Thank You, Mr. Falker

Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco

Realistic Fiction

Thank You, Mr. Falker is a story about Tricia's struggle to read. Ever since her grandfather poured honey on a book and told her she would taste sweet knowledge, Tricia has longed to read. She tries so hard but the words all swim together and kids make fun of her. Then she meets Mr. Falker, who works with her every day, letter by letter, until Tricia can read! She is so happy because this is all she ever wanted. Little Tricia grows up to write books for children, and thanks Mr. Falker every day for changing her life.

I would use this book to discuss plot development. This is a touching book and the plot is detailed without being complicated. I think it would be a good book to talk about plot development because the events of the book are meaningful and identifiable but, because of the nature of the book, it is fairly easy to determine the order and progression of the story. It would be a good book to introduce this topic before moving on to plot development in chapter books.