Rating: 
Summary: Thank You, Mr. Falker
Review: As an educator, I highly recommend "Thank You, Mr. Falker". This book helps to put into words why I and many others become teachers. Patricia Polacco shows that teachers can make a difference in a child's life. If I can reach and inspire just one student like Polacco's Mr. Falker, I will have fulfilled my calling!
Rating:
Summary: Teachers make the difference!
Review: As an educator, I highly recommend "Thank You, Mr. Falker". This book helps to put into words why I and many others become teachers. Patricia Polacco shows that teachers can make a difference in a child's life. If I can reach and inspire just one student like Polacco's Mr. Falker, I will have fulfilled my calling!
Rating:
Summary: Should be required reading for ALL education majors!
Review: As an elementary counselor I read this book to all my students. There is pertinence for every age group. "Thank You, Mr. Falker" is the story of a little girl who can't read. The other children constantly tease and make fun of Tricia. Eventually Mr. Falker, Tricia's 5th grade teacher discovers the child hiding during recess (to escape the constant taunts). He realizes that Tricia has a learning disability and tutors her after school. There is a post script to the story ending decades later with a chance meeting between Mr. Falker and the adult Tricia (Polacco). I use this book to help my students with self-esteem problems because of their own learning difficulties. But, I predominately read this book for all the bullies! Following Tricia's despair is very humbling. And trust me, I am not the only one in the room with tears running down my cheeks (and I've read this book dozen's of times). Teachers and student teachers should read this book--what we do in the classroom has an everlasting and lifelong effect on our students. I love this book and you will too.
Rating:
Summary: Should be required reading for ALL education majors!
Review: As an elementary counselor I read this book to all my students. There is pertinence for every age group. "Thank You, Mr. Falker" is the story of a little girl who can't read. The other children constantly tease and make fun of Tricia. Eventually Mr. Falker, Tricia's 5th grade teacher discovers the child hiding during recess (to escape the constant taunts). He realizes that Tricia has a learning disability and tutors her after school. There is a post script to the story ending decades later with a chance meeting between Mr. Falker and the adult Tricia (Polacco). I use this book to help my students with self-esteem problems because of their own learning difficulties. But, I predominately read this book for all the bullies! Following Tricia's despair is very humbling. And trust me, I am not the only one in the room with tears running down my cheeks (and I've read this book dozen's of times). Teachers and student teachers should read this book--what we do in the classroom has an everlasting and lifelong effect on our students. I love this book and you will too.
Rating:
Summary: A book that touches the heart and soul
Review: As I slowly read through the pages of this wonderful book, I was touched. I found myself making connections to the young girl and her struggles. I understand what it means to be a struggling reader. I remembered a special teacher who made a difference in my life and helped me to read. As a teacher, I read the book to my class. At the end, my second and third graders had a lot to say! They connected with the character and her struggles too. We shared our own struggles with life. Their struggles ranged from reading and learning to play a new sport to relationships and friendships. The students had made connections. As a techer, I want all my students to make real connections to books, find passion in reading, and treat others kindly. This book really helped my students to see the importance of all these things in a very real way!
Rating:
Summary: Thank-You Mr. Falker
Review: I applaud Patricia Polacco for her outstanding book, Thank You, Mr. Falker. She tells a story that happened to her as a little girl which will encourage children everywhere who are learning to read or struggling with the idea. When I read this story to my eight year old nephew he smiled and said, "maybe I will learn to read better."
The main character of this book, Trisha, goes through something that many young children go through. They will be able to relate to the situation and maybe learn from her. Learning to read is quite a task to master, especially if you have a learning disability like the author of this book did.
When little Trisha was in fifth grade she had a teacher, Mr. Falker, who opened up the word of reading to her. He set out to prove to her that she can and will read. He works with her for weeks and one day she does just that. This story will encourage children. I wish I had a book like this when I was struggling to help regain my confidence. It also inspires me to thank the teacher that made a huge impact in my life.
Patricia used folk art style in her pictures. They are very detailed and colorful and fit the text very will. The pictures will really jump out to readers and entertain their imagination.
Thank You, Mr. Falker is a wonderful book. I recommend this to any child that is beginning to learn to read. I hope teachers will make sure that kids hear this encouraging story about a "real live author." They will be able to relate, learn, and gain confidence from the story.
Rating:
Summary: Uniquely Touching
Review: One of the most touching children's books I've read in recent memory, this autobiographical story by the great Patricia Polacco tells how "Tricia" overcame her reading problems with the help of a compassionate teacher. Polacco's story evokes the attendant feelings of inferiority and isolations, as well as her grateful joy upon finally reading an entire paragraph. The story opens with a family ritual later expanded into a full story in Polacco's "The Bee Tree": Her grandfather drizzles some honey on a book cover and tells her "knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to chase it through the pages of a book." Polacco draws in her trademark big loopy style; her palette and composition superbly capture emotion, particularly in the close-ups. She can convey a range of feelings simply by how she places color on a person's face. She's one of the most original and recognizable illustrators around. One of the most heartfelt and moving books you'll find in children's literature.
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Summary: A Book to be Read Aloud in Every Classroom
Review: Patricia Polacco bases this story on her own experiences as a child. She uses the story in this beautiful book to thank her fifth grade teacher, Mr. Falker. In the book, Tricia, who has a yearning to learn to read because of her family's love of learning, discovers that letters in books seem to be all just wiggling shapes. As Tricia moves through school, students call her dumb. She sadly begins to except their teasing and begins to believe she truly is dumb; until, Fifth Grade when she is blessed with an outstanding teacher, Mr. Falker. Every classroom should not only have this book, it should be read aloud. Without saying the word "dyslexia" or preaching, Polacco has produced a wonderfully compassionate story.
Rating:
Summary: Thank You Mr. Falker
Review: This is an excellent book to share with young students that are having difficulty with learning to read. It is about a special teacher in the life of the author Patricia Polacco, who takes an interest in her difficulty reading and helps her to overcome her problem. Students are able to connect to moments in their lives where someone special has done something special to help them. The illustrations are gorgeous too!
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT STORY!!
Review: This is one of that most excellent children books. Due to the different abilities of children, this book allows for students in a classroom and at home to see the effects that "name calling" and other inappropriate treatment can have on a child with a learning disability.I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially educators. This book is a must read for any classroom!!
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