From Christmas to Hanukah, the Civil War to the Titanic, small-town Michigan to California, Patricia Polacco has covered it all. Or so it would seem, if one looks at her 33-year, 67- (and counting) book record. Stories seem to pour out of her pen, paired perfectly with her unique artistic style.
Patricia Polacco was born Patricia Barber on July 11, 1944, in Lansing, Mich. When she was three years old, her parents divorced, and each moved back in with their respective parents. This meant that Polacco and her older brother Rickie now had easy access to both sets of grandparents, an arrangement that Polacco credits with much of her love of stories. Readers often remark on the cultural diversity of Polacco’s stories, many of which are pulled from her own life and ancestors. Hers is a rich heritage, as she is Georgian, Russian, and Ukrainian-Jewish on her mother’s side, and Irish on her father’s side. Personal experiences also fill her books, from her struggle with dyslexia (detailed in Thank you, Mr. Falker), her desire to become an artist (detailed in The Art of Miss Chew), and her drive to become a writer (detailed in An A from Miss Keller).
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