Pollaco, Patricia. (1998). Thank You Mr. Falker. New York, NY: Philomel Books. Genre: Autobiographical story. Summary: Thank You Mr. Falker is a story about little Tricia. She can't wait to go to school and learn to read. This story continues to tell of a girl who was struggling as she could not read. She was very artistic though as hard as she tried she could not read. Things just jumped all around on the page. She made it through several grades and was in 5th grade before her teacher Mr. Falker discovered by observation that she was not able to read and that she felt very dumb. When Mr. Falker caught the kids in class teasing her he addressed the whole class and asked if any of them were perfect. He later told little Tricia how actually instead of being dumb she had actually …show more content…
As Mr. Falker gave Tricia more attention Eric's bullying her grew worse. Though she now had supportive people around her who understood what she was going through. The book also mentions the grandparent putting a spoonful of honey on the cover of a book to symbolize the sweetness of the knowledge inside. This tradition is also in a few of Pallaco's other stories. Thank You Mr. Falker is written dedicated to teachers, especially teachers like the character in the book Mr. Falker. The teacher in her childhood was really Mr. Felker. Intended Audience: The interest age level for this book is 6-9 years old. I think this book could also be beneficial to older children who may still be struggling to read. A typical 9 year old would be 4th grade and the character in this book was in 5th grade when her issue comes to light and the bullying she is dealing with comes to a peak. Awards: This book received the Parents Choice Honors Award in 1998. This book received the South Carolina Book Award for Children’s Books in 2001. Illustrations: The illustrations are pencil compositions with gouache painting style. The illustrations do a good job of capturing the emotional