Will I love Thank You, Mr. Falker?

I’m a great fan of Patricia Polacco’s work, and so I had a great deal of difficulty deciding which book to include on this list because so many of her books are moving.

This is the story (taken from Polacco’s own life) of a girl who suffers from undiagnosed dyslexia until an astute teacher recognizes the condition and helps her overcome it. What I find most impressive about this story is that Polacco never descends into the maudlin.

This isn’t a “dyslexia” book; rather, it’s a tale of an adult helping a child in need deal with a daunting problem.… show more.

This is one of the few books that no matter how many times I read, I still get choked up. A family has a tradition they keep whenever the children are going to learn to read. They do it for their little girl when she’s headed to kindergarten, but she doesn’t learn to read there. She doesn’t learn in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade either. In 5th grade, Trisha still can’t read, and she feels “dumb” and “different.” One teacher finally realizes Trisha’s problem and through hard work and creative methods teaches her to… show more.