Thank You Mr Falker Characters

In the children’s book Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco, the main character, Trisha, starts off loving books. She yearns to be able to read herself, but she struggled. Having a learning disability made it harder for her. All of the other students in her class made fun of her. She was teased and really got hurt. So, her teacher, Mr. Falker, helped her and she learned. She then loves to read and enjoys it. Trisha is a dynamic character. At first, she is a hopeful girl who wants to learn how to read. As the story goes on, she becomes discouraged and hated books. However, by the end of the story, she is triumphal and loved to read. Right from the beginning of the book, Trisha would have a pleasant time whenever her family would read to her. So, wanted to be able to read herself. “Trisha, the littlest girl in the family, grew up loving books. Her schoolteacher mother read to her every night. Her redhead brother brought his books home from school and shared them” (1). Trisha planned that when she started school, she will be able to read.

She couldn’t read like everyone else could. They were all improving their reading skills and Trisha was stuck on the same level. “Trisha didn’t feel smart…..Trisha began to feel ‘different.’ She began to feel dumb” (1). All of her classmates knew that Trisha was stupid. So, they picked on her. “Trisha was afraid to turn any corner, for fear Eric would be there. She felt completely alone……He got all of the other kids to wait for her on the playground, or the cafeteria, or even in the bathroom and to jump out and call her ‘Stupid!’ or ‘Ugly!’ And Trisha began to believe them.” (3). Being called by these names made Trisha sad. All of her classmates brought her down. Trisha began to dislike reading and did not like going to school. “Now Trisha wanted to go to school less and less” (2). This is how Trisha became discouraged and did not like reading