When I was in elementary school, my mom (a K-12 art teacher) came home from a conference with new picture books for my sister and me. At the conference my mom met Patricia Polacco and received signed copies of The Keeping Quilt and Rechenka’s Eggs. My sister and I loved these books for their stories and the vivid illustrations.
There was also something especially magical about having a book with the author’s actual signature inside. I could tell that my mom was really excited that she had met Patricia Polacco in person. These small connections to the author gave each of us a new and special relationship with Patricia Polacco’s books. I have been a fan and an admirer of Patricia’s work ever since.
Imagine how delighted I was to discover, many years later, that my colleague Nick Glass (the founder of TeachingBooks.net) would be traveling to Michigan to meet and interview Patricia Polacco. During his trip, Nick spoke with Patricia about her work, filmed her drawing in her studio, met her goats, and touched the real live Keeping Quilt!
Today, we added Patricia Polacco’s Original Author Program to TeachingBooks.net! Take a moment to meet Patricia Polacco virtually, to see her goats, to hear her speak about storytelling, and to see the actual quilt featured in The Keeping Quilt. My favorite part is hearing Patricia talk about which animal on the quilt she would always put near her face when she went to sleep as a child. I also love the way she speaks with her hands.
Be sure to scroll down to see two more movies we created with Patricia Polacco, one about Thank You, Mr. Falker and one about Thunder Cake.
You can also listen to the story of Patricia Polacco’s name here.
Posted by Danika L. Morphew-Tarbuck, MLS, Web 2.0 Content Producer
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