The Art of Patricia Polacco

F rom 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).

A master of her craft, Polacco has discovered how to tell a story that makes you rejoice, laugh, cry, or maybe all three. Without stooping to sappy sentimentality, she conveys deep meaning through her books. Even more remarkable, she manages to re-create this feat across numerous books covering different eras — and all in a picture-book format. Her heartrending Civil War tale, Pink and Say, is a powerful tribute to friendship and honor. Thunder Cake tells the story of how her babushka cured little Patricia of her fear of thunder. Young and old will chuckle at the outlandish antics of Virginia Folsom’s pet pig, Petunia, in Ginger and Petunia. And it wouldn’t feel like Christmas in the Schutte home without a reading of Uncle Volva’s Tree and The Trees of the Dancing Goats. Through these books, and many others, Polacco weaves drama and delight that inspire wonder in her readers.

Driving home the impact of her stories is the art paired with it. Bright and distinctive, Polacco’s art is easily recognizable for its charmingly sketched faces, colorful clothing, occasional use of collage styles, quirky character poses, and creative use of empty space. Her pictures make you want to climb in and look around. They invite you to wander around Hensley’s or to lie on the dewy evening grass and gaze up at the Michigan sky. Observe the art in her books that include her babushka, and you will find a samovar on a sideboard and perfectly detailed icons on shelves. Her talent extends to animals, too, as we see in her striking tale Mrs. Mack. In some books, such as Betty Doll and The Keeping Quilt, Polacco plays with black and white, which gives the images a striking effect. Polacco, in an interview with Reading Rocket, said:

I love black and white photography. I personally feel you get more color in black and white photography than you do in color photography. If a photographer is hearing this, they’ll understand what I mean. It’s the contrast. Contrasts in black and white, I think, are rich and beautiful. And sometimes I like to draw the faces with these contrasts and half tones, because to me it actually can bring in more detail than if you put it in color. So that’s deliberate. I will do it as if this is a photograph. And then the patterns of their clothes are almost an independent art that has to do with the overall composition. But their faces are these wonderful black and white images.

As with most authors, it is wise to be judicious and not endorse their entire body of work. But, barring a few titles, overall there is very little in Polacco’s canon that would raise eyebrows. This devoted reader finds it impossible to pick a favorite Polacco tale, as she laughs over The Bee Tree, delights in The Mermaid’s Purse, smiles over Mrs. Katz and Tush, quotes Chicken Sunday, and cries openly over An Orange for Frankie. This last book is both a tale from Polacco’s own family history and a moving story of love. If you can get ahold of a copy this Christmas season, I highly recommend you read it. You’ll never look at an orange the same way again.

How one woman can have so many stories is a mystery, but we are blessed indeed that she does, and that she is so kind as to share them with us. The queen of the personal narrative, Polacco invites us into her life and makes us feel welcome. So whether you want to march down the hotel aisle with John Philip Duck, challenge Rickie to the ultimate dare, or discover a peacock among your chickens, Patricia Polacco’s engaging stories are waiting for you.