Thank you, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

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Thank you, Mr. Falker is a picture book that follows Trisha, a young girl who was so excited to go to school and learn to read like her older brother. Instead of reading coming easily for her, all she saw were “wiggling shapes” and her excitement turned into intense frustration. “Trisha began to feel ‘different.’ She began to feel dumb.” Not only was reading impossible, even math was difficult, making her feel even worse. Her family moved to California where things weren’t much different at first. She still felt dumb and the kids still made fun of her, that is, until Mr. Falker began to see her strengths (drawing) and until he recognized why she was having problems reading. He showed her compassion when talking to her about dyslexia saying, “Little one, don’t you understand, you don’t see letters or numbers the way other people do. You’ve gotten through school all this time, and fooled many, many good teachers! That took cunning, and smartness, and such, such bravery. You’re going to read – I promise you that.” After meeting with Mr. Falker and a reading teacher after school for a few months, she began to read whole sentences, then paragraphs, and then books.

The first time I read this book, I loved it. Not only is it a great story of perseverance and success, it is an autobiographical story of Patricia Polacco, the author. She was the little girl whose life was changed by one teacher who recognized what her struggle was. It’s quite inspiring that she grew up to write children’s books after feeling stupid during her entire elementary education and not having any hope that she could do better. This text should be included in every classroom library because it has the capability to give this feeling to many students who struggle to feel smart or accepted in their class.

Trisha’s disability is written about in a very realistic way, discussing her inner struggle and confusion about why she isn’t like the other students. It also gives a very realistic solution: it’s okay that she is different, that, in her case, her disability can be helped with help. Although this is somewhat of a strength for this book, it could also be a weakness if a child read this and thought that a disability like Down Syndrome could be “cured.” Nevertheless, Polacco has written a book that many students and their families can identify with and draw strength from. It shows a positive, realistic depiction of a student struggling to understand her disability and to try and overcome parts of it. Students with dyslexia will be able to see themselves in a piece of literature when they are so often looked over, and students without a disability will be able to learn more about people who are different from them in some way.

Polacco, Patricia. Thank you, Mr. Falker. New York: Philomel Books, 1998.