the classmates are human, making readers... |
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Betty Doll |
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| Author: |
Patricia Polacco |
Book Review
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| Format: |
Paperback |
| ISBN: |
014240196X |
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| Availability: |
Ships within 2-3 days. |
Book Review
Young Mary Ellen is heartbroken when her family's farmhouse burns to the ground, taking all five of her dolls with it. So when her mother announces that they are going to make her a new doll, she is overjoyed. But little does she know that Betty Doll will travel with her as her closest confidant through her whole life, watching as first Mary Ellen grows up, then her children, and her grandchildren. Along the way, Betty is privy to family events big and small: a devastating blizzard, tea parties, weddings, floods, illness, births, deaths, and war. When a much older Mary Ellen discovers she has cancer, she writes a letter to her grown daughter, Tricia, telling her the story of Betty Doll, and passing on her own abiding love for Tricia. Tricia, or Patricia Polacco, has shared the words of the letter in this... |
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