Thank You, Mr. Falker

Author: Patricia Polacco http://www.patriciapolacco.com/
Publisher: Philomel Books
Date of Publication: 2001
Illustrator: n/a/
Genre Designation: Fiction
Lexile: AD650L

Thank You, Mr. Falker

Summary: 

In this book there is a little girl named Tricia. She is looking forward to going to school to learn how to read. She is close with her grandmother and she shares with her a special saying about honey and knowledge. As she progresses through the grades she discovers that she struggles with reading. During her struggles her grandmother is her rock and makes her feel good about herself. Her grandmother dies and that is a big loss for her. Her mother is  a teacher and decides to take a new job across the country. Tricia is excited for a new start. She arrives at her new school to find that things have not changed.To make matters worse there is a classmate named Eric and he teases her and makes her feel "stupid." Everything changes when Mr. Falker comes to her school. Mr. Falker believes in her and finally in 5th grade after much ridicule her teaches her how to read.

Target Audience:

This book would be great for grades 1-5.

Evaluation:

At some time every student has felt inadequate in a subject. Unfortunately when you struggle some students can be cruel when they discover a weakness in a classmate. This book is an example of bullying, but also an example of overcoming an obstacle. 

Reader Response Activity:

A good activity for this book would be for your students to spend some time thinking about what they are good at and what they struggle with. Each student will be given a piece of construction paper. On one half things they are good at, on the other half things they struggle with. They can list, draw or do a combination of both for their illustration.